GI Kentucky Derby

While several Kentucky Derby 150 contenders had regular training sessions Sunday morning, Japan's undefeated hope MGSW Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) made his first appearance on the Churchill Downs main track since arriving early Saturday morning. Conditioned by Yoshito Yahagi and under rider Yusaku Oka, the colt jogged in the one-mile chute for about 20 minutes before taking a 1 1/8-mile gallop in the early hours. Shortly after at 7:30am, GSW Honor Marie (Honor Code) worked in company with stablemate Anthem King (Bolt d'Oro), the pair breezing a half-mile...

War Chant (Danzig), the winner of the 2000 GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs, passed away on Thursday, Apr. 11. Housed at Yarradale Stud in Western Australia, the 27-year-old stallion succumbed to old age at the Gidgegannup nursery that he had called home for over a decade, the breeder said in a Thursday release. War Chant was bred and raced by Marge and Irving Cowan, and trained by Neil Drysdale. Out of MGISW Hollywood Wildcat (Kris S.), the homebred finished ninth in the GI Kentucky Derby and ended his...

All the nine-furlong prep races have been run, and the Triple Crown-caliber players have stepped forward and established themselves. We're three weeks away from a campaign's worth of enjoyable chaos sorting itself into some semblance of order, which means there's still plenty of time before you have to lock in your GI Kentucky Derby horse. Or maybe you'd prefer to wait for the GI Preakness S., like several top sophomores might end up doing. 1) MUTH (c, Good Magic--Hoppa, by Uncle Mo) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-Don...

Saturday's GI Blue Grass S. will be Dornoch's big chance to put away any uncertainty surrounding his true talent. The son of Good Magic beat Blue Grass morning-line favorite Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) last December in the GII Remsen S., but his Chad Brown-trained rival only lost by a nose and has since improved his resume with a definitive win in the GII Risen Star while adding blinkers. Meanwhile Dornoch claimed a scratched-down edition of the GII Fountain of Youth, taking the lead early and breaking away from rivals in...

Albaugh Family Stable's GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby winner Catching Freedom (Constitution) began his preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby with a half-mile move in :48.40 early Friday morning at Churchill Downs, the track said in a release. Trained by Brad Cox, the 3-year-old worked at 5:30 a.m. ET with exercise rider Edvin Vargas in the saddle. The duo cruised through an opening quarter-mile in :24 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.20. "He's settled in nicely since we shipped him back to Churchill from Fair Grounds," Cox said. "He was...

Veni, vidi, vici. He came, he saw, he conquered. Like Julius Caesar, Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}--Forever Darling, by Congrats) came prepared for battle and lived up to the hype, stamping himself as a potential superstar and giving Japan a third consecutive victory--and fourth since 2016--in the $1-million G2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup Day. The pacesetter Auto Bahn (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg}) held second, while the sole U.S. representative, Pandagate (Arrogate), was third. The UAE Derby offers GI Kentucky Derby points on...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: A horse gets claimed for a relatively cheap $30,000, later scores qualifying points at Turfway Park in March to get into one of the sport's most prestigious races at Churchill Downs, then ends up winning a career-defining Grade I stakes at improbable odds on the first weekend of May. That storyline describes the long-shot career of Rich Strike, who upset the GI Kentucky Derby at 80-1 back in 2022. But it also could be the 2024 script for newly crowned stakes victress...

In a field of 10, 'TDN Rising Stars' GISW Muth (Good Magic) and GISW Timberlake (Into Mischief) have drawn the seven and two gate spots, respectively, and lead the charge in Oaklawn's feature GI Kentucky Derby prep race, the GI Arkansas Derby. Muth, 8-5 on the morning line, will attempt to give Bob Baffert his fifth win in the contest, but hasn't started since finding the winner's enclosure in the GII San Vicente S. Jan. 6 at Santa Anita. The colt is ineligible for the Derby points and to run...

Former FanDuel TV and NBC Sports horse racing reporter/host Britney Eurton will join Amazon Prime's coverage of the National Women's Soccer League, the network said in a tweet on Wednesday. During the inaugural season, which starts with the NWSL Challenge Cup this Friday, Mar. 15, Prime will broadcast select games. Eurton will serve as the sideline reporter, and join commentators Mike Watts and Lori Lindsey from the booth. Eurton left FanDuel last November after nine years, and the daughter of trainer Peter Eurton also reported for NBC during their coverage...

The GII Fountain of Youth S. may have received a few key scratches that diminished the overall quality of the field, but Danny Gargan won't let that take anything away from the victory earned by his trainee Dornoch (Good Magic). As this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Gargan recapped Saturday's Fountain of Youth score and made a case for why we still haven't seen the best from Dornoch. "We've just gotta get someone fast enough to get next to...

Undefeated champion juvenile filly MGISW Just F Y I (Justify) and GSW Dornoch (Good Magic) are both slated to make their seasonal debuts in Florida Mar. 2, the former in the GII Davona Dale S. and the latter in the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park. Conditioner Bill Mott hopes to use South Florida as his springboard to the GI Kentucky Oaks May 3, saying, "I've gone back and forth just deciding should I have two races or one [for Just F YI]. If I put two races...

The road to the GI Kentucky Derby has been unkind to Todd Pletcher so far this year, but that may be about to change. The Hall of Fame trainer is ready to regroup and will look to win the March 30 GI Florida Derby with Fierceness (City of Light) and the March 2 GII Fountain of Youth with Locked (Gun Runner). Locked, who is the 10-1 favorite beyond the "all others" option in the latest round of the Derby Future Wager, was originally scheduled to make his debut in the...