GI Kentucky Derby

Always Dreaming (Bodemeister--Above Perfection, by In Excess {Ire}), the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner, died of colic Tuesday, December 10 at River Oaks Farm in Oklahoma, according to Chad Schumer, who brokered the deal to send the stallion from WinStar Farm where he originally stood to River Oaks. "The horse was sick," said Schumer. "He had a very typical colic, and they brought him to the clinic. He was there for four days. They didn't do any surgery on him. Everything was fine. He seemed to be okay. He turned the...

You'd think the nine-furlong GII Remsen S. might be a good measuring stick for GI Kentucky Derby potential because it's the only top-level, 1 1/8-miles American dirt race for juveniles before they turn three. But only three horses in the last 61 years-Thunder Gulch, Go For Gin and Pleasant Colony-have parlayed wins in the Remsen into a blanket of roses at Churchill Downs. Instead, in recent runnings, the Remsen has evolved into a pipeline for progress deeper into the 3-year-old season. Remsen winners have captured two of the last three...

9th-DMR, $54k, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 7:28p.m. ET Looking to add to Puca (Big Brown)'s remarkable streak of runners, BAEZA (McKinzie) will go to post in the turf night cap at Del Mar. Racing for the partnership of C R K Stable and Grandview Equine, the John Shirreffs trainee has big shoes to fill as the half-brother to MGISW Dornoch (Good Magic) and his full-brother, GI Kentucky Derby hero Mage. Even before those two, their dam had produced another stakes runner, namely Gunning (Gun Runner). She was placed in the Listed...

MGSW/GISP 'TDN Rising Star' Messier (Empire Maker--Checkered Past, by Smart Strike) will stand stud in 2025 at New York's Rockridge Stud for $5,000 LFSN in a deal brokered by Matt Bowling of Bowling Bloodstock, the farm announced Friday. The Sam-Son Farm homebred was purchased at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Sale by Donato Lanni on behalf of SF Bloodstock, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing for $470,000 and broke his maiden in his 2nd start to become a 'Rising Star', winning by 6 1/2 lengths. He bested Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah)...

The number that best sums up this year's Breeders' Cup is :44.96. That's the sizzling opening half-mile split for the GI Classic, and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) utilized it to the utmost advantage on Saturday, propelling himself to the winner's circle with one of his customary, locomotive-like late kicks that had come up just shy of victory in three previous attempts at 10 furlongs. As a relentless long-strider with a penchant for leaning in and being a magnet for trip trouble during his stretch runs, Sierra Leone...

In a style not for the faint of heart, Sovereignty ( c, 2, Into Mischief--Crowned, by Bernardini) went last to first, and claimed 10 points on the Road to the 2025 Kentucky Derby via the GIII Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs. Debuting Aug. 24 at Saratoga sprinting on the main track, he managed to close from 10th to fourth against a maiden field which yielded 'TDN Rising Star' GISP Tip Top Thomas (Volatile) as well as Rookie Card (Adios Charlie), who broke his maiden Oct. 26 at the Belmont...

There's virtually no chance that Vinnie Viola would have bought a horse like Rated by Merit (Battalion Runner) at the sales. That's where he goes every year to spend big bucks in search of a star. At this year's Keeneland September sale alone, Viola bought 18 horses for $9.1 million. Rated by Merit is undefeated at 3-for-3 after winning Saturday's Affirmed S., the second leg in Gulfstream's series for 2-year-olds by Florida-based sires. An overachiever, he is by a stallion who stands for $2,500 and out a mare who was...

Airdrie Stud's 2025 stallion roster will be headlined by four young stallions all being offered for a fee of $25,000, according to a press release from Airdrie Friday. The quartet includes breakout freshman sire Complexity. Currently ranked fourth in earnings according to TDN's Sire List, Complexity has three stakes winners--including two graded winners--and five stakes horses from his first crop of 2-year-olds. The 8-year-old stallion joins GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic), as well as Girvin (Tale of Ekati) and Upstart (Flatter), who all come in at the price...

The Kentucky Derby Museum earned the number three spot as the Best Attraction for Sports Fans in USA Today's 2024 Readers' Choice Awards after breaking records this past year for attendance, the repository said in a Wednesday press release. Located at Churchill Downs, the Derby Museum finished behind Boise State's Blue Turf in Idaho, the top vote getter, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, who was the runner-up. Welcoming an all-time high of 258,382 guests during the fiscal year 2024, which spanned from Oct. 1, 2023,...

The official betting tournament of the 'Run for the Roses'--the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge (KDBC)--is returning to TwinSpires.com with a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000, Churchill Downs said in a presser on Thursday. The first official KDBC Qualifier Tournament will take place on Sunday, Oct. 27 featuring the opening day card of the fall meet at Churchill Downs and a series of feeder tournaments will begin on Saturday, Oct. 12. Leading up to the Kentucky Derby Day program, the schedule will include 24 KDBC qualifier events, with each qualifier supported...

It's early, but maybe not too early to start dreaming of the GI Kentucky Derby. At least it's not for owner Richard Rigney. Rigney is the owner of 'TDN Rising Star' Jonathan's Way (Vekoma), the winner of last Saturday's GIII Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, the first of many races that award Derby points to the top five finishers. Making his second career start after overcoming trouble to win a maiden at Saratoga, Jonathan's Way was an impressive winner, suggesting there could be bigger and better triumphs in his future....

In a deal that came about unexpectedly for Rodney Eckenrode's Equistar--the training and breeding operation east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that stands Smarty Jones and Brody's Cause--GSW Zozos (by Munnings) will join the farm's stallion roster for 2025 with a stud fee of $2,500 in the offing. The dark bay who was bred and campaigned by Minnesotans Barry and Joni Butzow recently retired from trainer Brad Cox's shedrow after a career which began at three. Zozos's career highlights include a runner-up finish in the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds...