Kentucky Derby News
April 27, 2016
Mor Spirit Zips Five Furlongs Under Jockey Gary Stevens
Mor Spirit, runner-up to Exaggerator in the April 9 Santa Anita Derby (GI) last time out, put in his first breeze over the Churchill Downs main track for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) on Tuesday morning during Churchill Downs’...
April 27, 2016
Making the Kentucky Derby field
The Kentucky Derby (G1) celebrates its 142nd running on May 7 at Churchill Downs, but how is the 20-strong field assembled? Who makes the decision on which horses gets in and which horses are left out of the starting gate on the first Saturday in May?
Once...
April 27, 2016
Japan's UAE Derby winner Lani breezes; Venus Valentine Preps for Oaks
Koji Maeda’s Lani, winner of the UAE Derby (Group II) in his most recent start, worked three furlongs in :37.40 with blinkers on over a track labeled fast during the 8:30-8:45 a.m. training period reserved for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders.
With...
Features April 27, 2016
Tales from the Crib: Lani
Lani brings international glamor into the 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1), as the Japanese-based winner of the UAE Derby (G2) on Dubai World Cup night. But in fact, he’s a Kentucky-born lad with Derby heroes prominent in his pedigree.
By North America’s...
April 25, 2016
Gun Runner, Creator 'Ideal' In Monday Breezes
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) contenders Creator and Gun Runner’s Monday morning breezes were “ideal” according to trainer Steve Asmussen, who sent both horses out for serious workouts during Churchill Downs’...
April 25, 2016
Five Asmussen Oaks Hopes, Carina Mia Work on Monday
It was a busy Monday for trainer Steve Asmussen, who sent a pair of Kentucky Derby hopes to the Churchill Downs track for Monday works and new fewer than five Longines Kentucky Oaks candidates were on the Churchill Downs racing surface for important breezes.
Breezing...
April 24, 2016
Shagaf, My Man Sam Record First Churchill Downs Works
The Chad Brown-trained duo of My Man Sam and Shagaf recorded their first serious preparations for the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I).
My Man Sam, a late-closing second in the April 9 Toyota Blue Grass (GI) behind Brody’s...
Features April 24, 2016
Tales from the Crib: Exaggerator
Exaggerator has an outsized personality, and that’s no overstatement. The 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) contender was raised at breeder Joseph Murphy’s Stoneleigh Farm near Paris, Kentucky, where Kimberly McCormack had the pleasure of his company....
April 23, 2016
Brody's Cause, Tom's Ready, Fellowship Work at Churchill; Nyquist Breezes at Keeneland
Albaugh Family Stable’s Brody’s Cause began serious preparation for a start in the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) with a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.80 over a fast track Saturday morning at Churchill Downs with exercise...
Features April 23, 2016
Tales from the Crib: Gun Runner
Gun Runner’s name conjures up images of derring-do, hijinks, and dangerous skirting of the law. But this 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) contender is no renegade from the wrong side of the tracks. On the contrary, he’s a regally bred colt who’s...