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It appears the Run for the Roses is the Todd and Bob Show as in trainers Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert. Here are my Top 10 contenders for the Kentucky Derby from bottom to top Dave Letterman style:
Super Saver: One of the many Kentucky Derby hopefuls trained by Todd Pletcher. The son of Maria’s Mon has been training well, but is scheduled to debut as a 3-year-old until next month. Next race: Gotham Stakes on March 6 at Aqueduct.
Drosselmeyer: His fourth place finish in the Risen Star was too bad, making up nearly 2 ½ lengths in the stretch and losing by less than 1 ¾ lengths. It was the son of Golden Ballet’s second trip on dirt after winning in allowance company at Gulfstream. Next race: Louisiana Derby on March 27 at Fair Grounds.
Buddy’s Saint: Two race winning streak snapped was snapped by son of Saint Liam when he had a disastrous start in the Fountain of Youth. Jockey Jose Lezcano said right after ninth place finish... -
Ten Florida Derby winners during the past 54 years have won the Kentucky Derby. The first was Nashua in 1955 and the last was Big Brown in ’08.
But nary a 3-year-old who triumphed in Gulfstream Park’s premier stakes race, scheduled for March 20, captured the Triple Crown. In ’56, Needles came the closet. The Florida Derby winner, named for being inoculated often as a sickly foal, defeated Fabius by three-quarters of a length in the Kentucky Derby – the first victorious Florida bred.
But Fabius, eighth in the Florida Derby, upset Needles in the Preakness by three-quarters of a length. Needles took the Belmont Stakes while Fabius finished third.
The previous year, Swaps cost Nashua the Triple Crown by winning the Kentucky Derby by 1½ lengths. In ’58, Tim Tam missed out finishing second in the Belmont to Cavan with a broken bone in the joint between the knee and the hoof. In ’68, Forward Pass lost by 1¼ lengths to State Door Johnn... -
How a 3-year-old runs in Gulfstream Park’s second oldest stakes race often foretells a good showing in the Florida Derby.
Five of the past 15 Fountain of Youth (FOY) winners repeated in the track’s premier offering: Quality Road, last year; Scat Daddy, 2007; High Fly, ’05; Vicar, ’99; and Thunder Gulch, ’95.
Since ’79, only Spectacular Bid and Thunder Gulch scored the triple, taking the FOY, Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. However, FOY runners-up Go for Gin, ’94, and Pleasant Colony, ’81, plus third-place finishers Unbridled, ’90, and Swale, ’84, were successful on the first Saturday in May.
The first FOY winner to capture the Florida and Kentucky derbies was Tim Tam in ’58.
Saturday’s 64th running of the $250,000 Grade 2 has been lengthened to 1 1/8 miles from last year’s a mile, the sixth different distance since favored Twenty Thirty won the inaugural at 1 1/16 miles in 1945 during Gulfstream’s third season. The purse... -
The first of three Kentucky Derby future wager pools opens Friday and runs through Sunday for the 136th renewal of America’s Race on the first Saturday in May.
The pools were shortened a day to three because little betting was conducted on Thursdays. Exacta wagering introduced with last year’s second pool will be available in all three along with the standard win bet.
The future wager covers 23 individual 3-year-olds, with some pretty good odds, and a 24th betting interest that includes other runners. The minimum bet: $2 with no refunds if a horse doesn’t go. Churchill Downs determines which are excluded of illness, injury or another condition.
The remaining pools in March are scheduled for 5-7 and 26-28.
Last year’s wagering totaled $1,236,299, a slight rebound from the second-lowest total in 2008. The lowest was $1,665,990 in ’03.
Opening pool favorites likely will include the 1-2 finishers in the ’0... -
A fairly new American saying describes Santa Anita Park: What goes around comes around.
Is it really a case of justice served? I believe the more accurate interpretation is the status of Santa Anita’s main track is returning to its original surface after completing some sort of synthetic cycle,
The startling announcement came from track president Ron Charles during a barrage of heavy rains that began Jan. 17 and forced cancellation of three racing days during that week:
The Pro-Ride synthetic surface will be removed at the conclusion of the winter meeting, April 18, and a return to a dirt surface is “very seriously being considered.”
