Kentucky Derby

With the leading GI Kentucky Derby runners looking likely to skip the May 18 GI Preakness S., a wave of non-Derby starters are lining up for the second leg of the Triple Crown. Trainer Bob Baffert, whose horses were banned from the Derby, confirmed GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth (Good Magic) and stablemate Imagination (Into Mischief), who won the GII San Felipe S. before finishing a narrow runner-up behind Stronghold (Ghostzapper) in the GI Santa Anita Derby last time out, are both expected for the Preakness. The duo breezed in...

It was back in 2006 and Brian Hernandez, Jr. was mired in 12th place in the jockey standings at Churchill Downs with 14 wins. It wasn't that he had been a failure. He won an Eclipse Award in 2004 as the nation's top apprentice, winning 243 races that year. And before moving to the Kentucky circuit in 2006, he was among the top riders at Evangeline Downs and Delta Downs in his native Louisiana. It's just that Hernandez had larger goals and he was starting to worry they would never...

Asked to sum up his victory with Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, trainer Ken McPeek succinctly said, "Wow," Sunday morning on the Churchill Downs backside. An 18-1 outsider, Mystik Dan just held on to a nose victory after a rail-skimming trip under Brian Hernandez, Jr. "Brian Hernandez gave him the ride," a joyous but sleep-deprived McPeek said. "Look, he doesn't win the race without the job Brian did." For his part, Hernandez was appreciative of McPeek's faith in him. "I was fortunate to ride for Kenny," said...

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Trainer Ken McPeek told anyone who would listen after Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks victory with Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) that his GI Kentucky Derby aspirant, Mystik Dan (Goldencents), could very well jump up and win, too. It seemed a bit far fetched given the last time a trainer had won the Kentucky Derby and Oaks in the same year was back in 1952 when Ben Jones accomplished the feat with Real Delight and Hill Gail. Defying the odds, and history, the Kentucky horseman completed the double Saturday...

NBC Sports will continue to present the Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock through 2032, Churchill Downs and NBC Sports announced Saturday. The extension of the NBC Sports-Churchill Downs relationship--which began with the 2001 Kentucky Derby--makes NBC the longest-running home of the Derby, and NBCUniversal the first media company to present the Kentucky Derby over three decades. "As we celebrate the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs is proud to extend the relationship with NBC Sports," said Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen. "As our media partner for the last...

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Weeks and months of preparation, with a healthy dose of good luck, are complete. A full field of 20 will line up for the 150th anniversary renewal of the GI Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Much of the pre-race hype has revolved around the defending juvenile champion Fierceness (City of Light). A runaway winner in the GI Florida Derby in his latest start, the 'TDN Rising Star' has been training like a beast, signaling he is ready to do big things come Derby day. His trainer, Todd...

3rd-CD, $127K, OC, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 11:31 a.m. Revelers under the Twin Spires won't have to wait long Saturday for something to sink their teeth (and their wallets) into. Only an hour into the card, a pair of 'TDN Rising Stars', each making their second starts, face off. CARTUCHO (Gun Runner) impressed on debut at Tampa for Chad Brown in his first start since selling for $1.2m as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2022. To stay perfect, he'll have to conquer the equally impressive Mindframe (Constitution) who posted a...

When Hall of Famer Wayne Lukas sends out Just Steel (Justify) in this year's GI Kentucky Derby it will be his first starter in the race since 2018. Lukas, 88, is a perpetual optimist, but even he had to be worrying that he had had his last Derby starter. It wasn't Lukas. Even at his age he never slowed down. It was the sport's top owners. Many wouldn't send a horse to an octogenarian, knocking on the door of 90, even one considered to be one of the greatest trainers...

LOUISVILLE, KY--Kicking off a steamy day in Louisville, Thursday's morning session began to distill several things that I had seen over the course of the past week at Churchill Downs. Each morning, I would line up trackside to watch the Kentucky Derby/Oaks work session, also giving me the opportunity to survey the overall landscape at Churchill Downs. The years of progress and development at the facility is staggering. As I pan across the property, the mass of seating, both existing and new, that will accommodate the throngs of people over...

LOUISVILLE, KY--Chad Brown certainly knows how to win. He wins with favorites, and he wins with longshots. Although these days, more of his horses likely fall in the former category rather than the latter. However, despite all the trips to the winner's circle throughout his 17-year career--and there have been many--the Kentucky Derby has eluded him. In seven prior attempts, Brown recorded his best finish with Good Magic in 2018. And while the first jewel in the American Triple Crown hasn't always been Brown's main objective, it certainly is beginning...

Trainer Cherie DeVaux and bloodstock agent David Ingordo have taken up Brook Smith's challenge and have joined the Backside Learning Center's "Purses for a Purpose" initiative. "I have a challenge," Smith said last week. "If we can get 150 owners, and 150 horses for that matter, and they pledge to donate 1% of purse winnings with these 150 horses, that moves a bigger needle than people realize. And it means a lot, the thought that the owners think about the backside, and those who support it." DeVaux and Ingordo have...

NBCUniversal presents a comprehensive slate of content and promotion ahead of and during the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday. Live coverage from Churchill Downs begins with five hours of Kentucky Oaks day racing Friday,  beginning at 1 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock. Coverage begins at noon Saturday on USA Network and Peacock and continues on NBC and Peacock at 2:30 p.m. Over the two days, NBC Sports will present 15 live races from Churchill Downs. Telemundo Deportes will present coverage of the Kentucky Derby, beginning Saturday at 6:30 p.m....