CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Sunny
Temp.: 71
Track: Fast
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Wednesday literally may have been the calm before the storm at Churchill Downs, with another picture-perfect morning likely to be followed by several days of rain, according to local forecasts, with the worst of that weather expected on Derby Day.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s a quirky statistic to be sure, being as there is no rhyme or reason for it, but the Wood Memorial is 0 for 15 years producing a top-three finisher in the Kentucky Derby.
Overall, the Wood Memorial has produced 20 Kentucky Derby winners, with 11 of those horses winning both races. The last to win both was Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000.
In 2003, Wood runner-up Funny Cide flipped the script on Wood winner Empire Maker in the Kentucky Derby.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the past decade, the most prominent and most controversial intramural debate within the North American racing community has involved the raceday use of the diuretic furosemide to mitigate bleeding in the lungs. Prior to 2019, nearly every major racing organization had weighed in on the topic in some way, shape, or form, but that list had a notable, powerful exception – Churchill Downs Inc.
In the weeks prior to this year’s Kentucky Derby, that abruptly changed.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s been 11 years since Eight Belles died on the racetrack, but for her jockey, it may seem even longer.
Gabriel Saez, who disappeared from the public consciousness almost as soon as the Eight Belles controversy exploded in the aftermath of the filly’s tragic death following the 2008 Kentucky Derby, has traveled his own difficult path in finally returning to the Derby limelight.
IMPROBABLE may not be entering this year’s Derby the way his connections had been hoping for, having finished second in both preps. But he did not run poorly in either of those races, and there is a way to look at him as a horse set to break though Saturday, even as he takes on a distance that may push his limits more than it does some of his main rivals.
WIN WIN WIN is a confirmed closer who is dependent on a swift pace in order to run his best. Luckily for him, it appears that is what he will get in this year’s Kentucky Derby. The most recent effort from Win Win Win is better than it appears on paper, as he was stopped badly rounding the far turn before regaining his stride and finishing a strong second in the Blue Grass at Keeneland. Had he not been forced to check as sharply as he did, the final margin of defeat would have been considerably smaller than it was.
Considering favorites won the last six Kentucky Derbies, perhaps the race is due for an upset. That is not likely if Game Winner maintains top form. Indications are the division leader will do more than simply maintain form – he might improve.
Believing that the finest 3-year-old preps were in Arkansas over the past couple of months, I’ve picked IMPROBABLE to win Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. After an unbeaten campaign at 2, he seems to have lost a little popularity after defeats in his two starts as a 3-year-old, both at Oaklawn Park. In each loss, he had excuses while still performing well to be second. He returned from a layoff and raced wide in his first start of the year in a division of the Rebel and then grew anxious in the starting game before the Arkansas Derby, necessitating a reload.
Omaha Beach and Improbable separated themselves from the rest of the field in the Arkansas Derby and in so doing appeared to also have separated themselves slightly from the well-matched group of 3-year-olds assembling to decide this year’s Derby.