What other surface is there? Can you spell conventional dirt?I recall when South Florida tracks endured rain aplenty, especially after a tropical storm.
During the 1990s, Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course survived monster rainstorms in the spring and fall, some when I w... -
I saw my first Holy Bull Stakes when it was called the
Preview Stakes in the early 1990s. I especially remember the ’94 renewal when Go for Gin defeated Halo’s Image and ran the fastest time for 14 of the races staged at 1 1/16 miles – 1:41 3/5.
Holy Bull swallowed his palate and finished off the board. But the loser had surgery and bounced back in the Florida Derby, winning by 5 ¾ lengths, while Go for Gin was fourth.
The Gulfstream Park race might have been called the Go for Gin after he captured the 120th Kentucky Derby while Holy Bull was finishing 12th after breaking slowly, being carried very wide in the slop and tiring badly.
After missing the remaining two legs of the Triple Crown in which Go for Gin was the runner-up, Holy Bull reeled off five consecutive victories in graded stakes, earning top 3-year-old honors and Horse of the Year.
Saturday’s 21st renewal, shortened to a mile from 1 1/8 mil... -
“It’s a two-horse race” applies off the track between two talented ladies this season. At stake: 2009 Horse of the Year.
The last female to win the honor was 4-year-old Azeri in ’02 when she captured eight of nine races, including the BC Distaff, defeating every contending filly and mare. But she was the only other filly besides Moccasin in ’65 without a victory over males.
Sooo, let’s get ready to rummmbleeee:
In this corner, Rachel Alexandra, the top 3-year-old that won the middle jewel of the Triple Crown and beat the boys three times, going undefeated in eight outings on conventional dirt.
In the other corner, Zenyatta, top older horse that became the first female to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic, unbeaten in five races on synthetic surfaces, that retired a perfect 14 for 14.
Opinions on which Eclipse Award finalist deserves the award that will be announced on Monday, Jan. 18, are as divided as the politi... -
There are so many types of exotic bets available to horseplayers nowadays that novices are often confused about how to wager.
I remember back when the racetracks I visited at an early age offered only one exotic wager – the daily double. Unlike today, that bet only included the first and second races.
One of my favorite exotic wagers is the Pick 3 for several reasons:
Studies illustrate betting a win parlay covering the three races in a Pick 3 usually pays less than the exotic ticket including the same horses.
The probability of picking winners in three straight contests, depending on the races, is often higher than hitting your favorite exotic wagers in the same set of races.
I always look to single a horse in one of the races, but not a favorite for obvious reasons.
The worst payoffs occur when an odds-on horse captures any of the Pick 3 races or low-priced choices score in two races despit... -
The declining U.S. economy has impacted the horse racing industry in many areas, especially when it comes to breeding. Stud fees that began falling in 2007 continued this year.
Citing the economic situation that face breeding and sales in North America and Europe, Sheikh Mohammed’s operation at Darley, Ky., recently announced fees for 37 of its 40 stallions on both continents would remain unchanged or decrease next year.
One of the exceptions is the hot U.S. sire Medaglia d’Oro that was acquired from Stonewall Solutions in June. The purchase price was not disclosed. He had been standing for an advertised stud fee of $40,000 at Stonewall, but by the time of his sale that had jumped to $60,000.
Medaglia d’Oro’s fee rises again to a whopping $100,000 next year, prompted by super filly Rachel Alexandra, who whipped the boys in the Preakness, Haskell and Woodward en route to possible Horse of the Year honors.
The Kentucky-bred h... -
The Cigar Mile, named for the top money-winning thoroughbred for a decade, has attracted several contenders that raced at the distance only once.
Well, Cigar ran a mile on the dirt only twice in his 33-race career, both times at Aqueduct where the Grade 1 has been held except for 1993 since debuting in ’88 as the NYRA Mile. He won by seven lengths on Nov. 26, 1994, a month after taking an allowance race by eight lengths.
Those two victories were the start of a 16-race winning streak that equaled Citation’s modern-day North American record. The son of Palace Music retired in ’96 with earnings of $9,999, 813. When Curlin retired in ’08, his earnings topped $10.5 million.
The main combatants have raced at distances from six furlongs to 1 ¼ miles.
