Mont Saint Legame won last weekend’s Cattleya Sho at Tokyo Racecourse, the first of two races in Japan offering points toward the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Although the colt has yet to set foot on American soil, he is by a familiar name.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The mutuel field once again was the clear-cut favorite when Pool 1 in the 2017 Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday evening.
The field, the 24th or “all others” option, was pounded late in the four-day session to close as the 6-5 choice, followed by Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Classic Empire at 6-1. Then came Mastery (10-1), Mo Town (12-1), and McCraken (12-1), with all others being 22-1 or higher.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Mo Town, No Dozing, and Takaful – the first three finishers in Saturday’s Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct – are headed to various parts of Florida in the coming days and could all take different paths to try to get to the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs.
Mo Town won the Remsen by 2 1/2 lengths over No Dozing, with Takaful, the 4-5 favorite, another 3 1/2 lengths back in third.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As soon as McCraken crossed under the wire as the winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, the colt’s owner and breeder, Janis Whitham, began to weep.
Watching with family and friends in the Winner’s Circle Suites on the ground level of Churchill Downs, Whitham surely realized this is the best Kentucky Derby prospect she has had since her husband, Frank, died in a 1993 plane crash.
“Yes, it is emotional,” said Whitham, 84, before making the short walk to the winner’s circle.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – As confident as trainer Tony Dutrow was that his 2-year-old Mo Town was going to run a big race in Saturday’s Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct, he didn’t necessarily know if that would be good enough to win it.
The horse was coming off a two-month layoff, missed a scheduled start in the Nashua in early November due to a sore gluteal muscle, and was facing a fast and formidable foe in Takaful.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Not This Time, one of the early favorites for the 2017 Kentucky Derby, has been retired to stud at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., after being diagnosed with a soft-tissue injury to his right foreleg. The stunning announcement of the colt’s retirement was made Monday afternoon by Taylor Made.
The cost of general-admission tickets for both the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks next year at Churchill Downs will rise substantially from the price this year, according to a press release from the track Thursday.
Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes; one mile; Belmont Park; Oct. 8, 2016
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Practical Joke
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Owner: Klaravich Stables Inc. and William Lawrence
Beyer Speed Figure: 88
:: Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Results, replays, charts, and more
Grade 1, $300,690 FrontRunner Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Santa Anita, Oct. 1, 2016
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Gormley
Trainer: John Shirreffs
Jockey: Victor Espinoza
Owner: Jerry and Ann Moss
Beyer Speed Figure: 93
Churchill Downs will award a Japanese horse an automatic berth in next year’s Kentucky Derby under a new program assigning points to participants in two Japanese stakes races, the track announced on Monday.
The two one-mile dirt races at Tokyo Racecourse will be the Cattleya Sho for 2-year-olds on Nov. 26 and the Hyacinth for 3-year-olds, expected to be run “early in 2017,” according to a release from Churchill and the Japan Racing Association.
