LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Three times in the last six years, Bob Baffert has trained the winner of the Kentucky Derby. The horses have varied widely, ranging from the powerful Silver Charm to the wiry Real Quiet to the mercurial War Emblem, but the way in which Baffert has prepared them for the race has been decidedly similar.
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DRF Past Performances
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With less than two weeks to the race, it is crunch time at Churchill Downs for horses training for the Kentucky Derby.
Last spring, Proud Citizen stood out on a daily basis in the mornings leading up to the Derby, then went out to finish second behind War Emblem at odds of 23-1. Harlan's Holiday, on the other hand, turned in a disappointing work five days before the race, and finished a non-threatening sixth as the Derby favorite.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Fund of Funds, runner-up to Ten Most Wanted in the Illinois Derby, was withdrawn from consideration for the Kentucky Derby with a tear in the tendon of his left foreleg, trainer Rick Violette said Tuesday.
Violette said he noticed something amiss with Fund of Funds on Monday after the horse galloped at Aqueduct. An ultrasound revealed "a small tear," Violette said.
Fund of Funds will get some time off and the foreleg will be ultra-sounded again in several weeks. Violette said the injury could be career threatening.
The last significant Kentucky Derby prep race was run last weekend, yielding the final runners for the May 3 Derby, and wouldn't you just know that D. Wayne Lukas pulled another rabbit out of the cowboy hat he wears most mornings.
Seemingly down to his last chance to have a horse in this year's Derby, Lukas came through with Scrimshaw, who won Saturday's Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland while earning a moderate Beyer Speed Figure of 99.
"We flew under the radar and got 'em," Lukas said.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - He did it again.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, down to his last bullet to make the 129th Kentucky Derby, has come through the back door once again. This time, it was Scrimshaw who raced to victory in the Grade 2 , marking the third time in four years that Lukas has gotten a last-ditch Derby prospect to win the Grade 2 race at Keeneland.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - He did it again.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, down to his last bullet to make the 129th Kentucky Derby, has come through the back door once again. This time, it was Scrimshaw who raced to victory in the Grade 2 , marking the third time in four years that Lukas has gotten a last-ditch Derby prospect to win the Grade 2 race at Keeneland.
Bob Baffert won the Kentucky Derby last year with an overlooked front-runner whom he acquired after the colt began his career elsewhere. Might Indian Express, this year's model, have an aim as true as War Emblem?
Indian Express was 35-1 in the Santa Anita Derby, but he nearly pulled off the upset. After dueling with Ocean Terrace through torrid fractions, he put away all rivals except Buddy Gil, who beat Indian Express by a head. That effort convinced Baffert that Indian Express deserves a shot at the Derby.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Kentucky Derby train is set to pull into Louisville - almost, anyway.
The final station on the long route to Churchill Downs just happens to be situated some 80 miles up the road at Keeneland Race Course, where on Saturday the 22nd running of the Lexington Stakes figures to decide the Derby fates of a handful of classics hopefuls.