Vineyard Haven and Kodiak Kowboy, top contenders in Saturday’s renewal, have finished first and fifth respectively in their only outings on American tracks at a mile. Kodiak Kowb... -
Gulfstream Park played musical stakes six weeks before its 68th season opens on Sunday, Jan. 3. It involves the much-heralded Run for the Roses.
Back in August, track officials announced the stakes schedule, which had the 59th Florida Derby tabbed for March 27, five Saturdays before the Kentucky Derby. But in November it was moved back to March 20, most likely to avoid conflicting with another traditional Derby prep, the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.
In turn, the $250,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes, usually held four weeks before the $750,000 Florida Derby, was reset for Feb. 20. Meanwhile, the Fountain of Youth will return to 1 1/8 miles from a mile, the same distance as the Florida Derby.
The $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes, staged at 1 1/8 miles the past two renewals, will revert back to a mile on Jan. 23.
“Gulfstream Park’s well-diversified racing program is universally well known, but the accent, for the... -
Hialeah Park, 84 years after its debut in the Roaring ’20s, is back from the dead and on track to hold the first of two meetings 48 hours after Thanksgiving.
It has been eight years since the last thoroughbred race was staged at the historic South Florida landmark. At one time Hialeah was known as “the most beautiful racetrack in the world” because of its grand architecture, fountains and statues besides exotic scenery and a magnificent turf course.
While the facility is a shell of itself today, scores of construction workers are laboring feverishly in double shifts repairing, landscaping and painting so the grand reopening can take place on Nov. 28.
All three floors of the clubhouse, including several restaurants, will be open to fans, but other parts of the facility will be closed as renovations continue.
Horses began arriving Nov. 12 and will be stabled in nearly 1,000 temporary stalls. This time, however, the stars... -
Favorites generally win one-third of the time at American racetracks. During the current Oak Tree meeting, however, top choices scored 40 percent through Oct. 29.
The Breeders’ Cup, dating back to the inaugural event in 1984, has produced winning favorites 34 ½ percent in 196 races.
The biggest upset in BC history came in the ’93 Classic when European import Arcangues triumphed at a whopping 133-1.
Eight of 14 winners last year at Santa Anita returned double-digit payoffs. The highest return was compliments of Desert Code who paid $75 on the front end, producing a $29,663.30 superfecta.
In the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, two horses that won at the 1 1/16 miles are capable of springing an upset: Smart Seattle, 8-1, and Lisa’s Kitten, 12-1.
In the Filly and Mare Sprint, Evita Argentina appears the best of three 20-1 shots with a chance off her 3 for 6 record on synthetic surfaces despite the presence o... -
Here are my picks for the 26th Breeders’ Cup starting with Friday:
$500,000 Marathon, 1 ¾ miles: None of the 10 horses has gone this far. Nite Lite, Cloudy’s Knight and Mastery show the best recent form. But I’m passing.
$1 Million Juvenile Fillies Turf, a mile: My exacta box is Smart Seattle, Lisa’s Kitten and Tapestry, all winners at the distance.
$2 Million Juvenile Fillies, 1 1/16 miles: Blind Luck and Always a Princess, 1-2 in the Oak Leaf on the Pro-Ride, will battle it out. There’re in the first leg of my Pick 3.
$2 Million Filly and Mare Turf, 1 ¼ miles: Forever Together, aiming to repeat, and Pure Clan possess best running style and haven’t been off the board in graded stakes during the year. The latter is 3 of 5 at the distance. I’m tossing in Connie and Michael, impressive maiden winner at Keeneland.
$1 Million Filly and Mare Sprint, 7 furlongs: Ventura just might be the... -
The 2008 Breeders’ Cup saw no runner going wire to wire in any of the 14 races at Santa Anita Park on the Pro-Ride surface or the grass in sprints or routes.
Only Midshipman led after a half-mile after breaking slowly and went on the win the BC Juvenile at 1 1/16 miles by 1 ¼ lengths.
The son of Unbridled’s Song came the closest to bucking the trend last fall during the Oak Tree meeting when only 5 percent of the first 14 winners led all the way at the distance before the two-day event.
