Kentucky Derby

1st-Churchill Downs, $116,625, Msw, 5-31, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.95, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. ADEERA (f, 2, Authentic--Majestic Presence {GSP-USA, MSP-Can, $227,896}, by Majestic Warrior) became the first winner for her freshman sire (by Into Mischief) Friday. The second choice at 8-5 behind fellow first-timer Salted (Tapit) at 4-5, the half-sister to GISW Newgate (Into Mischief) took it right to the favorite from the jump and the top pair quickly opened up a sizeable gap back to the rest of the field. Neck and neck off the far turn, it...

Juddmonte homebred Batten Down (Tapit), a full-brother to multiple graded winner Tacitus, worked five furlongs in company in 1:01.09 (1/4) over the Oklahoma training track in Saratoga Monday, but trainer Bill Mott is still considering whether the sophomore will line up for the June 8 GI Belmont S. Batten Down, with jockey Junior Alvarado up, went on the outside of stablemate Arthur's Ride (Tapit) as NYRA clockers caught them through splits of :12.54, :24.80, :36.99 and through five-eighths in 1:01.99 before galloping out in 1:14.19 and 1:28.94. The pair stayed...

The Todd Pletcher-trained trio of Fierceness (City of Light), Antiquarian (Preservationist) and Mindframe (Constitution) all visited the track Friday morning in preparation for upcoming starts in the GI Belmont S. held at Saratoga. 'TDN Rising Star' and Champion 2-year-old Male Fierceness marked his first work since finishing off the board as the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby earlier this month. Working in company with stablemate Mindframe, the pair covered a half-mile in :50 flat over the Oklahoma training track, galloping out in 1:02 2/5, 1:14 3/5 and 1:28 2/5....

Baltimore, MD--The journey from the First Saturday in May through the Preakness can be an arduous one, fraught with activity and often times challenges that can try the most steady nerves. Young and old alike could be heard complaining about exhaustion by the time they made it through Preakness day, however, for some, it provided enough buoyancy to raise the Titanic. Such was the case with D. Wayne Lukas Sunday morning, the day after his colt Seize the Grey (Arrogate) wired the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Despite the...

In terms of positive momentum, the best result in the aftermath of every year's GI Preakness S. is for the GI Kentucky Derby winner to triumph again in Baltimore, setting up a potential Triple Crown bid that infuses the sport with a three-week burst of buoyancy leading up to the GI Belmont S. In the majority of years that doesn't happen, which is why the elusive Triple Crown is so special. So the next-best result is an exciting race with a compelling storyline. Saturday's 149th Preakness didn't quite deliver on...

GI Kentucky Derby winner and GI Preakness S. runner up Mystik Dan (Goldencents) will ship to Saratoga but trainer Kenny McPeek has yet to make a decision on whether the colt will contest the third leg of the Triple Crown, the GI Belmont S. "It's impossible to be disappointed about being involved with these kind of races and be competitive," McPeek told assembled media at Pimlico Sunday morning. "One, they are hard races to get into, but to be competitive in them is a big deal. You just do your...

TIMONIUM, MD - The juvenile sales season makes it annual stopover in Maryland when the two-day Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training opens Monday morning at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. After a rain-interrupted under-tack show last week, skies were still overcast but there was no rain during a busy day of showing for consignors Sunday. "We have had so much foot traffic up to this point so far," said consignor Randy Miles. "Even yesterday, early in the morning in the rain, they were still coming. So...

TIMONIUM, MD - Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo sent out two horses to work during the first under-tack show session for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday and came away with the bullet workers at a furlong and a quarter-mile, with a colt by Authentic (hip 59) covering his quarter-mile in :21 1/5 and a filly by Volatile (hip 12) going a furlong in :10 flat. The first of three sessions of the Midlantic May under-tack show began at 8 a.m. Tuesday under cloudy skies and with...

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) continued his preparation ahead of Saturday's GI Preakness S. with a leg-stretching trip around the Pimlico surface Tuesday morning under Robby Albarado. The pair jogged seven furlongs before Albarado let the colt gallop through 1 1/2 miles. "I let him clip along today, and he's not even blowing," Albarado told Pimlico media following the work. "I thought every day would be a better day for him. He's getting comfortable with his surroundings. He knows where he's at now. I couldn't be more pleased...

Having long served as Champion Bore regarding the schism between gene pools either side of the Atlantic, I always find it curious that Europeans so readily shed their inhibitions about American stallions once a 2-year-old is introduced to their domestic market by a compatriot pinhooker. That's presumably because they are nowadays so enslaved by the clock--whatever their contrary claims--that pedigree has almost been neutralized at 2-year-old sales. Functionality is all. Admittedly an elite sire will put a premium on a bullet time. But just as unfashionable local stallions have achieved...

FanDuel TV racing personality Christina Blacker will host a webinar for Light Up Racing (LUR) members Tuesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. During the 1 1/2-hour session, entitled 'This Derby, what horse racing questions did you struggle to answer?' a panel of industry experts including Blacker, Dr. Jeff Berk, Dr. Jeff Blea and Dr. Scott Hay, will address and help participants navigate questions most frequently asked by outsiders surrounding this year's Kentucky Derby. To sign up for Light Up Racing, click here. Existing members may join by...

Having arrived on a van from Louisville on Sunday, GI Kentucky Derby hero Mystik Dan (Goldencents) took to a sloppy and sealed main track at Pimlico Race Course for the first time Monday morning. If the bay looked at home in the wet conditions, it should come as no surprise. Prior to his narrow success in the Derby, his career highlight came in the Feb. 3 GIII Southwest S., when he relished a muddy strip to crush by eight lengths. "He's such a smart horse. He takes everything in," said...