149th Kentucky Derby

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com "What was my favorite moment of 2023? I'm sure most people would be hard pressed to decide if it was getting engaged or winning the Kentucky Derby. Thankfully I got to experience every moment of the Kentucky Derby with the woman of my dreams AND 382 of my friends. It's a day we'll never forget and for that I'm forever grateful." --Chase Chamberlin, Co-Founder & Head...

The connections of Mage (Good Magic) will be on-hand at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Sept. 16 to receive their engraved Kentucky Derby 149 trophies after the GIII Iroquois S., the track said in a release Friday. The group includes: owners OGMA Investments (Gustavo Delgado), Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing (Sam Herzberg) and CMNWLTH (Brian Doxtator and Chase Chamberlain); trainer Gustavo Delgado; and breeder Grandview Equine (Robert Clay). Jockey Javier Castellano is unable to attend due to riding commitments elsewhere. Engraved Oaks trophies will be presented to the connections of Pretty Mischievous...

Unfortunately, they only have one Two Phil's (Hard Spun). If they had another, presumably making Four Phils in all, then they might yet have the consolation of a proxy in the big races through the second half of the season. As it is, we can only offer our sympathy to the heartbroken team around a horse that brought us such precious cheer during what is proving a challenging year for our sport. Because that's the whole point, really. The big programs would be able to temper their disappointment, on losing...

Some kind of wand has been waved here. Of eight starters in the GI Preakness S., three represent the first crop of Good Magic--including GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage. Just weeks after their program received what felt like the ultimate accolade, in Broodmare of the Year honors for Dreaming Of Julia (A.P. Indy), Barbara Banke and her Stonestreet team duly have still further cause for gratification. Because just like Dreaming Of Julia, Good Magic is out of a daughter of one of the foundation mares bought by Banke's late husband,...

Nostalgia, they say, isn't quite what it used to be. In times past, it was not so much a wistful state of mind as an outright medical condition. The Union Army in the first two years of the Civil War reported precisely 2,588 cases, no fewer than 13 of which proved fatal. And I must admit to some concern that this may in fact be the version to which I am destined to succumb, nailed into the same coffin as the five-week Triple Crown. The whole premise of nostalgia is...

Chase Chamberlin scrutinized the numbers. It was a Dickensian moment to be sure. The bank account didn't lie, he did in fact have a $120 balance. There wasn't any way around it, he was broke. Well, nearly broke. It was just a couple years prior that he had received one heck of a proposal though and it wasn't something he could pass up. So going all-in, as they say, was the plan. Not to put too fine a point on it, when opportunity knocks or in this case, arrives via...

Changes to the entries box for next week's GI Preakness S. continue, as GII Rebel S. winner Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) is out of the second leg of the Triple Crown and local runner Coffeewithchris (Ride On Curlin) set to run. "He trained all right this morning," said Confidence Game's trainer, Keith Desormeaux. The colt was last seen finishing 10th in the GI Kentucky Derby. "He's just not 100%. He's got something aggravating him in the right front shoulder area. We're going to send him to Dr. [Larry] Bramlage...

They know perfectly well, by this stage, that the apostrophe shouldn't be there. They've been asked, and told, about it often enough. But you know what? They're fine with that. They have come round to the view that it fits the horse, that quirky outlying touch; fits their whole story. Because really there's no way they should be here, either. "Every year, 20,000 foals are born," reflects Anthony Sagan. "And only 20 make it to the Derby. But not only did we make it, we were a length off winning...

Lord Miles (Curlin), who was scratched from last week's GI Kentucky Derby by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission because he is a member of the Saffie Joseph, Jr. stable, will run next in either the GI Preakness S. or the GI Belmont S., reports owner Peter Vegso. Vegso said the decision would be made after the colt, the longshot winner of the GII Wood Memorial S., has a workout Friday morning. "We're going to work him on Friday and then decide if we're going to run him in the Preakness...

by Janet del Castillo When you train with the vet, you'll notice horses can't run every two weeks, like they did for years. They get pumped up with various meds--legal if given in a particular time frame--but which can be detrimental long term. Horses that run clean can take care of themselves. The trainer knows how his horse comes out of the race because he's not masking anything. For years, horses ran in all three Triple Crown races--not so much today. Here's a thought! HISA is supposed to stop the...

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's morning-line favorite Forte (Violence) was scratched from the GI Kentucky Derby on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission state veterinarian, Churchill Downs said in a press release Saturday. After Forte jogged on the track this morning, a lengthy discussion ensued with state veterinarians, co-owner Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher. Repole said that they were concerned about a bruised right front foot that was sustained during training on Wednesday. Upon further examination of the foot in question, the Derby...

Lion Horse Race Co. Ltd.'s Continuar (Jpn) (Drefong) will reportedly be scratched from this year's GI Kentucky Derby, according to trainer Yoshito Yahagi. "After evaluating the colt upon my arrival, I feel that he has not been able to reach the peak fitness required to take on a race as tough as the Kentucky Derby," Yahagi said. "Considering the future of the horse and the fact that we cannot show the horse's true ability in his current state, we have decided to scratch Continuar from the Kentucky Derby. I am...