LOUISVILLE, Ky. - There once was a well-worn path to the Kentucky Derby. A horse had to get plenty of experience at 2, have a slight vacation, then prep in several races at 3, culminating in a race like the Wood Memorial or Blue Grass Stakes, then head straight to Churchill Downs for as much training as possible over that surface. Get used to the track, get used to the surroundings, get a slice of Derby pie, the thinking went.
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DRF Past Performances
Lawyer Ron looks strong galloping two miles
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With nearly half the prospective starting lineup for the 2006 Kentucky Derby not yet in attendance and the majority of the final local workouts scheduled for the weekend, training hours at Churchill Downs on Wednesday presented limited opportunities to make any serious assessments of this year's Derby hopefuls. The two most significant impressions during the morning were made by Arkansas Derby winner Lawyer Ron and the bone-chilling temperatures in the low 40's, which even had the local hardboots shivering.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - If ever there were a year in the modern era to mark a changing of the guard among Kentucky Derby jockeys, this could be it.
The 132nd Derby will be the first since three Hall of Fame jockeys hung up their tack: Gary Stevens, Jerry Bailey, and Pat Day, who accounted for six Derby victories among them. And although everyday horseplayers are aware of the vacuum created by their retirements, casual sports fans might experience a real awakening to these seismic changes when the Derby is run May 6 at Churchill Downs.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The countdown for the 132nd Kentucky Derby on May 6 began in earnest Monday, three time zones away from Churchill Downs, when four of the race's leading contenders, including probable favorite Brother Derek, turned in seven-furlong workouts at both Santa Anita and Hollywood Park.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Throw another vexing variable into your Kentucky Derby equation.
Showing Up won like a good horse in the final major Derby prep, the Grade 2 on Saturday at Keeneland, adding yet another intriguing element to what already was a challenging Derby.
In the past year, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin has had horses finish second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, second in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, second in the Remsen Stakes, second in the Wood Memorial, and, oh yes, second in the Kentucky Derby. It's a nice place parlay, but he wouldn't mind getting a winner's circle photo, too.
"It would be nice to get up and win a big one," McLaughlin said Friday.
McLaughlin is taking aim at this year's Kentucky Derby with at least one and as many as three starters. Jazil, who most recently
LEXINGTON, Ky. - When the Grade 2, $325,000 is run Saturday at Keeneland as the last major prep race before the 132nd Kentucky Derby, it might well unfold like a mini-version of the Derby itself.
Indeed, with an ample dose of early speed in the 1 1/16-mile Lexington - Like Now, Fast Parade, and the unbeaten Showing Up are part of the 10-horse field - the race is a fitting preview to what the May 6 Derby holds in store.
Trainer David Hofmans does not have a horse running in the Grade 2, $325,000 Lexington Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland, but he has a huge rooting interest.
"I want Like Now to win," Hofmans said Wednesday. "He's already ahead of us. If anyone else wins, we'll drop down."
Godolphin Racing announced on Tuesday that undefeated Discreet Cat, the winner of the United Arab Emirates Derby, would not run in the May 6 Kentucky Derby, removing from the field the colt with the most graded-stakes earnings and enhancing the chances of those horses on the earnings bubble.
As of Tuesday, more than 20 3-year-olds were still pointing for the Derby. If more than 20 enter the Derby on May 3, the field will be determined strictly by .