LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Separately, trainer Bill Mott and Prince Khalid’s Juddmonte Farms have won many of the world’s most important races.

Each has won the Dubai World Cup, a Breeders’ Cup Classic, and a Belmont Stakes.

Together, Mott and Juddmonte have teamed to win 13 Grade 1 races with horses such as Close Hatches, Proviso, and Emollient.

There is one race – the race – that has eluded them: The Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – This being 2018, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux can celebrate several Kentucky Derby anniversaries.

It was 30 years ago (1988) that Desormeaux, then a teenaged phenom from Louisiana by way of Maryland, rode in his first Derby and finished 16th on longshot Purdue King.

It was 20 years ago (1998), aboard Real Quiet, Desormeaux notched his first of three Derby victories.

And it was 10 years ago (2008) that Desormeaux got his third and most recent Derby triumph when Big Brown wore the roses.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – He rode back on his pony after overseeing the training of his horses, just as he’s done for decades, the only concession to age being that he used a stepstool to help him dismount when he reached his barn at Churchill Downs.

His wit is still sharp, and while the bite it once had has softened with age, trainer D. Wayne Lukas still wants things done his way. The straw in the stalls just so, the shed row raked and cleaned as though a state dinner will be served. It’s all black and white. The only gray area is Winning Colors.

CHURCHILL DOWNS
SUNDAY, APRIL 29
WEATHER: SUNNY    
TEMPERATURE: 40    
TRACK: FAST 
TURF: FIRM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It was the calm after the storm on a crisp and clear Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. The racetrack was nearly deserted during the special session reserved for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders following two whirlwind days during which the majority of the horses stabled locally turned in their final preps for those races.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Bill Mott found himself in an unusual position Sunday morning on the backside of Churchill Downs. He was the center of attention in a media scrum, talking about his participation in Saturday’s 144th Kentucky Derby after the 3-year-old Hofburg worked a half-mile in 48.03 seconds over the main track.

“It’s nice to be here, we’re glad to be here and we’re glad to be here with a good horse,” Mott, who hasn’t run a horse in the Derby since Hold Me Back in 2009, told the assembled media outside barn 19, where he has kept a string at Churchill Downs since 1980.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Everyone knows Bolt d’Oro is an outstanding colt, a three-time graded winner who finished a creditable second last out in the Santa Anita Derby.

What is less clear is how much chance Bolt d’Oro has to win the Kentucky Derby. After his final workout Saturday at Santa Anita, the issue is unresolved.

Owner-trainer Mick Ruis said the half-mile workout by Bolt d’Oro was “perfect.”

The colt’s rider, Victor Espinoza, said the work was “just a little maintenance, nothing crazy.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The third start was the charm for Good Magic as a 2-year-old, and the way he trained Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, it looks as though the third start as a 3-year-old for last year’s champion juvenile male will be his best this year.

CHURCHILL DOWNS

Track: Fast

Weather: Sunny

Temperature: 49

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following almost a week of relative inactivity, the action picked up appreciably Friday on the Kentucky Derby/Oaks watch at Churchill Downs. Eleven prospective starters – five for the Derby and six for the Oaks – worked on a clear, crisp morning, beginning shortly after the racetrack opened at 5:15 and continuing until after the second renovation break nearly four hours later.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After months of flying all over the country to ride top prospects for the Kentucky Derby, jockey Javier Castellano has wound up right where he started, choosing to ride Audible, whom he rode to victory in the Holy Bull back in January, as Castellano tries to win the Derby for the first time in his highly decorated career.