Tag: Derby

Protesters March Outside Churchill Downs, Demand Justice For Breonna Taylor

Planned racial injustice protests took a crowd of demonstrators past the gates at the frontside of Churchill Downs on Tuesday. The afternoon's demonstrations resulted in 64 arrests for charges of obstructing the roadway and disorderly conduct, acting Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert Schroeder told whas11.com. The protests were scheduled by national organization Until Freedom at the end of a four-day conference dedicated to the pursuit of justice in the death of Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was killed by Louisville police in March of this year.

One of Until Freedom's co-founders, Linda Sarsour, was among those arrested.

Protesters met around 2:00 p.m. at South Central Park, then marched to the Louisville Metro Police Department Training Academy where they changed letters on the marquee to read “I see murderers.” From there, the protesters marched toward Churchill Downs, crossing the bridge on Central Avenue near Cardinal Stadium.

Arrests were made when protesters blocked the street, and Until Freedom march coordinators urged those who didn't wish to be arrested to stick to the sidewalks. Those protesters arriving at the frontside of Churchill Downs chanted “F*ck your Derby,” and hung a sign with Breonna Taylor's name on it near the front gate.

Calls from Louisville's Black community to boycott the race reach as far back as mid-July, but they have gotten louder as the Sept. 5 race gets closer.

The Justice and Freedom Coalition is one of four groups now calling for a boycott of the Kentucky Derby – joined by No Justice No Peace Louisville, the Louisville chapter of Black Lives Matter, and the national group Until Freedom – who say it an inappropriate time to hold the event while there is unrest in Louisville.

“You can understand people's frustration,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in his daily news briefing Tuesday. “Certainly, those that hold the Kentucky Derby have absolutely no control over the timing of the [Breonna Taylor] investigation, or when we will have any type of results. I hope there can at least be a positive dialogue there. That's certainly a large facility in an area of Louisville where a lot of good could be done together.”

LMPD units have been stationed outside the Churchill Downs stable gate for the past several days, according to multiple sources, and that presence is expected to continue as the ramp up to Sept. 5 continues. Churchill officials are taking other extra precautions for this year's spectatorless Kentucky Derby, including a hard perimeter, which is not usually part of the day's security plan.

Sources inside Churchill told the Paulick Report that the track is ready to go and that there are multiple plans in place which can be implemented to respond to rising levels of unrest around the area.

The post Protesters March Outside Churchill Downs, Demand Justice For Breonna Taylor appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Pletcher ‘Very Happy’ With Dr Post’s Friday Work At Saratoga

Grade 1 Belmont Stakes runner-up Dr Post resumed serious preparations for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on Friday morning at Saratoga for trainer Todd Pletcher.

Under mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, the 3-year-old son of Quality Road went to the track following the renovation break, and completed his five-eighths work in company with stablemate Money Moves in 1:00.75 over a fast main track.

“It was a good work for him today. He galloped out well and I was very happy with what I saw out of him,” said Pletcher, who won the Kentucky Derby with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017).

Pletcher said that Dr Post would work once more next Friday, August 28 over the Saratoga main track before shipping to Churchill Downs.

Owned by Vincent Viola's St. Elias Stable, Dr Post will arrive at the Kentucky Derby off a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 16 at Monmouth Park after running second to likely Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes. His lone stakes victory to date took place in the Unbridled on April 26 at Gulfstream Park, where he was a 1 ½-length winner.

Pletcher holds the record for the most Kentucky Derby contestants, having saddled 54 contenders dating back to 2000, where he sent out Impeachment (third), More Than Ready (fourth) and Trippi (11th). He has finished second twice and third on four occasions, and his total number of starts is five more than the next-closest competitor in Hall of Famer and Pletcher mentor D. Wayne Lukas, who has sent out 49 starters.

Also on Friday, Pletcher sent out Robert and Lawana Low's Sweet Melania for a breeze over the Oklahoma training turf course, where she completed a half-mile move in 48.72 seconds in preparation for an attempt at a third graded stakes win in the Grade 3, $100,000 Lake George on Friday, August 28.

The daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner and second crop sire American Pharoah was an easy gate-to-wire winner of the last out Grade 3 Wonder Again over the Widener turf at Belmont Park. As a 2-year-old, she won the Grade 2 Jessamine at Keeneland en route to a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita.

“She worked well and finished up nicely,” Pletcher said.

Bred in Kentucky by St Elias Stables, Sweet Melania is out of the Discreet Cat mare Sweet N Discreet and is a direct descendant of prolific broodmare Lassie Dear. She was bought for $600,000 from the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by Gainesway.

The post Pletcher ‘Very Happy’ With Dr Post’s Friday Work At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Equine Aftercare Feeling Financial Impact After Event Cancellations

Equine aftercare nonprofits are poised to take a hit financially from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, even though horses in their care have been adopted out in record numbers. A plethora of fundraising events for aftercare organizations have been moved online or cancelled completely as health mandates have limited the number of people who can gather.

Multiple Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA)-accredited organizations have had to cancel events and their staff are concerned about how they will make up for the lost revenue. In addition, many donors are also experiencing financial constraints and may be reluctant to give at the levels they previously have. Organizations that offer grants to equine aftercare entities are also feeling the pinch of limited donations, reports Blood-Horse.

Second Stride, a Kentucky-based Thoroughbred rehoming organization, was unable to host their annual pre-Derby party in the spring and they have opted to not hold the in-person party in September, either, as safety protocols keep shifting. The organization now plans to host a virtual event around the Derby that offers a handicapping panel and an online auction.