Midshipman, after missing the Triple Crown season this year because of an injury, goes in the Dirt Mile on Saturday, Nov. 7, against a formidable full field that will include Mastercraftsman, Cowboy Cal, Regal Ransom, Bullsbay, Chocolate Candy and Pyro, the only returnee hoping to improve his sixth-place finish.
Last year, 18 percent of 11 winners were in front at every call at a mile on the main track before the BC races.
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A surprising number horses pre-entered in this year’s Breeders’ Cup 14 races are looking to defend their titles or register their second victory in the 26th renewal of the World Championships.
Six of the 166 horses are defending their 2008 BC titles, three are gunning for repeat victories in a different race and one hopes to triumph again after a three-year interval during the Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park meeting.
Thirty-seven thoroughbreds were pre-entered in two races during the two-day event, but a final choice must be made Tuesday when post positions are drawn. ... -
Breeders’ Cup officials, not to be outdone by President Obama, have decided this is the year of change for the 26th renewal of the World Thoroughbred Championships.
Early on two fan friendly changes were made. First, tickets to the BC races at San Anita Park during the Oak Tree meeting were made available online for the first time.
Secondly, those hard-to-read purple saddlecloths were pulled in favor of the more sensible variety of colors used at North American tracks. Naturally, the purple saddlecloth with the traditional No. 10 remains. In addition,
sponsors of specific races will still display their logos.
The switch was made, BC officials said, after consulting with a fan advisory council and bettors across the U.S. and Canada.
There’s also a new betting wrinkle involving the Pick 6. There will be another one on the first BC program. The $500,000 Marathon was shifted to Friday, Nov. 6, to lead off five consecutive c... -
Jackson Bend will attempt to become the sixth 2-year-old to sweep all three open Florida Stallion Stakes divisions in the 18th renewal at Calder Race Course on Saturday.
The son of Hear No Evil has won three in a row, including the Affirmed and Dr. Fager. In the Affirmed on Aug. 29, the colt defeated Mr. Green by 1 ½ lengths with Bim Bam another four lengths back in third. Time for seven furlongs was 1:25.
In the Dr. Fager on Aug. 8, it was the same order of finish: Jackson Bend edged Mr. Green by three-quarters of a length while Bim Bam finished three lengths further behind in third. The six furlongs was covered in 1:12 2/5.
In both races, Jackson Bend came from off the pace to catch Mr. Green in the stretch.
On Sept. 26, Bim Bam record his first stakes victory in the Foolish Pleasure, covering the mile and 70 yards in 1:45 3/5.
Last Saturday, Bim Bam prepped for the 28th In Reality, going five fu... -
Mine That Bird attempts to become the first Kentucky Derby champ to win the $350,000 Goodwood Stakes as a 3-year-old during Oak Tree’s 41st meeting at Santa Anita Park.
Two others that triumphed in the Run for the Roses captured the Goodwood as 4-year-olds: Silver Charm in 1998 and Ferdinand in ’87.
Only two sophomores have scored since the inaugural in ’82, including Tiznow, who won in ’00 before posting the first of two consecutive Breeders’ Cup Classic victories.
Two other winners also were victorious in the BC Classic: Pleasantly Perfect in ’03, the last back-to-winner, and Ferdinand in ’87.
Tiago, one of this year’s contenders, scored two years ago as a 3-year-old after running seventh to Street Sense in the Kentucky Derby. The 5-year-old son of Pleasant Tap, second last year to Well Armed, covered six furlongs in 1:12 2/5 handily last Saturday at Hollywood Park.
Mine That Bird, the probable favorite hop... -
Five new honorees will be inducted into the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame on Saturday at Retama Park.
The new members are racing legends Harold V. Goodman and Jeff Carr, plus three horses. In addition, former Texas Sen. O. H. “Ike” Carr of Dallas will receive the JoAnn Weber Distinguished Service Award.
Goodman, a prominent horse owner and breeder, was 1994 Texas Breeder of the Year. His Two Altazano, one of the few Texas-bred fillies to win a Grade 1, captured four graded thoroughbred stakes 15 years ago.
In ’92, Goodman purchased an interest in A.P. Indy, the Breeders’ Cup Classic champ and Horse of the Year. He succumbed to cancer on Jan. 13, 1995, one day before he was scheduled to accept the award as the top Texas breeder of ’94 and the award for Two Altazano as the year’s champion Texas-bred 3-year-old filly.
