Samy Camacho

Bob Baffert told TDN via text last week it would be "exciting" to have a horse run at Churchill Downs for the first time in more than three years. Four months ago, on July 19, the gaming corporation that owns the track rescinded a ruling-off it had imposed upon the Hall-of-Fame trainer in 2021 because of a string of drug positives in horses Baffert trained, including one in Churchill's most prominent race, that year's GI Kentucky Derby. The colt who tested positive for an overage of betamethasone was Medina Spirit,...

After initially saying he was uninjured following a spill he was involved in on Sunday at Monmouth Park--and even riding two races later--jockey Jorge Luis Gonzalez revealed Monday that he suffered a stable fracture of his L3 vertebrae from the incident that could sideline him four to six weeks. Gonzalez went for tests at Monmouth Medical Center late Sunday night after feeling discomfort. "I'm in a lot of pain now," he said. In addition, jockey Samy Camacho, involved in the same spill, will undergo further evaluation Monday in Florida to...

Peter Brant's Salimah (Ire) (El Kabeir), the first American starter for her Yeomanstown Stud-based sire and former 'TDN Rising Star', matched that feat with a highly impressive debut success Saturday afternoon at Tampa Bay Downs. As skinny as 4-5 in the latter stages of the wagering, the Peter Brant runner eased out all the way to 7-5 and was 13-10 when the gates flew. Off to a hesitant beginning beneath Samy Camacho, Salimah was allowed to find a rhythm and raced with just two of her rivals behind her as...

With his second Tampa Bay Downs jockeys title already locked up, Samy Camacho secured his third jockey challenge win at Tampa. Riding four winners on Wednesday's card, he added three more wins Thursday capture his third $5,000 Jockeys' Challenge title. Camacho secured the $2,500 first-place prize with 103 points. Wilmer Garcia, who finished second with 76 points, earned a $1,500 bonus, while Keiber Coa and Marcos Meneses tied for third with 55 points, each earning $500. The leading trainers, with two victories apiece today, are Earl Robinson and Brian Lusk....

With Saratoga, Del Mar and a number of other tracks effectively eliminating jockeys from coming and going due to fears they will spread the coronavirus, attention now turns to Churchill Downs and the GI Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs President Kevin Flannery and his team are no doubt mulling whether or not they will put similar restrictions in place, effectively allowing only Kentucky-based riders to compete during the five days of racing. It's not exactly an easy call, but their number one priority has to be safety. And that means following...