V.I.P. access tickets are $55 plus GST each and include access to the suites, a program, and appetizers.

V.I.P. Premium access tickets are $70 plus GST and also include tables against the glass, a betting voucher, and one drink ticket per person. Limited tickets are available.

For tickets please call the CTHS Alberta office at 403-229-3609 or email cthsweb@cthsalta.com.

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The account stated in a release that there are still plans to head to Churchill Downs later in the week as well as provided a positive prognosis for a future return to the track.

“Less than 24 hours after officially qualifying for the Kentucky Derby, No More Time unfortunately suffered an injury Sunday morning during his final controlled breeze and plans to head to Churchill Downs later this week,” Mendez wrote in the release. “Our team at Morplay Racing is clearly devastated by the news, but we are thankful No More Time should be able to make a full recovery and be back on the track soon.”

He continued, “We want to thank trainer Jose D'Angelo and our entire team that gave us this incredible ride over the last year, and we're now turning our attention and focus to getting No More Time healthy and better than ever.”

“His breeze was beautiful,” said D'Angelo. “But when he came back to the barn, he was off.”

In a release from Gulfstream Park, it was noted that No More Time sustained a condylar fracture in his left front leg and will undergo surgery to repair it Monday.

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“Ultimately (whether he starts in the Kentucky Derby) will be up to the Godolphin team–Dan Pride, Michael Banahan, Sheikh Mohammed–and if it's something they want to do, we'll prepare him,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “We'll ship him over to Churchill in a few days regardless. I'll tell you it will either be the Derby or the Preakness. He's sitting at 21st on the list right now and some things would have to happen (to make the Kentucky Derby field). But we'll watch him. Hopefully, he comes out of (the Stonestreet Lexington) in good shape and we'll march forward.”

The 3-1 chance cleared the field of nine beneath Florent Geroux from his outside draw and led through fractions of :23.55 and :47.28. He kicked for home as the one to catch and gamely turned back a challenge from The Wine Steward in the stretch to get the money.

Encino made all three of his previous starts over the synthetic at Turfway Park, led by a win in the John Battaglia Memorial S. last time Mar. 2.

“There was a little bit of a question mark about whether he would like the dirt, but he handled it today,” Cox said. “He had a few works at Keeneland leading up to this race and showed his hand. He seemed like he liked the surface, and he put it all together today.”

Geroux added, “He broke like a shot. I was expecting more speed. It was pretty much all him to the first turn; he pretty much controlled the race from there. He was cruising around there, and when he felt The Wine Steward outside of him, it gave him a little extra push. I think that's what he needed because he was getting a little lost out there on his own. But he had plenty left in the tank, the dirt felt great, and it looks like added distance shouldn't be a problem for him.”

Pedigree Notes:

Encino becomes the 13th graded stakes winner for Nyquist. The winning Bernardini mare Glittering Jewel, a half-sister to GI Kentucky Derby winner and Darley stallion Street Sense (Street Cry {Ire}), produced fillies by Street Boss in 2022-23. She was bred to Good Magic for 2024. The Nyquist x Bernardini cross is also responsible for GISW Gretzky the Great and unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos.

Saturday, Keeneland
STONESTREET LEXINGTON S.-GIII, $365,500, Keeneland, 4-13, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.93, ft.
1–ENCINO, 118, c, 3, by Nyquist
                1st Dam: Glittering Jewel, by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Bedazzle, by Dixieland Band
                3rd Dam: Majestic Legend, by His Majesty
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $235,600. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0,
$378,315. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–The Wine Steward, 118, c, 3, Vino Rosso–Call to Service, by To Honor and Serve. ($70,000 Ylg '22 SARAUG; $340,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher; B-Sequel Thoroughbreds LLC, Lakland Farm & Mark Toothaker (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $57,000.
3–Dilger (Ire), 118, c, 3, Lope de Vega (Ire)–Post Perfection, by Majesticperfection. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Michael J. Ryan; B-Demers Bloodstock (IRE); T-Saffie Joseph, Jr. $28,500.
Margins: 3/4, 8 1/4, HF. Odds: 3.31, 1.49, 36.38.
Also Ran: Secret Chat, Footprint, Liberal Arts, Hades, Lucky Jeremy, How's Ur Attitude. Scratched: Everdoit.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

#8 ENCINO at 3/1 with @flothejock take advantage from the start and wins the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at #Keeneland for trainer @bradcoxracing.

