Churchill Downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Saturday Insights: Half-Brother to Classic Winner Gets Started

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7th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, post time: 3:50 p.m. ET
Joseph Murphy's WOLFE COUNTY (Medaglia d'Oro) is the latest foal to the races for the stakes-placed Dawn Raid (Vindication) making him a half-brother to 2016 GI Preakness S. and GI Haskell Invitational S. hero and WinStar sire Exaggerator (Curlin). Dawn Raid is herself a half-sister to MGSW and Sovereign Award winner Embur's Song (Unbridled's Song). He squares off with fellow debutant Monologue (Runhappy), a half-brother to SW & GISP Endless Chatter (First Samurai) and to SW & G1SP Whitecliffsofdover (War Front). The colt's dam Orate (A.P. Indy) is a full-sister to the late MGSW/GISP Pulpit, while the deeper female family includes champion Minardi (Boundary) and his half-brother Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat). TJCIS PPs

RanJan-Bred Firster Goes Out For Walsh Barn…
6th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, post time: 3:18 p.m. ET
MEAN JAKEY (Violence) cost owner Mike McCarty $340,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale, making him the third-priciest of his successful sire's 66 yearlings (88 ring) reported as sold last year. Bred by Jan Vandebos's RanJan Racing Inc. and trained by Steve Asmussen, the February foal is a half-brother to La La Chrysaor (Speightstown), who has two victories and five minor placings from nine starts to date on the competitive Japan Racing Association circuit. TJCIS PPs

'Rising Star' Returns to Action…
11th-CD, $127K, Allowance, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 5:58 p.m. ET
CARILLO (Union Rags) overcame a rough start and a wide passage on the turn going Aqueduct's one-turn mile Jan. 8 and ran on strongly to become a 'TDN Rising Star' just days before being offered as part of the Paul Pompa Jr. dispersal at Keeneland January. Purchased by Lauren Carlisle on behalf of Greg Tramontin, Joel Politi and Brittlyn Farm for $875,000, Carillo was a distant 10th when last seen in the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 13. The colt's dam Proper Mad (Bernardini), whose half-sister Private Mission (Into Mischief) won this year's GIII Torrey Pines S., was hammered down for $260,000 at the January sale, while her full-sister Gift List is responsible for GISW Dunbar Road (Quality Road). TJCIS PPs

Brant Debuter Looks To Keep Sire Perfect in U.S….
6th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7fT, post time: 3:36 p.m. ET
Bidding on behalf of owner Peter Brant, bloodstock agent Demi O'Byrne went to 300,000gns ($411,561) for LONGRIDGE FELL (IRE) (Ribchester {Ire}) at last year's Tattersalls October Sale. The May foal is a half-sister to the current stakes winner Parchemin (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and is out of a half-sister to SW & MGSP Pelerin (Ire) (Shamardal) and SP Masarah (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}). Ribchester's lone U.S. starter to date, Stonestreet's 350,000gns TATOCT purchase Ruthin (Ire), became a 'TDN Rising Star' on Keeneland debut last April. Among the competition is the debuting Magic Light (Curlin), a homebred half-sister to the late 'Rising Star' Battle of Midway (Smart Strike) and to MSW/MGSP Moretti (Medaglia d'Oro). TJCIS PPs

Pricey Into Mischief Colt Debuts at Gulfstream…
7th-GP, $45K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, post time: 3:58 p.m. ET
SO DETERMINED (Into Mischief) fetched $875,000 from bloodstock agent Jacob West, bidding for Repole Stable and St Elias Stable, at KEESEP last fall, the joint fourth-highest price among 80 (110 ring) of this phenomenal sire's offspring to sell last year. The Florida-bred is out of the unraced Mimi's Tiz (Tiznow), who was purchased by Loren Nichols for $47,000 in foal to Will Take Charge at KEENOV in 2017. Mimi's Tiz is a daughter of Mimi's Bling (Bernstein), also the dam of SW Summer House (Tiznow). TJCIS PPs

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Brian Hernandez Jr. 12th Jockey To Ride 700 Churchill Downs Winners

Brian Hernandez Jr. became only the 12th jockey in Churchill Downs history to ride 700 winners at the Louisville, Ky., home of the Kentucky Derby when the 35-year-old won Thursday's third race aboard Dream On It for trainer Dallas Stewart.

Hernandez Jr., who began riding professionally in 2003, won his first race at Churchill Downs aboard Machine to Tower on May 27, 2004. Overall, the native of Lafayette, La., has won 2,233 races and his mounts have amassed more than $95.7 million from 16,164 starts during an 18-year riding career.

He won the Eclipse Award in 2004 as the nation's champion apprentice jockey. In 2012, Hernandez Jr. won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita aboard Fort Larned for his biggest career win.

The top 12 jockeys in races won at Churchill Downs: 1. Pat Day (2,482), 2. Calvin Borel (1,232), 3. Robby Albarado (1,192), 4. Corey Lanerie (1,151), 5. Julien Leparoux (982), 6. Don Brumfield (925), 7. Larry Melancon (914), 8. Jim McKnight (883), 9. Charlie Woods Jr. (757), 10. Shane Sellers (738), 11. Shaun Bridgmohan (728) and 12. Brian Hernandez Jr. (700).

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Knicks Go Has Home-Field Advantage In Saturday’s Lukas Classic

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, the top-ranked horse in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll after convincing wins in this year's Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park and Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, was made the overwhelming 2-5 morning line favorite in Saturday's $400,000 Lukas Classic (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs – his final test before tackling the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

“He's a horse that puts a lot into his training and he's done that leading into Saturday's race,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He's accomplished a lot this year and we believe the Lukas Classic is a good race to compete in prior to the Breeders' Cup. This race doesn't require him to ship and he can run out of his own stall.”

