Churchill Downs
Thursday, April 23
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 66°
Track: Fast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The inexact science of preparing a horse for a grueling race like the Kentucky Derby was never more on display than Thursday at Churchill Downs, with trainers using very diverse methods of bringing their 3-year-olds up to the big event. Even within their own barns.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Silent Tactic finished four lengths behind Renegade in the Arkansas Derby four weeks ago, but it felt like the gap between the two 3-year-olds was larger than that.

Mark Casse, the trainer of Silent Tactic, understands his horse has to run better than he did that day to compete with Renegade but he believes his horse will run better.

Casse said that he and his team were nursing Silent Tactic through a bruised foot in the four weeks between the Grade 2 Rebel – in which Silent Tactic was beaten a nose by Class President – and the Arkansas Derby.

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Wednesday, April 22
Weather: Cloudy
Temp. 65°
Track: FastLOUISVILLE, Ky. – Activity has definitely begun to pick up at Churchill Downs as more and more of the participants in the Kentucky Derby and Oaks arrive on a daily basis. All horses in both races are required to be on the grounds by 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Four weeks and six days after I’ll Have Another won the 2012 Kentucky Derby at odds of 15-1, his date with Triple Crown destiny came to an abrupt end when the horse, who also won the Preakness, had to be scratched from the Belmont Stakes due to a career-ending tendon injury.

Doug O’Neill, the trainer of I’ll Have Another, remembers calling Paul Reddam to convey the news.

WHO’S HOT

Chief Wallabee, in blinkers, had a super workout over the Churchill Downs main track on Monday which created a lot of buzz and in turn prompted Daily Racing Form’s David Aragona to lower the Florida Derby third-place finisher to 8-1 from 10-1 on his pre-draw morning-line.

The Puma, the Tampa Bay Derby winner and Florida Derby runner-up, was raised to 10-1 from 8-1. The Puma had his strongest move in a while last weekend at Gulfstream Park prior to shipping to Churchill.

Pavlovian

Pavel – Mandy’s Grace, by Bellamy Road

Bred in California by Reddam Racing

J. Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O’Neill have teamed to win the Kentucky Derby twice, in 2012 with I’ll Have Another and 2016 with Nyquist. Their hopeful this year is California-bred homebred Pavlovian, whose sire and dam were both trained by O’Neill for Reddam.

At Santa Anita on Monday, Potente, the Santa Anita Derby runner-up trained by Bob Baffert, was credited with a six-furlong workout in 1:13.40. Baffert said he put the filly Cash Call - last year's Grade 3 Summer Oaks winner - in front of Potente to give the horse a target.

“I was very happy with his work. He galloped out strong,” Baffert said. “He’s doing very well right now, looks healthy.”

The NFL Draft begins Thursday night, and for weeks leading up to it, everyone is looking for tangible evidence of which player is the best fit for their team. The NFL Scouting Combine, held roughly two months out, plays a role in defining which college players move up or down the draft board.

The Kentucky Derby is May 2. A series of stakes races held globally over the course of several months help comprise the field for the race. Key workouts conducted in between those races and the Derby itself play a role in defining which horses move up or down handicappers’ boards.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Chief Wallabee bandwagon suddenly got a lot more crowded after the relatively inexperienced but extremely talented 3-year-old turned in his penultimate Kentucky Derby workout Monday at Churchill Downs.

Chief Wallabee was the lone Kentucky Derby contender to breeze Monday, doing so under clear but chilly skies at 7:30 a.m. during the special Derby/Oaks training session. The racetrack was on the quick side throughout the morning, perhaps even more so following the 7 a.m. renovation break.