Encino grabs the last 20 points on the Road to the @KentuckyDerby.

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/MBOTuqtj47

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) April 13, 2024

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Soon after the track opened at 5:30 a.m., GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby winner Catching Freedom was the first Derby contender to work when he went a solo half-mile in :48 (14/123).

“He's had very steady training the last five, six weeks,” trainer Brad Cox said. “We've worked him solo the last couple times and he's done very well. I'd say the track this morning was a bit heavy but he still got over it fine. His last two works have been fairly easy and we'll see how things shake out over the next two weeks with what we'll do before the Derby.”

A few minutes later, GIII Southwest S. winner and GI Arkansas Derby third Mystik Dan cruised a half-mile in :48 (14/123) with jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the saddle.

“He ran a credible third last time in the Arkansas Derby,” trainer Ken McPeek said. “I think he got a lot out of that race and has shown he handled it well in his training after.”

Following the 7:30 a.m. track renovation break, GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks winner Endlessly breezed a half-mile in :49 (54/123) inside of his Michael McCarthy-trained stablemate Yellow Card (Lost Treasure {Ire}). Endlessly could compete in either the Kentucky Derby or the grassy GII American Turf S.

Common Defense, runner-up in the GII Rebel S., worked an easy half-mile for McPeek in :49.40 (65/123). Common Defense currently needs two defections to make the field of 20.

The post Kentucky Derby Contenders Catching Freedom, Endlessly, Mystik Dan, Common Defense Work at Churchill Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“He's been great since the Florida Derby. His energy level is good. He's seemed to take the race really well,” said Pletcher. “He had a nice easy breeze this morning and was moving great. Really, I couldn't be happier with him.”

First breeze back for Fierceness since his incredible Florida Derby performance.

Todd and I flew Johnny @ljlmvel in for the work.

Todd and Johnny were extremely happy with this routine 4f breeze.

22 more days until the Derby!!!!!

LFG pic.twitter.com/UUHxSUABqG

— Repole Stable (@RepoleStable) April 12, 2024

Fierceness will complete his Derby prep at Palm Beach Downs and Pletcher noted that his training and shipping schedule is still to be decided.

“He'll get his next work here at Palm Beach Downs and then we'll make a decision when to ship to Churchill. We have to be there at 11.a.m. on the Saturday before, so there's a good chance we'll have our final breeze at Churchill, but I want to keep the window open if I don't like the way the weather is looking in Kentucky. Right now, I'm happy we've stayed where we are. We've had really great, great weather. It hasn't been too hot. The mornings have been nice and cool. We've had minimal rain, just enough to keep the track good. We haven't had to battle some of the conditions that are going on in Kentucky at the moment. We'll monitor it and call an audible if we have to.”

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Currently on the outside looking in, Hades sits in 24th place on the leaderboard with 30 points. The GI Kentucky Derby is limited to 20 starters. The Lexington offers 42 points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale.

With a victory, Hades would be in the top 20. A runner-up finish would put him on the bubble.

Hades upset potential Kentucky Derby favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) (third) and next-out GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby winner Domestic Product (Practical Joke) (second) with a game victory in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3. Hades suffered his first career defeat finishing a well-beaten fifth behind Fierceness after getting bumped at the start in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 30.

“We need the points. I'm not going to go there to be number 21 (on the also-eligible list),” trainer Joe Orseno said. “He didn't get a chance to run in the Florida Derby.”

Hades will race with first-time blinkers in the Lexington and will also receive a rider change to Jose Ortiz. Paco Lopez was aboard Hades in his first four career starts.

“I always thought he would be better with blinkers, but he kept winning and I couldn't make the change,” Orseno said. “He'll have blinkers here; little ones.”

Two other Lexington entrants could be on the Derby bubble with a victory: Encino (Nyquist) (20 points) and Liberal Arts (Arrogate) (19 points).

