LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Though his form suggests he will be overmatched in what looks to be one of the toughest fields in years, Keen Ice gives trainer Dale Romans a good feeling heading into Saturday’s 141st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
“He’s going to run the best race of his life,” Romans said Monday in his Churchill Downs barn office. “I’ve gotten more aggressive with him, and the mile and a quarter is going to be a huge difference.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The consensus is that the field for this Kentucky Derby, to be run Saturday at Churchill Downs, is shaping up as the strongest in years. The consensus is that American Pharoah is the horse to beat, with many other worthy contenders meriting strong looks. And yet that won’t stop a full field – likely an overflow field – from being entered Wednesday.
Such is the nature of the Kentucky Derby in recent years. It’s almost as though with a 20-horse limit, a number of owners and trainers are of a mind that if they can run, they should run, regardless of the opposition.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ken Ramsey says he was approached recently by a biographer from New York who wanted to chronicle how Ramsey has become one of the most successful people in the modern era of American racing.
“He said he wanted to call the book, ‘From the Outhouse to the Penthouse,’ ” Ramsey said with his familiar cackle. “I don’t believe he realizes how true to life that is.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Simon Callaghan’s journey to Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with Sunland Park Derby winner Firing Line has been almost 20 years in the making, a circuitous route that began in his hometown of Newmarket, England, with stops on the East Coast and California.
[bc_playlist_id:289889:]Churchill Downs
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 48
Track: Fast
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - They saved the best for last Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, the much anticipated final work for Kenetucky Derby favorite American Pharoah, who did not disappoint with an eye-catching five-furlong breeze which took place shortly after the renovation break during the special session reserved for Derby and Oaks horses.
Remember last year, a couple of days before the Kentucky Derby, when some folks were saying that the best 3-year-old in the country wasn’t in the Derby, but was in the Kentucky Oaks instead? Remember how some at that time thought Untapable was better than her male counterparts?
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The ease and speed of his wins made American Pharoah the acknowledged favorite for the Kentucky Derby this Saturday, and he certainly solidified that position on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs with final workout that was both fast and seemingly effortless.
[bc_playlist_id:289889:]CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Showery
Temperature: 52
Track: Fast
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ten potential Kentucky Derby starters worked on Saturday, with only two of those breezes coming at Churchill Downs, where the weather was cloudy early and showery late, and the racetrack remained fast throughout the four-hour training session.
[bc_playlist_id:289889:]CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 39
Track: Fast
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Like an elite quarterback, trainer Todd Pletcher read the defense and called an audible on Friday, pushing the final workouts for four of his Kentucky Derby hopefuls up one day due to a forecast that called for possible heavy rain here Saturday morning.
