Listed, $150,000 Jerome Stakes, one mile, Aqueduct, Jan. 1, 2020
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 3 each for the dead-heat for second, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Independence Hall, by Constitution
Trainer: Michael Trombetta
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Kathleen and Robert Verratti, and Twin Creeks Racing
Beyer Speed Figure: 83
OZONE PARK, N.Y. -- There was more a sense of relief than revelry from the connections of Independence Hall after their excitable colt made a successful, albeit nerve-wracking, 3-year-old debut in Wednesday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct.
Despite acting up in the paddock to the point where he was saddled on the walking ring and then breaking last, Independence Hall proved too classy for his five rivals, recording a four-length victory in the Jerome to remain undefeated in three starts while earning 10 qualifying points to the May 2 Kentucky Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. – An unspecified setback has knocked the exciting 3-year-old Honor A. P. out of the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita.
John Shirreffs trains Honor A. P., expected to start as the favorite in the one-mile Sham based on his dazzling maiden victory during the autumn meet. However, after training on Tuesday at Santa Anita, Honor A. P. showed signs of something being amiss.
“He came off the track and after he cooled out, he was off,” Shirreffs said early Wednesday morning. “We did X-rays, and the X-rays were okay. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Storm the Court’s comeback planned for February at Santa Anita is likely to be postponed, and the forecast of rain Dec. 23-27 could push the 2020 debut for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner into March.
Trainer Peter Eurton initially planned for Storm the Court to resume workouts in the middle of December, but weather and temporary closure of the Santa Anita track for renovation produced unexpected challenges.
Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes, 1 1/8 miles, Aqueduct, Dec. 7, 2019
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Shotski, by Blame
Trainer: Jeremiah O’Dwyer
Jockey: Luis Saez
Owner: Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Gary Pantofel Stable, and Mike Karty
Beyer Speed Figure: 86
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, closed as usual as a decisive favorite in Pool 1 of the 2020 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which closed Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern after a four-day wagering window.
With $284,317 in the win pool, the field (No. 24) closed at even-money and was followed by Tiz the Law (11-1), Dennis’ Moment (12-1), Independence Hall (13-1), and Maxfield (13-1), with all other separately listed horses at 24-1 or higher. “Any filly,” offered as No. 23, closed at 57-1.
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.
