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.
Luis Saez has filed an appeal of a 15-day suspension handed down by the stewards at Churchill Downs for his ride on Maximum Security during the May 4 Kentucky Derby, according to his attorney. Saez also filed a request for a stay of the suspension until his appeal can be heard.
The owners of Maximum Security, the colt disqualified from first in the May 4 Kentucky Derby, have filed a federal lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Kentucky seeking to overturn the stewards’ decision and declare the horse the official winner.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jockey Luis Saez has been suspended 15 racing days by Churchill Downs stewards for his ride in the Kentucky Derby aboard Maximum Security, who crossed the wire first before being disqualified for causing interference leaving the second turn of the race. Saez was cited for “failure to control his mount and make the proper effort to maintain a straight course,” the stewards cited in their ruling, which was released Monday on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission website.