John Battaglia Memorial S. winner Encino, scratched from last weekend's GI Blue Grass S. in favor of this spot, tries dirt for the first time for trainer Brad Cox. Last year's GIII Street Sense S. winner Liberal Arts was an eventful sixth (disqualified and placed eighth for interference after getting rank on the first turn) in the GI Arkansas Derby Mar. 30.

The Lexington field of 10 also includes 5-2 morning-line favorite The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso), who makes his first start since finishing a very game second in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland Oct. 7.

Saturday's 11-race card at Keeneland also prominently features the GI Jenny Wiley S. Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), a two-time Grade I winner over the lawn in Lexington, held her own against the boys finishing a respectable fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile last time Nov. 4. The 3-1 morning-line favorite is one of four entered for Chad Brown, who has won five of the past six runnings of the 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares and has six Jenny Wiley victories overall.

Brown will also saddle last term's GI Matriarch S. heroine Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}), MGSW Fluffy Socks (Slumber {GB}) and longshot Beaute Cachee (Fr) (Literato {Fr}). “With a lot of my good grass fillies, I like to target this and I like the mile and a sixteenth to start,” Brown said.

The field of 10 also includes: Didia (Arg) (Orpen), a game winner of the GII TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational S. at Gulfstream Jan. 27; and the Charlie Appleby-trained English Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who captured the G2 Balanchine S. at Meydan last time Feb. 23.

Wet Paint (Blame), three-for-three against stakes company at Oaklawn last season, will face off against California invader Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) in the GI Apple Blossom H. in Hot Springs. Wet Paint, just up in time in last summer's GI Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, makes her first start since finishing eighth in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita Nov. 4. Adare Manor, winner of last summer's GI Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar, crossed the line one spot better in seventh at the Championships and kicked off her 5-year-old campaign for Bob Baffert with a runner-up finish as the favorite in the GI Beholder Mile S. at Santa Anita Mar. 9.

Saturday's graded action is rounded out by the GIII Count Fleet H. at Oaklawn and GIII Giant's Causeway S. at Keeneland.

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Zedan's Apr. 11 legal response in Jefferson Circuit Court underscored the time-pressing need for a swift judicial response to Zedan's request for an injunction before the Apr. 27 deadline for all entered Derby horses to be on the grounds prior to the May 4 race. The next hearing in the case is Apr. 15.

Zedan articulated concerns that CDI's legal invocation of an Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute was “not only meritless, but perverse.”

An Anti-SLAPP claims process might take months to legally unfold, and while it played out there would be a mandatory halting of all other legal proceedings, including Zedan's pending motion for the temporary injunction.

After Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone in the 2021 Derby, Baffert was banned from CDI's properties for two years. A federal judge in February 2023 denied Baffert a preliminary injunction that the Hall-of-Fame trainer had sought to be eligible to race in the Derby. Last July CDI extended the ban at least through 2024.

Zedan owns the GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth (Good Magic), who would be among the Derby favorites if allowed to race.

It is unclear if a ruling in favor of Zedan would allow other Baffert trainees owned by different entities to also participate in the Derby, or if any lifting of the ban would also permit Baffert's trainees to enter the GI Kentucky Oaks.

CDI's Apr. 8 motion to dismiss stated that “The demand for a last-minute judicial takeover of the world's most storied horse race…is baseless, outrageous and should be immediately rejected.”
Zedan's responded in the Apr. 11 filing: “CDI has given away the game at the outset. In purporting to uphold the right 'to petition and speak freely on issues of public interest,' CDI has discredited its sole gripe against Baffert: far from acting on any substantive concerns about the health or safety of horses, CDI admits its extended ban is based only on its dissatisfaction with Baffert supposedly 'pedd[ling] a false narrative,' i.e., uttering words, in public interviews, that displease CDI.”

In a different section of the filing, Zedan stated, “Observers to this point might have thought that CDI stands behind its ban-and CDI's professed concerns about an actual threat to 'integrity' and 'safety'-as reflecting hard, objective facts that CDI has diligently verified. But observers now know better. CDI has admitted to this Court that its banning of an all-time-great horse trainer was and is just a matter of CDI's casual, subjective opinion!”

