The road to the Kentucky Derby will run through Arkansas this weekend and TVG will be broadcasting live from Oaklawn Park with full coverage of the $1 million Arkansas Derby as the undefeated Concert Tour puts his perfect record on the line. There will also be expanded coverage of Keeneland's Spring Meet which features a pair of Grade 1 events this weekend – the $300,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1) on Friday and the $300,000 Coolmore (G1) Jenny Wiley on Saturday.
TVG's Britney Eurton, Matt Carothers and Caton Bredar will be live from Oaklawn Park with insights and analysis throughout the thirteen-race card. The Arkansas Derby (GI) offers 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers and has drawn a field of six including two contenders for trainer Bob Baffert who saddled Nadal to victory in this race last year. Rebel Stakes (G2) winner Concert Tour, undefeated from three starts, is a homebred for Gary and Mary West and will have Joel Rosario aboard. His rivals will include stablemate Hozier, the runner-up in the Rebel Stakes with Martin Garcia in the irons.
Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner and Eclipse Award winning sprinter Whitmore will get a rematch with C Z Rocket in the $500,000 Count Fleet Handicap (G3) after a narrow defeat in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes in March. Whitmore, trained by Ron Moquett, will be making his fifth appearance in the Count Fleet Handicap (G3) and has won it three times. Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be aboard.
Todd Schrupp, Simon Bray, Joaquin Jaime, Caleb Keller, Gabby Gaudet and Scott Hazelton will be broadcasting live from Keeneland with exclusive interviews, expert analysis and insights throughout the star-studded weekend of racing. The featured event of Friday's ten-race card is the $300,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1) which has drawn a contentious field of nine turf specialists including Raging Bull (FR), the 7-2 morning line favorite for Chad Brown. Owned by Peter Brant, the Grade-1 winning millionaire has been freshened since a tenth-place finish in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.
There will also be Kentucky Derby points at stake on Saturday in the $200,000 Lexington Stakes (G3) with 20-8-4-2 qualifying points allocated to the top four finishers. The race has drawn a field of ten including Proxy who will be trying to break through and earn his first graded stakes victory for recent Dubai World Cup (G1) winning trainer Michael Stidham. The Godolphin-homebred was last seen finishing fourth in the Louisiana Derby (G1).
Fillies and mares will take center stage on Saturday at Keeneland in the $300,000 Coolmore Jenny Wiley (G1) which has attracted a field of six contenders. Micheline, a homebred daughter of Bernardini for Godolphin, will try to earn her first Grade 1 win and was last seen taking the Hillsborough Stakes (G2) at Tampa Bay Downs. Both she and Lexington Stakes (G3) Proxy are offspring of graded stakes-winning millionaire mare Panty Raid.
TVG's Mike Joyce, Christina Blacker and Dave Weaver will be reporting live from Santa Anita with full coverage of the nine-race card. The featured race is a one-mile allowance/optional claiming race with a competitive field of nine including graded stakes winner Grammer who will be returning to action for the first time since the 2020 Travers Stakes (G1) for trainer Bob Baffert.
Fans of international racing can also tune in for the action from Royal Randwick for Championship Day 1 featuring the $2 million Australian Derby (G1) and the $3 million Doncaster Mile (G1). Jason Witham will be anchoring the Australian coverage Friday night.
In addition to racing from Keeneland, Oaklawn and Santa Anita, TVG will feature racing from Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.
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