Kentucky Derby

St. Elias Stable and Repole Stable's GI Kentucky Derby favorite Forte (Violence) arrived at Churchill Downs on Monday following a 14-hour van ride from trainer Todd Pletcher's winter base of Palm Beach Downs in South Florida. Last year's champion juvenile colt bedded down in his barn 39 and joined fellow Derby hopefuls Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) and Tapit Trice (Tapit), both who arrived in Louisville on Sunday. Forte, who won last year's G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and G1 Hopeful S. before being honored with the Eclipse Award, has won both the...

An unintended consequence of moving all of the final, 100-point, nine-furlong preps for the GI Kentucky Derby to four weeks out is that there is now nearly a full month without any meaningful (to the general public) action in the lead-up to America's most historic and important horse race. When viewed alongside other professional sports, which have significantly expanded their playoff structures in recent seasons to capitalize on the immediacy (and bettability) of wild-card  and play-in games with last-chance qualifying berths on the line, the lead-up to the Derby has...

Mage (Good Magic), last out beaten a length by Forte (Violence) in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, returned to the Gulfstream Park worktab Sunday morning with an easy five furlongs in 1:01.09, as reported by Daily Racing Form's Mike Welsch. "What we usually do after a big race like we had, we try to go nice and easy. That seems to be what he did today," said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father. Mage, who collected 40 points for his runner-up Florida Derby finish and 10 points for his...

Two of trainer Brad Cox's four GI Kentucky Derby contenders turned in half-mile works at Churchill Downs Saturday, with GI Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) and GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby third-place finisher Jace's Road (Quality Road) both credited with working, hours apart, in :48.20 (20/99). Albaugh Family Stables' Angel of Empire worked alongside stablemate Tapit's Conquest (Tapit), who was most recently seventh in the Louisiana Derby, just as the track opened at 5:30 a.m. Sporting blinkers while working outside his stablemate through early fractions of :12.40 and...

Currently on the GI Kentucky Derby bubble with 40 points, rallying GII Louisiana Derby runner-up and 'TDN Rising Star' Disarm (Gun Runner) will look to punch his ticket to the big dance in Saturday's GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland. The Stonestreet Lexington is the final race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and carries 40 points that will be awarded on a 20-8-6-4-2 basis. A top-three finish by Disarm would secure the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. The...

The lineup of partners and licensees for the 149th Kentucky Derby, with new partnerships and renewals including Brown-Forman brands: Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, Finlandia, Tequila Herradura; BMW of North America, White Claw, FanDuel, vineyard vines, AT&T, Third Time Entertainment, Ford's Garage, Romero Britto, and Paramount Network's Yellowstone, was announced Thursday by Churchill Downs Racetrack. "The Kentucky Derby is where global trends meet traditions in authentic, inspiring and impactful ways," said Casey Ramage, Churchill Downs Racetrack's Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships. "From spirits to fashion and virtual entertainment to automotive,...

It was likely a difficult decision, but Flavien Prat has chosen to ride GI Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) over GII Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) in this year's GI Kentucky Derby. The news was confirmed by trainer Brad Cox, who said he has received assurances from Prat and his agent Brad Pegram that the French-born riding star will be aboard Angel of Empire in the Derby. "Yes, Prat will ride Angel of Empire in the Derby," Cox said via text. "We're excited that Flavien is...

Sam Wright has been purchasing racehorses for clients across the globe since founding Equine Investments International three years ago, but the Hong Kong native may have found his most successful graduate to date in the fields of Kentucky where he picked out three foals for a pinhooking partnership of friends. The trio included a son of Classic Empire who, after RNA'ing for $32,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, sold to Albaugh Family Stables for $70,000 at the following year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Named Angel of Empire,...

A Sunday afternoon in August, back in the 1970s, and a student at U.C. Davis is trying to catch up on his history notes ahead of his final semester. There's a knock at the door. Two girls. "They wanted to know if my roommate Morgan was home," remembers David Fiske. "He was not. Asked if my roommate Jeff was home. He was not. Asked if my roommate Pat was home. He was not." Nothing else for it, so they wondered if Fiske would like to come along to a party....

Tapit Trice (Tapit) won the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby in his stakes debut back on Mar. 11, but that horse was never going to win the GI Kentucky Derby. Yes, he had become a Grade II winner, is by Tapit, cost $1.3 million at Keeneland September sale and is in the capable hands of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. But the Tapit Trice that won the Tampa Bay Derby looked like an immature horse who had yet to figure the game out. Combine that with the fact...

Lord Miles (c, 3, Curlin--Lady Esme, by Majestic Warrior) outslugged the top two choices on the board to spring a massive upset in a roughly run renewal of Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S. at the Big A. Disregarded at 59-1 following a sixth-place finish in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 4 and a fifth-place finish in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 11, the Peter Vegso homebred was hustled early by Paco Lopez and raced in second rounding the clubhouse turn. Ridden along in an outside fourth down the...

Even-money favorite Practical Move (Practical Joke) solidified his role as California's best GI Kentucky Derby hope as he parlayed a ground-saving trip into a narrow victory in Saturday's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby over fast-charging Japanese raider Mandarin Hero (Jpn) (Shanghai Bobby). Seeking his third-straight victory off of clear-cut successes in both the Dec. 17 GII Los Alamitos Futurity and Mar. 4 GII San Felipe S., Practical Move was unhurried early and worked his way down to the fence and into a joint third around the first bend. He tugged...