Goodman’s son, Harold, will accept the Hall of Fame award for his father at the South Texas track.
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Woodrow Wilson was president, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 660 and Sir Barton became the first Triple Crown winner when Belmont Park inaugurated the Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational.
The year was 1919. The winner: Purchase. The purse: $5,850.
Purchase was headed to the Kentucky Derby when he reared up in his stall, caught a front hoof in a haystack and was slightly injured. The son of Ormondale also missed the Preakness.
The colt still won nine of 11 races during his sophomore year, including a three-length victory over Sir Barton in the Dwyer, and was the runner-up in two other stakes.
Four Triple Crown champs have captured the Gold Cup, including Gallant Fox in ’30 and Citation in ’48. Two others scored when they turned 4: Whirlaway, ’42, and Affirmed, ’79. &nb... -
Louisiana Downs launched the Super Derby in 1980. It pitted winners of two Triple Crown races: Kentucky Derby champ and Belmont winner Temperance Hill.
Genuine Risk was the second filly in history to capture the Run for the Roses since Regret in ’15. Temperance Hill defeated Genuine Risk in the Belmont while Preakness victor Codex was injured finishing seventh and never raced again.
The $500,000 Super Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 ¼
pitted Genuine Risk, also runner-up in the Preakness, and Temperance Hill, who missed Pimlico’s premier race because of a minor injury after skipping the Derby.
The winner: Temperance Hill. Genuine Risk ran second to become the first female to hit the board in all three Triple Crown events.
The last of three Belmont champs to take the Super Derby came in ’96, Editor’s Note, who also was the last winner of a Triple Crown event to score.
The 1980s was Super Derby’s shining dec... -
The $750,000 Woodward Stakes is named for the breeder and horse owner that chaired the Jockey Club from 1930 to ’50, the breed registry for thoroughbreds in North America.
William Woodward’s famous Belair Stud colors (white silks with cherry red dots) were carried to victory 631 times from ’23 to ’53. Belair Stable, part of Belair Stud, was one of the premier racing outfits.
Woodward winners included the father-son Triple Crown duo of Gallant Fox in ’30 and ’Omaha in ’35. He also owned Nashua, ’55 Horse of the Year who only lost as a 3-year-old in the Kentucky Derby, but defeated victorious Swaps in a match race.
Until closing in ’57, Belair Stable in Bowie, Md., was the oldest continually operated horse farm in the United States that dated back 250 years. It was later restored and is a museum open to the public.
The last sophomore to capture the 1 1/8-mile contest was Easy Goer in ’89, only the 12th in 55 renewals. But tha... -
It will be an all-male field when the 140th Travers Stakes is staged Saturday at Saratoga, featuring Belmont winner Summer Bird and six challengers.
That’s because owners of Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra have other fish to fry. In addition, Kentucky Derby champ Mine That Bird is skipping the 1 ¼-mile contest, his co-owners announced Wednesday, because he needs time to fully heal from entrapped epiglottis surgery on Aug. 18.
“We decided to err on the side of caution and pass this race up and aim down the road to the Breeders’ Cup,” trainer Chip Woolley said with his bosses Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach beside him at Saratoga.
“There’s one little spot underneath the epiglottis pushing up just a tiny bit and after studying and looking at it,” Woolley said, “we’re going to hold off and make sure the horse is okay and not take any chances with the rest of his career.”
Mine That Bird looked good breezing a half-mile i... -
Rachel Alexandra’s command center should call the shot that would be heard around the racing world – send the filly to the Travers Stakes.
That’s probably the only time winners of each Triple Crown race could meet. Alexandra the Great won’t be at Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup since her camp is against running on synthetic surfaces.
All three are working at Saratoga so it makes sense to race in the Mid-Summer Derby. The Bird brothers, Mine That and Summer, are scheduled to run.
But there’s only a one-in-five chance that the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro will make the Travers even though she fired a bullet 1:00 1/5 for five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track on a foggy Monday morning.
“She looked beautiful coming down the lane,” trainer Steve Asmussen told Brisnet.com: “I saw her approaching the eighth-pole and past the wire down to the turn. And the words (that) came out of (exercise rider) Dominic’s (Terry) mouth: ‘...
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