Arkansas Derby

LOUISVILLE, KY - Prostate Cancer Awareness Month isn't until September, but owner Al Gold will be getting a head start on the first Saturday in May. Named after Accuray Inc's robotic radiation therapy used to successfully treat the 66-year-old's prostate cancer, Gold's Cyberknife (Gun Runner) continues to generate plenty of positive chatter leading up to the GI Kentucky Derby. "At the end of the day, the Derby is exciting and very important, but it pales in comparison to helping people become aware of the power of CyberKnife in treating cancer,"...

It's long been an appealing part of American lore how the GI Kentucky Derby is unique compared to every other race run during the year. The emphasis has traditionally been on young horses getting exactly one chance to run a distance they've never before attempted, against the largest field they'll likely ever encounter; in front of the biggest on-track crowd they'll ever experience. But the 21st Century has gradually added dynamics to the Derby's legacy that have shaped the race in ways that could not have been fathomed even one...

With three weeks remaining until the GI Kentucky Derby, the trio of Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}) (six furlongs, 1:18.60), Cyberknife (Gun Runner) (five furlongs, 1:00) and Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) (four furlongs, :48.40) worked at Churchill Downs Saturday. Gold Square's GI Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife worked at 9 a.m. outside of multiple stakes-placed stablemate Tommy Bee (Medaglia d'Oro). Cyberknife started two lengths behind Tommy Bee and completed fractions of :12.20, :23.80 and :47.20. Cyberknife finished even with Tommy Bee around the seven eighths pole...

They call it "pilot error." It's just that you have all the correction of perspective, right there, that anyone could possibly require. If a jockey makes a mistake, the consequences obviously tend to be a good deal less drastic than for a guy flying a plane.

The riders of both the winner and the fourth-place horse in a $108,0000 allowance race on last Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby undercard both were fined for apparently forgetting that mile races at Oaklawn Park end at the sixteenth pole and not the traditional finish wire. Geovanni Franco and John Velazquez each were assessed $200 fines from the Oaklawn stewards on Thursday for "misjudging the wire and striking his horse after the finish of the fourth race at Oaklawn Park on April 2, 2022." Franco was on the lead for most...

Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife (Gun Runner) exited his win in Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby in fine shape and is expected to ship to Louisville Tuesday to continue preparations for the May 7 GI Kentucky Derby. The colt, who was making his second stakes appearance after a sixth-place effort in the Jan. 22 GIII Lecomte S., continued a trend of frisky behavior Saturday at Oaklawn when dumping jockey Florent Geroux in the post parade. "I was too far away to do anything about it, but Florent was able to jump up...

Having proven heads and shoulders above the local 3-year-old filly contingent, Briland Farm homebred Secret Oath (Arrogate) takes on the boys in Saturday's $1.25-million GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. The chestnut figures a warm favorite to become the first of her gender to win the race since her Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas saddled Althea (Alydar) to score by seven lengths in the 1984 renewal, with future GI Belmont S. runner-up Pine Circle (Cox's Ridge) and GI Preakness S. hero Gate Dancer (Sovereign Dancer) noses apart in...

There was a time when you would load as much experience and conditioning as possible into a Kentucky Derby horse, as a mere adolescent required to jostle with 19 others through 10 furlongs. Nowadays, however, trainers are trying to reach Churchill Downs across a highwire stretched to a thread by two diametrically opposed imperatives. One is their conviction, whether through perception or presumption, that the typical, commercial-bred Thoroughbred of today can only stand up to a much lighter schedule. The other is to secure enough gate points in the trials....

An addition to "America's Day at the Races" will feature a chance to see D. Wayne Lukas's filly, Secret Oath (Arrogate), take on the boys and possibly secure a GI Kentucky Derby berth in live coverage of Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Saturday's broadcast, which will feature live racing from both Oaklawn and Aqueduct Racetrack, begins on FOX Sports 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET before moving to Fox Sports 1 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Coverage will continue until 8:30 p.m. ET with post time for the Arkansas Derby...

Though Secret Oath (Arrogate) will meet males Saturday in the GI Arkansas Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Wayne Lukas has been saying all along that the main goal for her remains the GI Kentucky Oaks. That's starting to change. "First of all, we have to assume she is going to run a top race in the Arkansas Derby," Lukas said. "(Owner-breeder) Rob Mitchell and I were talking three weeks ago and he said he wanted to go in the Oaks. Since then, he's brought up the Derby two or three...

Ever-popular retired Hall of Fame jockey and current television analyst for Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association Gary Stevens joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday afternoon for an expansive discussion on an array of racing topics and issues. Sitting down with Joe Bianca and Bill Finley as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Stevens gave a huge personal endorsement to star 3-year-old filly Secret Oath (Arrogate) as she prepares to take on males, analyzed the shuffling of the California jockey colony, talked about his...

In an era where most every trainer has grown way too cautious and overly patient, 86-year-old Wayne Lukas has emerged as a breath of fresh air. Lukas announced last week that he was going to run his star filly Secret Oath (Arrogate) in the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby against the colts instead of in the safer pick, the GIII Fantasy S. run the same day. It's not just a bold choice, it is a smart choice. With the contingent of males heading to the Arkansas Derby an unusually weak...