Kentucky Oaks

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...

MGSP Tapit Jenallie (Tapit) was scratched Thursday morning from Friday's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks by trainer Eddie Milligan, Jr. according to Churchill Downs media. With the scratch, GII Fair Grounds Oaks runner up Our Pretty Woman (Medaglia d'Oro) now draws into the race. Our Pretty Woman, racing for Courtlandt Farms from the Steve Asmussen barn, will break from the outside post and gets Joel Rosario in the irons.   Trainer Eddie Milligan Jr. has confirmed that Tapit Jenallie will not run in the Kentucky Oaks. Also eligible Our Pretty Woman...

To most people, 88 is just a number. But to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, it already holds special meaning. It was the year he famously collected his first Kentucky Derby win, with a filly no less. The amazon Winning Colors became only the third filly in history to accomplish the feat. Armed with B C Stable's Just Steel (Justify) for the latest renewal, a win would also earn the 88-year-old Lukas the distinction of becoming the oldest trainer to win the Classic in its 150-year history. Since...

Featuring $200-million worth of improvements in its new paddock area, Churchill Downs hosted the draw ceremony for next weekend's GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks during its opening night card Saturday. As usual, the proceedings drew some cheers, and jeers, from the crowd. Possibly numbered among the latter, the connections of the 5-2 morning line favorite 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) couldn't have been overly thrilled with drawing post 17 for Saturday's Run for the Roses. Campaigned by his breeder Mike Repole, the reigning juvenile champ comes...

Edited Press Release Churchill Downs Incorporated established the "Safety from Start to Finish" program in March 2009 to formalize its comprehensive approach to continual improvement of the health and safety protocols and policies for horses and humans who work, train, compete and attend racing events at Churchill Downs Racetrack. Following a comprehensive evaluation of existing safety protocols and a thorough assessment of industry best practices in June 2023, Churchill Downs has implemented several key enhancements to the Safety from Start to Finish Program for 2024, including: -Investment in Surface Management:...

'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), the likely favorite for next Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, completed his final breeze for the first leg of the Triple Crown with a half-mile work Friday in :48.80 (43/68). Working under jockey John Velazquez and in company with fellow 'Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road), the Repole Stables homebred and runaway GI Curlin Florida Derby winner worked through fractions of :12.80, :24.80, :36.80 and :48.80 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.60, six furlongs in 1:12.60 and seven-eighths in 1:26. "I'm very, very...

Ribble Farms, Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver and Kenneth and Dave Fishbein's Honor Marie (Honor Code) worked five furlongs in company with his stakes-placed stablemate Agoo (Munnings) in a bullet :59.20 (1/11) over a fast track on a chilly Thursday morning at Churchill Downs. With jockey Ben Curtis aboard for trainer Whit Beckman, the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. winner and GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby runner-up clicked off fractions of :12, :23.80, :35.60, :47.40 and :59.20. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.60 and seven-eighths in 1:27.60. "We can take one breath...

A new HISA computer model to identify at-risk horses is being used by Churchill Downs officials to complement existing track safety nets, representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced during Tuesday's press conference on equine safety protocols in place for this year's GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks. "It's essentially a model that looks at 44 potential risk factors that might cause a horse to be at risk for injury," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, who added that the...

Granpollo Stable's Grand Mo the First (Uncle Mo), aiming for the May 4 GI Kentucky Derby, breezed six furlongs at Gulfstream Tuesday while GI Kentucky Oaks aspirant, Stonehedge LLC's Fiona's Magic (St. Patrick's Day), also continued preparations in south Florida. The Victor Barboza Jr.-trained colt, who finished a distant third behind early Derby favorite Fierceness (City of Light) in the Mar. 30 GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream, was timed in 1:16.48 under jockey Emisael Jaramillo before galloping out a mile. "The six-furlong workout this morning, I really liked it,"...

Beginning Thursday and continuing through May 1, fans can visit Churchill Downs free of charge from 7-10 a.m. to watch horses preparing for the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks. Horses train on Churchill Downs' main track daily from 5:15-10 a.m. There will be an exclusive training window only for Derby and Oaks participants from 7:30-7:45 a.m. following the 7-7:30 a.m. renovation break. Those horses will be identified by special saddle towels which include their names: yellow saddle towels for Derby horses and pink saddle towels for Oaks contenders....

Champion filly Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) will return to the scene of her greatest triumph when she kicks off her 4-year-old campaign in the May 3 GI La Troienne S. at Churchill Downs. Pretty Mischievous won last year's GI Kentucky Oaks, a win that went a long way toward her earning an Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding 3-year-old filly. "She's been doing great and working very well," trainer Brendan Walsh said. "We're very happy with the way she has progressed from three to four. We won't know until we...

The GI Kentucky Derby picture may seem polarized by two more charismatic talents, but any neutral who ekes a living from bloodstock now has an alternative rooting interest. For among the colts entering those 20 coveted gates, the first Saturday in May, there will be no better symbol than Stronghold (Ghostzapper) of what it takes to last the course in the appallingly expensive, demoralizing, perplexing, maddening and addictive vocation of Thoroughbred breeding. The GI Santa Anita Derby winner carries the silks of Eric and Sharon Waller, who bred his third...