Kentucky Oaks

Judy Hicks will be the first to say that it's not the fanciest farm in Kentucky. The fences are not painted and the lawns are not perfectly manicured. But there is good soil at Brookstown Farm and there is plenty of it, enough to where no more than six of the 100 horses who reside there ever share the same pasture. Hicks and her husband R.W. purchased the 600-acre property located just outside of Versailles in 1983 and since then, R.W. has been meticulous in fertilizing and re-seeding the pastures...

For trainer Kenny McPeek it was an unforgettable weekend. He struck first with Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in the GI Kentucky Oaks and came back the next day to win the GI Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan (Goldencents). McPeek became the first trainer since Plain Ben Jones in 1952 to win both the Oaks and Derby the same year. How did he pull it off? What's next for Mystik Dan? Why was he so confident before each race? Those were among the questions our panel asked McPeek when he appeared...

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 -- All week, trainer Kenny McPeek had been telling the media, 'they better bring a bear because I have a grizzly.' Many would have thought that McPeek, sometimes regarded as a master of hyperbole, was overstating his chances. It turns out he wasn't. Armed with plenty of natural speed, Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) lived up to her name by scampering to a three-length victory over last year's champion juvenile filly Just F Y I (Justify) in...

The beast of the Bayou is now a queen in Kentucky, as Brittlyn Stables' homebred Ova Charged (Star Guitar) overcame a slow break and managed to gut it out late in Friday's GIII Unbridled Sidney S. It was her fifth consecutive victory, 13th from her 16 lifetime starts and fourth from as many appearances in turf sprint events. The 3-5 jolly off a 12 1/2-length dusting of her fellow Louisiana-breds in the Mar. 24 Page Cortez S.--for which she earned a massive 113 Beyer Speed Figure--Ova Charged was off a...

1st-Churchill Downs, $119,775, Msw, 5-3, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:15.90, sy, 12 3/4 lengths. SUNDANCE FEATURE (f, 4, Speightstown--Kinsey {SP, $134,810}, by Delaware Township) was a game second in her Turfway debut March 28 and really stepped up in her first try on the main track at Churchill. The 3-1 third choice was quick off the blocks and intent on the lead, keeping pressure on Sally O'Malley (Goldencents) from just off that runner's shoulder before drawing past with ease off the far turn. The class of the field with a...

This week's morning action at Churchill Downs only served to entice onlookers by the sheer breadth and quality of contenders set to line up for the 150th renewal of the GI Kentucky Oaks and its undercard Friday. A stacked field of 14 is set for the Oaks, led by the 7-2 morning line choice Tarifa (Bernardini), who drew post 8 but moves in to the seven slot following Thursday's scratch of Tapit Jenallie (Tapit). Flavien Prat has the mount on the GII Rachel Alexandra S. and GII Fair Grounds 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...