Kentucky Derby

The post-race tests for banned substances in GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks horses have cleared, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced Wednesday. "The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has received laboratory results from post-race samples taken on May 6, and May 7, 2022, at Churchill Downs," said the KHRC press release. "All samples for both days were cleared. This includes the post-race samples from the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby."

NBC Sports' presentation of the 148th GI Kentucky Derby averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 16.0 million viewers--marking the eighth consecutive year that the event topped the 15-million mark, excluding pandemic-impacted events. It was the most watched Derby since 2019, with viewership peaking at 19 million from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, shortly after Rich Strike (Keen Ice) crossed the wire first at 80-1, marking the largest Kentucky Derby peak audience since 2017, ahead of the 18.5 million for the controversial 2019 disqualification of Maximum Security. The TV-only average audience of...

Keen Ice, who has been flying under the radar behind some heavy-hitting first-crop sires, has been non-existent at the 2-year-old sales so far this year, but that's about to change when the Calumet stallion has two juveniles catalogued for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. And the timing couldn't be better following his son Rich Strike's dramatic victory in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby. Ron Fein of Superfine Farms and partner Juan Centeno will offer the first colt by Keen Ice to sell at a 2-year-old auction when they...

Well, if it was hard enough to make sense of his performance, then don't expect things to appear any more conventional when you look at the pedigree of Rich Strike. His grandsire and dam share the same paternity. His mother was discarded a couple of years ago for $1,700; his half-sister was claimed only last month for $5,000; and his sire's only previous stakes winner had emerged in Puerto Rico. But if communal incredulity over the GI Kentucky Derby must have been flavored with extra piquancy for the breeders of...

It was a hectic week in the Thoroughbred business with all eyes firmly focussed on Louisville, Kentucky. Here are some facts and figures that you might have missed in the rush. Record Numbers... Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby (single race) totaled $179 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5-million set in 2019. This year's wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle put through the window in Japan. The Smart Strike Factor... As a broodmare sire, Smart Strike has the distinction of...

The Week in Review by T. D. Thornton A blue-collar trainer lives through a devastating barn fire caused by a lightning strike that kills 23 horses. But he vows to rebuild his racing stable, and a few years later gets connected with an owner client who hasn't had much success at low levels of the sport, yet wants to forge ahead anyway because his love of Thoroughbreds exceeds his disillusionment with the industry. They acquire a colt for relatively short money who is essentially a cast-off from a much larger...

RED TR-Racing's Rich Strike (Keen Ice) left Churchill Downs around 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday to head back to his main base at trainer Eric Reed's Mercury Equine Center in Lexington as a GI Kentucky Derby winner. "I couldn't sleep last night," Reed said after achieving his first Grade I victory and second graded victory in a career that began in 1985. "At four this morning I was wondering if this was real or if it was a dream. I got home and my kids and their friends were there with...

A crowd of 147,294 witnessed Rich Strike's (Keen Ice) 80-1 upset in the 148th running of the GI Kentucky Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs. Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby Day program totaled $273.8 million, a 17% increase over 2021 and up 9% from the previous record in 2019 of $250.9 million. Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby race totaled $179.0 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5 million set in 2019. This year's wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle...

It was an improbable outcome. No, make that an impossible outcome. But it happened. An 80-1 shot named Rich Strike (Keen Ice), who probably should have been 800-1, won the GI Kentucky Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs. But how? He benefitted from a pace meltdown, ran the race of his life and, most importantly, got one of the best rides in Derby history from a guy you probably never heard of. His name is Sonny Leon and he outrode Joel Rosario, Flavien Prat and a bunch of other guys who...

LOUISVILLE, KY - Credit the Coach with an assist. Making his way into the field following the late scratch of the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Ethereal Road (Quality Road), also-eligible Rich Strike (Keen Ice) lit up the tote board with an impossible 80-1 upset in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby. It was three-quarters of a length back to 4-1 favorite Epicenter (Not This Time) in second. Zandon (Upstart) was another three-quarters back in third. "He passed them all," winning trainer Eric Reed said. "I'm elated. I'm happy because this horse trained good...

You've all done the donkey work. Maybe you've resigned yourself to the skinny prices about Zandon (Upstart) and Epicenter (Not This Time) and there's a good chance you've debated--internally or otherwise--whether Mike Battaglia got it right from the perspective of the morning line. Or, you argue, 'It's a 20-horse field, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell I am betting one of the favorites when there is value to be found elsewhere.' Surely, you reason, there isn't much that separates the market leaders from horses like 'TDN Rising Star' Messier...

The feel-good story of Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas adding another GI Kentucky Derby win to his repertoire this year is not to be, as his GII Rebel S. runner-up Ethereal Road (Quality Road) has been scratched from Saturday's race, as first reported by Daily Racing Form's Marty McGee. The defection of Ethereal Road at scratch time for the Derby permitted also-eligible Rich Strike (Keen Ice), most recently third in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. at Turfway, into the field. Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, Rich Strike...