Royal Delta

The team at Ben Leon's Besilu Stables had reason for optimism when 3-year-old Dai Vernon (Good Magic) went to the post for his debut over the Ellis Park turf in June, but while they came away disappointed that day, the handsome chestnut colt more than made up for it with a striking last-to-first victory over the main track at the Henderson oval Sunday afternoon. "This is going to be a serious horse," Leon's bloodstock advisor Fabricio Buffolo said when asked about his reaction to Dai Vernon's 5 1/4-length victory Monday....

When it comes to training racehorses, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has pretty much seen it all over the past half a century. In 2019, however, Churchill Downs served as a backdrop for a rare first for the Hall of Famer, who captured his first GI Kentucky Derby with 'TDN Rising Star' Country House (Lookin At Lucky). Fast forward a year and Mott closes in on another personal first, namely his 5,000th career win, which places him seventh overall, and fourth among leading active trainers. "I am proud of...