Knicks Go (22-8-3-1—$5,368,995) had a strong 1 ½-mile gallop early Thursday morning prior to schooling in the paddock at 10 a.m. The Maryland-bred competed four times at Churchill Downs while under the care of trainer Ben Colebrook but has not recorded victory beneath the Twin Spires.

Knicks Go is scheduled to face five rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Lukas Classic including Juddmonte's multiple graded stakes winning homebred Tacitus. The gray son of Tapit arrived to trainer Bill Mott's Churchill Downs base earlier in the week from Saratoga. Saturday's race will be the first time Tacitus has competed since finishing seventh in the $20 million Saudi Cup (GI) in February.

The Lukas Classic is carded as the eighth race on Saturday's 11-race program. First post is 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Lukas Classic will go at 4:22 p.m. Named after Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the race shares the Saturday spotlight with the $300,000 Ack Ack (GIII), which goes as Race 10 at 5:26 p.m.

The complete field for the Lukas Classic from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): New Orleans Classic (G2) winner Chess Chief (James Graham, Dallas Stewart, 20-1); Knicks Go (Joel Rosario, Cox, 2-5); $3.7 million earner Tacitus (Jose Lezcano, Mott, 5-2); multiple stakes winner Shared Sense (Brian Hernandez Jr., Cox, 15-1); Pegasus World Cup third Independence Hall (Javier Castellano, Michael McCarthy, 10-1); and West Virginia Governor's (G3) winner Sprawl (Joe Talamo, Tommy Drury Jr., 12-1).

Wagering is available on www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks.

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Churchill Downs Announces Historical Racing Expansion In Downtown Louisville

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Thursday plans to open a new historical racing entertainment venue, Derby City Gaming Downtown, in Louisville, Kentucky. The 43,000-square-foot entertainment venue will be located at 140 South 4th Street, at the corner of South 4th and West Market, diagonal to the Kentucky International Convention Center.

Derby City Gaming Downtown will initially include 500 HRMs, a fresh-air gaming area and over 200 onsite parking spaces. The new entertainment venue will provide guests — including locals, tourists and convention attendees — three unique bar concepts: a main-level sports bar with a stage for music and live entertainment, a premium bourbon library and an elegant wine and charcuterie lounge. A retail and merchandise store will be located on the street level where guests can shop for Kentucky Derby-themed merchandise. Construction on Derby City Gaming Downtown will begin later this year with an anticipated opening date in early 2023.

The investment in the new entertainment venue will create 450 jobs for the local economy, including 350 construction jobs and more than 100 new permanent jobs. The Company will collaborate with OneWest and other community organizations in an intentional effort to provide job opportunities at the entertainment venue to individuals residing in Louisville's most under-resourced neighborhoods as well as provide training and additional social support services that focus on retention, workforce development and professional advancement. CDI will increase its efforts to identify and contract with Women-and Minority-Owned Businesses for supply chain and contracting needs.

CDI also announced a pledge of $1 million to the West End Opportunity Partnership (the “Partnership”), a collaborative community-led initiative that will finance projects to kick start economic development and quality of life improvements in a district comprised of nine West End neighborhoods: Shawnee, Portland, Russell, Chickasaw, Parkland, California, Park Hill, Park Duvalle and Algonquin. The new tax increment financing (“TIF”) district was established by legislation championed and passed by State Senators Robert Stivers, Julie Raque Adams, Morgan McGarvey and Gerald Neal, and State Representatives Ken Fleming and Pamela Stevenson. The TIF guarantees that for the next 20 years, 80% of new tax revenue generated in those neighborhoods will be returned to the Partnership to reinvest in economic development projects and homeowner stabilization in the West End. The seed money and proceeds will be managed by a Partnership board comprised of neighborhood residents and appointees from community organizations.

“CDI is committed to investing in the city of Louisville and today we are particularly excited to announce this new downtown entertainment venue,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “Our HRM expansion will be a win for the entire community in the Louisville area and will create $10 to $12 million per year in additional purse money for Churchill Downs Racetrack. It is important that Louisville is a city that is thriving — a great place to live, work and visit and we are committed to helping create economic vibrancy for every area of our community. The West End Opportunity Partnership and our collaboration with OneWest can help us responsibly and sustainably achieve that vision.”

“We applaud Churchill Downs for their continued investment in Louisville's hospitality infrastructure. Having a downtown touchpoint with one of our most iconic brand pillars is a boon to helping us successfully market our destination,” said Cleo Battle, Louisville Tourism President & CEO. “The attraction will fulfill a need for much-requested evening options for convention delegates and give locals and visitors alike another authentic experience to enjoy in the heart of Bourbon & Derby City.”

“Today, Churchill Downs becomes an important component of a downtown Louisville revitalization that has been gaining momentum the last several years. Downtown is our community's center, and as the economic engine of the region, our downtown also is our region's center,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “Derby City Gaming Downtown will bring even more life to Fourth Street with just shy of an acre's worth of space for more entertainment offerings, another stop for bourbon fans, a shopping outlet for Kentucky Derby merchandise and permanent jobs to downtown. Thank you, Churchill Downs, for your commitment, your investment and for your belief in our great city.”

“OneWest is extremely excited about this collaboration and what it will mean for the minority contractors of Louisville,” said Evon Smith, President & CEO of OneWest. “This initiative represents intentionality around inclusion and diversity and it is starting at the top. The leadership team at Churchill Downs Incorporated are leading through action!”

“I commend the leadership at Churchill Downs for taking this meaningful step in support of the West End Opportunity Partnership and for encouraging other local corporate citizens to follow suit,” said State Senator Gerald Neal. “By taking action to address the inequities and disparities in our local communities, we are helping to make our Commonwealth a better place for all Kentuckians.”

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