Details for the Derby

The twin spires of Churchill Downs will watch over the 146th Kentucky Derby while the spectators will not be on site.
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The twin spires of Churchill Downs will watch over the 146th Kentucky Derby while the spectators will not be on site.
The twin spires of Churchill Downs will watch over the 146th Kentucky Derby while the spectators will not be on site.

Delayed but not dismissed, the Derby is on at the Downs! The 146th Kentucky Derby field developed over a long and altered road but on Saturday, September 5, 2020, Churchill Downs will deliver “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports”! Read on for the most important details for the Derby.

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Points from the Pegasus: Last Kentucky Derby Prep

The 2020 Pegasus Stakes serves as the final race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby
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The 2020 Pegasus Stakes serves as the final race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby
The 2020 Pegasus Stakes serves as the final race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby!

The elongated and altered Road to the Kentucky Derby is finally coming to an end. When Churchill Downs hosted the first KY Derby prep race, the Iroquois Stakes, in September 2019 we had a firm series of races to lead us to the first Saturday in May. Nearly a year has passed and the KY Derby, delayed by a global pandemic, will race this September. There is a nice long list of potential contenders and one more race to try to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. The Pegasus Stakes offers just enough KY Derby points to make entry into the great race possible. Four of eight contenders in today’s Pegasus Stakes are in the top 25 of the leaderboard. Read on to see who might climb up to squeeze into to the top 20, to Run for the Roses.

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Tiz the Travers

2020 Travers Stakes at Saratoga!
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Saratoga presents the 2020 Runhappy Travers Stakes.

Tiz the season to be racing! It is Travers Eve and all of the good little racing fans are receiving an early Mid-Summer Derby. The 151st edition of the Runhappy Travers Stakes is indeed the gift that will keep on giving. This Grade I Classic traditionally serves as the highlight of the Thoroughbred racing season for 3 year-old champions. That is still true but this year is so much more mysterious. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, everything is different in 2020. Horse racing has done a marvelous job withstanding a current cancellation culture. Despite alterations to the typical racing schedule, the win, place and show must go on. Tiz the Travers and the presents are the Man o’ War Cup and a post position in the Kentucky Derby!

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Keeneland: Continued Quality

Keeneland's 2019 Spring Meet!
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Keeneland's 2019 Spring Meet!
Keeneland’s 2019 Spring Meet!

Just as April showers bring May flowers, Keeneland’s Spring Meet ushers in the finest in Kentucky racing. The 16 days of live racing took place between April 4th and 26th of 2019. The meet was a success in which 18 stakes, including preps for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby, were raced. Many thoroughbreds added a stakes win to their racing career and new owner, trainer, and jockey titles were announced.

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Stakes at Santa Anita Serve as Derby Preps

Mucho Gusto, winner at Del Mar!
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Mucho Gusto, winner at Del Mar!
Mucho Gusto, winner at Del Mar!

The Road to the Kentucky Derby travels through the west coast this weekend on its long trip to the bluegrass. Santa Anita’s track has seen plenty of future KY Derby winners over the past several years. Several key stakes races at Santa Anita reward KY Derby points. This weekend, Santa Anita will host its third prep race for the KY Derby and the second of three prep races for their own Santa Anita Derby, one of the most important races leading up to the KY Derby. Four of six contenders will earn KY Derby points. Who will triumph in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes?

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The Remington Road to the Kentucky Derby

Knicks Go holds the 2nd position on the 2019 Kentucky Derby leaderboard.
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The third place contender on the 2019 Kentucky leaderboard, Signalman!

The path to the 2019 Kentucky Derby is long and thrice branched but we have already raced the first lucky 13 preps.  The leaderboard is stacked full of talent and many of these thoroughbreds  have proven their skill in multiple races.  With only one more prep race in America, on the 2018 calendar, this is the last chance for the contenders to show their star power as 2 years-old.  Run with us at Remington Park in the Springboard Mile!

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Fifteen Years of Old Friends Farm

Silver Charm stands out as a favorite at Old Friends Farm!

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Little Silver Charm is the only non-thoroughbred equine at Old Friends.
Little Silver Charm is the only non-thoroughbred equine at Old Friends.

Old Friends Farm is celebrating its 15th year of rescuing retired Thoroughbreds.  Operating at 3 locations and home to hundreds of horses, the Georgetown, KY farm is full of famous champions and a broad spectrum of former Thoroughbred racehorses.   On a beautiful Kentucky Fall day I paid the farm another visit.

 

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One Mo Weekend (Mo Yearlings/Mo Money/Mo Racing)

Uncle Mo in his stall at Coolmore's Ashford Stud.

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Uncle Mo has sired many stakes winners and his yearlings are in high demand.
Uncle Mo has sired many stakes winners and his yearlings are in high demand.

The site of a Thoroughbred always leaves me wanting More!  As the 13 session long, Keeneland September Yearling Sale has 3 more days to go we have one Mo weekend to see Mo yearlings, spend or make Mo money and meanwhile enjoy some Mo racing.  Uncle Mo was well represented at Keeneland’s sale and he has a couple more hips in the final 3 sessions.  Additionally, he has sired several horses racing word-wide over these next 3 days.  If you are looking for something Mo, please, read on.

 

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Triple Crown Trends

American Pharoah wins the one and only Grand Slam!

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Justify, our 13th Triple Crown winner!
Justify, our 13th Triple Crown winner!

This week brought the disappointing news that no one wanted but many had already suspected.  Our 13th Triple Crown winner, Justify, retired from racing.  Justify achieved more than I ever would have expected but his 111 day racing career ended sooner than I anticipated.  There are several more races I would have enjoyed seeing him participate in but tragically that won’t happen now.  This got me to thinking,  what are our assumptions about a triple crown winner?  Thus, I set out to examine the triple crown trends.

 

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Jumping for Joy over Justify

Justify races for home in the Belmont Stakes to the 13th Triple Crown victory!

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Justify comes into view as the clear leader of the Belmont Stakes!
Justify comes into view as the clear leader of the Belmont Stakes!

I waited most of my life to witness a Triple Crown victory.  Seattle Slew and Affirmed did it back to back when I was a toddler and the great Secretariat won shortly prior to my birth.  I was raised on the stories but I did not know what it was like to see it with my own eyes.  After following the career of champion California Chrome, I wasn’t sure if I would ever see a Triple Crown winner race.  Then, in 2015, my dream came true.  American Pharoah won after a 37 year drought.  It was emotional and something I knew would always stick with me.  I also thought it may never happen again in my lifetime.  Then, to my surprise a great horse won the Kentucky Derby and once again there was hope for another Triple Crown winner, the hope was in Justify and he did not disappoint.  Justify left me jumping for joy with his win in the Belmont Stakes, our lucky 13th Triple Crown winner!

 

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