Sun, 10/03/2021 - 16:19

Road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby: Champagne Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Jack Christopher asegura el triunfo en el Champagne S. G1

Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne, one mile, Belmont Park, Oct. 2, 2021
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Jack Christopher, by Munnings
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Owner: Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud, and Peter Brant
Beyer Speed Figure: 102

Sun, 10/03/2021 - 15:27

Road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby: American Pharoah Stakes

Emily Shields
Corniche was given an 85 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in the American Pharoah Stakes.

Grade 1, $301,000 American Pharoah Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Santa Anita, Oct. 1, 2021

(0 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 0 for fourth)

Winner: Corniche, by Quality Road
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Mike Smith
Owner: Speedway Stables LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 85

Sat, 09/18/2021 - 23:33

Major General survives challenges, objection in Iroquois Stakes

Coady Photography
Major General (inside) holds off Tough to Tame to win the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – First, Major General outdueled the stubborn favorite, Stellar Tap. Then, he held off a late charge from longshot Tough to Tame. And then, he had to wait even longer, circling under the lights beneath the twin spires while jockey Javier Castellano hopped off to make his case to the stewards on the phone following a claim of foul.

Fri, 09/10/2021 - 15:19

Baffert horses will not be eligible to earn Kentucky Derby or Oaks qualifying points

Emily Shields
Bob Baffert is banned from participating in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. His stable includes the top 2-year-olds Corniche, Pinehurst, and Rockefeller.

Churchill Downs will not award Kentucky Derby qualifying points to any horse that is trained by an individual that is banned by the track for the 2022 running of the race, the track announced on Friday.

Wed, 07/21/2021 - 10:10

KHRC charges N.Y. drug lab, Baffert team with tainting split sample

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Bob Baffert walks Sunday with Medina Spirit, who will now point to the Preakness Stakes on May 15.

In yet another twist to the Medina Spirit case, the post-race urine sample from the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner has apparently been tainted and seriously depleted, leading the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to file a motion for order in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that the KHRC is alleging a “lack of candor and contemptuous conduct” by the New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory and its director, Dr. George Maylin, in the handling of a split sample delivered to the New York lab July 14.

Tue, 07/06/2021 - 12:06

Arkansas Derby to be run five weeks before Kentucky Derby; purse now $1.25 million

Barbara D. Livingston
The Oaklawn Park meet, which opens Dec. 3, will offer 36 stakes worth a record $12.3 million. The opening-day feature will be the Advent, the track's first 2-year-old stakes since 1973.

The complexion of the Triple Crown trail will change next year as Oaklawn Park announced Tuesday that the Arkansas Derby will be run five weeks ahead of the Kentucky Derby on April 2 instead of its traditional three weeks out, and that the purse of the Grade 1 race would be boosted from $1 million to a Derby prep-high $1.25 million.

Thu, 06/17/2021 - 09:52

Judge orders further testing on Medina Spirit's post-race sample

Barbara D. Livingston
Medina Spirit, shown training Thursday at Pimlico, will be allowed to run in Saturday Preakness Stakes

A Kentucky judge has ordered the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to allow further testing on a urine sample from Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit at the request of the horse’s connections.

Wed, 06/02/2021 - 11:36

Medina Spirit split sample confirmed for betamethasone

Barbara D. Livingston
Medina Spirit was treated with Otomax, which contains betamethasone, for this skin rash.

A split of the post-Kentucky Derby blood sample pulled from winner Medina Spirit confirmed the presence of the regulated corticosteroid betamethasone, the attorney for the colt’s trainer, Bob Baffert, confirmed Wednesday.

The split sample tested positive for 25 picograms per milliliter of blood serum, according to the attorney, Craig Robertson. That concentration is consistent with the result of the initial test, which tested at 22 picograms, Robertson had said earlier.

Sun, 05/09/2021 - 17:22

Medina Spirit tests positive for betamethasone in post-Kentucky Derby sample

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Bob Baffert walks Sunday with Medina Spirit, who will now point to the Preakness Stakes on May 15.

Medina Spirit, who led from start to finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to post a hard-fought half-length victory, tested positive for betamethasone, a regulated anti-inflammatory, after the race, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert, who acknowledged the test result Sunday morning during a press conference on the backside of Churchill Downs.

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:58

Kentucky Derby television ratings decline compared to 2019

Debra A. Roma
Ridden by John Velazquez, Medina Spirit (right) outfinishes Mandaloun (center) and Hot Rod Charlie to win the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The NBC-TV broadcast of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday had a 7.1 rating and a 22 share, according to the network, figures that represent a decline from the broadcast of the race in 2019, the last time it was held on the first Saturday in May.

In 2019, the race portion of the broadcast had a 9.8 rating and a 25 share. Last year, when the Derby was held on Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the broadcast had a 4.8 rating and a 14 share.