Zedan's filing later continued: “CDI argues that Zedan suffers no serious detriment and that CDI gains no unfair advantage from any inconsistency, but the facts amply refute that. CDI's bait-and-switch tactics have cost Zedan millions of dollars in sunk costs while enabling CDI successfully to defend a two-year ban against legal challenge, only thereafter to extend the ban indefinitely.”

Baffert is not a party to the lawsuit filed by Zedan.

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While Sierra Leone's come-from-behind Blue Grass win was one of the more visually impressive Kentucky Derby preps of the year, the race left plenty of room for improvement for the colt going forward when he proved to be a handful for the Keeneland gate crew while loading.

“As the pace was moving along at a solid rate and I saw the horse moving up down the backside, I felt pretty good,” Brown said. “The only anxious moment was when he was loading into the gate. I didn't see that coming. He's been a pretty straightforward horse. When we inherited the outside post with the 11 scratching, he was the last one to load in there… and he just kept looking at that crowd. It's been something with this horse, he always kind of wants to look right. You know, you saw in the GII Remsen S. when he was kind of acting green, and he still wants to lean in a little bit when he passed that horse on Saturday.”

Chad Brown Joins the TDN Writers' Room from Thoroughbred Daily News on Vimeo.

Saturday's win marked Brown's third Blue Grass score, following the success of juvenile champion Good Magic (Curlin) in 2018 and Zandon (Upstart) in 2022. That pair went on to run second and third, respectively, in the GI Kentucky Derby. Brown said that he believes Sierra Leone will give him his best shot to date to get that first Derby score.

“This horse really looks like he's looking for the mile and a quarter,” said Brown. “Yes he's going to have to pass a lot of horses, but it looks like it'll be a good pace and hopefully if he can just get a clear run and uses his big stride, he would be the best chance we've had in this race.”

Later in our breeding spotlight section, we took a look at the Coolmore stallion Maximum Security and WinStar stallion Independence Hall. We also welcomed a new sponsor, Pleasant Acres Stallions in Ocala, Florida, which is home to stallions like Doppelganger and Simplification.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Bill Finley and T.D. Thornton took a look back at the major Kentucky Derby and Oaks preps from coast to coast, from Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief) earning a breakout victory in the GI Ashland S. to the showdown between Stronghold (Ghostzapper) and Imagination (Into Mischief) in the GI Santa Anita Derby.

Click to watch as a video or to listen to the podcast.

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Racing experts Tom Amello and Jeff Carle will be on hand to offer analysis and predictions for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby and answer questions from the audience about the upcoming Triple Crown series.

Admission to the program and book sale is free. The book and memorabilia sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the museum lobby and the Kentucky Derby program will begin at 12 p.m. in the Hall of Fame.

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Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier Journal was among the first to report on the motion, which was filed in Kentucky the same morning as a Jefferson County Circuit Court hearing was held on the matter.

That Monday hearing put off until at least Apr. 15 a decision on owner Amr Zedan's request for an injunction or on CDI's motion to dismiss.

“Everybody involved in horse racing is watching this issue, I'm sure,” Judge Mitch Perry was quoted in the Courier Journal.

Zedan owns the GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth (Good Magic), who would be among the Derby favorites if allowed to race.

It is unclear if a ruling in favor of Zedan would allow other Baffert trainees owned by different entities to also participate in the Derby, or if any lifting of the ban would also permit Baffert's trainees to enter the GI Kentucky Oaks.

According to the Courier Journal, CDI's motion stated that “The demand for a last-minute judicial takeover of the world's most storied horse race…is baseless, outrageous and should be immediately rejected.”

After Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone in the 2021 Derby, Baffert was banned from CDI's properties for two years. A federal judge in February 2023 denied Baffert a preliminary injunction that the Hall-of-Fame trainer had sought to be eligible to race in the Derby. Last July CDI extended the ban at least through 2024.

Baffert is not a party to this latest lawsuit filed by Zedan in a Kentucky state court.

“CDI's spurious, illegal extension of the suspension does not withstand scrutiny and imperils a host of interested stakeholders,” Zedan's Apr. 3 complaint stated.

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