Win Place Home, a California-based nonprofit, cancelled their spring event, which typically brings in about one-quarter of their yearly revenue. To make up for some of the lost revenue, Win Place Home will offer a week-long silent auction with videos featuring adoptable horses and special guests.

The amount of money nonprofits raise through fundraisers and events is part of what dictates the number of horses each organization can assist. With donations down, organizations may not be able to help as many horses. Surprisingly, aftercare organizations across the country have experienced adoption booms during the pandemic, and not in horses with unlimited second-career potential. Family horses, trail horses and those with limiting injuries were also adopted out in droves.

Interestingly, there has not been an uptick in the number of horses being retired from racing—yet. Though it's unclear what the future holds for equine aftercare, it will hopefully include more donations.

Read more at Blood-Horse.

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Driving On With The Derby Dream

There are countless ways in which the Coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on the world at large and our smaller racing world within, but every now and then a positive aspect will emerge.

In the case of Tuesday’s G2 King Edward VII S. winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), the adjustments to this season’s racing programme may well have played into the hands of his connections when it comes to having a crack at the Derby, a race now being given serious consideration following the colt’s authoritative victory at Royal Ascot.

Odds of 18/1 in a six-runner field which included two Aidan O’Brien runners—one of those being the 3.4 million gns yearling purchase Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire})—give an indication of the wider view of Pyledriver’s chances but his trainer William Muir arrived at Ascot full of confidence.

“He didn’t take me by surprise,” said Muir on Wednesday morning, admitting that he felt “jetlagged” after enjoying his most high-profile victory to date with a horse ridden by his son-in-law Martin Dwyer and for loyal owners racing their first homebred.

“When we first went to Salisbury, I said to his owners that he showed plenty of natural talent but that he was still a baby. We all had £20 on him each-way that day at 50/1 and what a night we had. We knew then that we had ability.”

After breaking his maiden in July, Pyledriver later won the listed Ascendant S. over a mile at Salisbury, but was last of the seven runners in the G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S., a performance his trainer puts down to him still being on the weak side at two.

He said, “He had a really long break and when he came back he was just doing things so well. All our plans had gone out of the window. If there had been no Covid-19 we would have gone to the Craven and seen how he did there, and if he had run well, he would have gone to Ireland for the Guineas. There were also a few races in France, but how things have worked out now is unbelievable.”

It is certainly a near-unbelievable start for Pyledriver’s trio of owner-breeders Roger Devlin and brothers Guy and Hugh Leach. Along with two other friends, they bought his dam, the dual French Flat winner La Pyle (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), with the intention of continuing her career in the National Hunt sphere. It’s safe to say that their ambitions for the 9-year-old mare have now been significantly adjusted. After five underwhelming starts over hurdles for Philip Hobbs, La Pyle was retired to stud. Two of her owners dropped out of the partnership and the others opted to try their hand for the first time as breeders. With the help of another mutual friend and long-time owner with Muir, the late Kevin Mercer, La Pyle joined the Mercer family’s Usk Valley Stud as a boarder.

“Kevin Mercer was an absolute superstar, I can’t say enough about him and his wife Sue. It was an honour and a pleasure to have been a friend of his and I really wish he were still here to see this,” said Muir. “It was Kevin’s idea to go to Harbour Watch at Tweenhills to get her started.”

Before long, La Pyle’s pedigree received two good updates, with her half-brother Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}) winning the G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris in the year in which Pyledriver was conceived. The following year her full-sister Normandel (Fr) won the listed Prix Melisande for their breeder Gerard Augustin-Normand before switching to the ownership of Ballylinch Stud and winning the G3 Park Express S. in Ireland.

“Then people started ringing up offering quite big money for La Pyle,” said Muir. “And the offers kept getting bigger but they decided to keep going with her because there were three of them involved. Then this lad came along and Kevin suggested they offer him in the foal sale just to see what he would make. They thought if he sold well they could put the money into the next one, because by then the mare was in foal to New Approach (GB).”

At Tattersalls, however, it wasn’t simply a case of the colt not making his 10,000gns reserve. By that stage his sire was out of favour with buyers, and even as a first foal from a winning sister to a stakes winner with Group 1 winners under the second and third dams, there was no bid for Pyledriver. Now, less than three years later, he stands on the cusp of lining up at Epsom for the breeders who kept faith in him and who also have his 2-year-old half-sister in training with Muir. Furthermore, La Pyle has a yearling colt by Oasis Dream (GB), a filly foal by Frankel (GB) and is now in foal to Kingman (GB).

“We will give the Derby serious thought,” said Muir. “We’ll see how the horse comes out of [Tuesday’s race].  I thought Ascot was going to come a bit quick for a horse like this but he put his weight back on very quickly after Kempton. In fact he didn’t just put it back on, he put more on. I weighed him yesterday morning and he went to the races nine kilos heavier than he was at Kempton.”

He continued, “I went to Ascot yesterday and I thought I could have two winners. Of course we didn’t know how good Aidan’s two horses were: on their pedigree and form and the way people were talking they looked pretty good, but I knew I would beat the English. He’s really stepping up to the mark now.”

Muir’s first runner at Ascot this week, Jack’s Point (GB) (Slade Power {Ire}), was runner-up in the opening race, the Buckingham Palace H., and he will bid to go one better when he returns on Saturday for the Wokingham S. Pyledriver also appears to have come out of his race well.

Muir confirmed, “He’s absolutely brilliant. He’s a great moving horse and he trotted up fantastically. He only left a small handful [of feed], which was really good, so he’s in perfect shape. I’ll monitor him over the next few days and see how he goes, and if he’s right the Derby will be the next port of call.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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