LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tiz the Law, the unbeaten 2-year-old whose chances of earning a divisional Eclipse Award depend heavily on how he runs here Saturday in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, got his first feel for the track with an easy jog Wednesday morning over a sloppy Churchill oval. Exercise rider Heather Smullen was up, with trainer Barclay Tagg alongside aboard a pony. The colt also gate-schooled.
“He surprises us every day with what he has,” Tagg said. “It’s what we look for and hope for.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 22nd year of Churchill Downs offering parimutuel futures on the Kentucky Derby starts Thursday, when the first of four pools toward the 2020 Derby opens at noon Eastern.
There will be 22 separately listed wagering interests; a “filly only” interest, which debuted last year in Pool 1, offered as No. 23; and a mutuel field (No. 24), which has closed as the Pool 1 favorite every year since Churchill first unveiled the Kentucky Derby Future Wager in 1999.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A federal judge in Kentucky has granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that had been filed by the owners of Maximum Security seeking to overturn a decision by the stewards to disqualify the horse from first place in this year’s Kentucky Derby.
Grade 1, $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity, 1 1/16 miles, Keeneland, Oct. 5, 2019
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Maxfield, by Street Sense
Trainer: Brendan Walsh
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Owner: Godolphin LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 86
Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes, one mile, Belmont Park, Oct. 5, 2019
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Tiz the Law, by Constitution
Trainer: Barclay Tagg
Jockey: Manny Franco
Owner: Sackatoga Stable
Beyer Speed Figure: 89
Barclay Tagg and Sackatoga Stable with a talented New York-bred? Sounds like the Funny Cide train is about to leave the station again.
Fair Grounds is hoping adding distance will add appeal to its 3-year-old dirt-route stakes races in 2020.
The New Orleans track disseminated a news release Wednesday announcing its 2019-2020 stakes schedule, which reportedly was published online last week. The program includes 56 stakes worth $7.13 million, or almost the same overall stakes commitment as last season, when the track hosted 56 stakes worth $6.89 million.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Often times, the hype proves unjustified. But when Dennis’ Moment cruised to a geared-down, stakes-record victory Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, even some of his skeptics had to concede the colt has a bright future.
“This showed what a good colt he is,” said Dale Romans, the locally based trainer who has helped fuel the hype with glowing talk about the Tiznow colt. “Our focus for now will be the Breeders’ Cup, but everybody knows what lies beyond that.”
Churchill Downs officials on Thursday released the complete qualifying-points schedules toward the 2020 Kentucky Derby and Oaks with no changes from what has become traditional.
The Road to the Kentucky Derby once again consists of 35 races in the United States, with points awarded on a sliding scale in accordance to the relative importance of the prep races. Nineteen of those races are run as “prep season,” with most of them worth 10 points to the winner, while more meaningful races comprise the later “championship season,” with the winner getting 50 or 100 points.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has filed a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit from Gary and Mary West disputing the disqualification of the couples’ horse, Maximum Security, from the Kentucky Derby on May 4.
The KHRC motion, filed June 8, states that the Wests have no legal foundation for seeking a court judgment to overturn the disqualification, citing the state’s rules regarding stewards’ decisions and legal precedent. Kentucky’s rules state that a decision of the stewards regarding interference in a race is final and cannot be appealed.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – By My Standards, the Louisiana Derby winner who was 11th in the Kentucky Derby, has returned to training after getting nearly two weeks off, with his next start still to be determined.
