Tag: Kentucky Derby

Joseph Eyes Triple Crown Trail With Make It Big

Red Oak Stables' Make It Big (Neolithic) may have earned a position on the Kentucky Derby trail with his win in Friday's Remington Springboard Mile S. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee accumulated 10 qualifying points to the Derby with his half-length victory over Osbourne (Tapiture) in Oklahoma.

“We are, obviously, very excited. He was stepping up in class, shipping for the first time and going two turns [for the first time]. He handled it all as good as you could ask for,” said Joseph. “He sat in the pocket, made a move down the backside, and was gutsy enough to hold off Osbourne.”

Make It Big, a $120,000 purchase at this year's OBS April sale, opened his career with an 8 1/2-length win against fellow Florida-breds at Gulfstream Oct. 9 and added a victory in the Oct. 30 Ocala Stud Juvenile Sprint–both at seven furlongs–before shipping to Remington Park.

“The [Feb 5 GIII] Holy Bull might come a little quick, but everything is still in play. Maybe, the [Mar. 5 GII Fasig-Tipton] Fountain of Youth,” Joseph said of possible next starts for Make It Big. “We'll talk it over with the ownership group and Rick Sacco, the stable manager. He was the one that recommended, after he won last time, that we should try this race [Springboard Mile]. It turned out a perfect choice of race.”

Joseph said he thinks Make It Big will handle longer distances.

“You would think the more distance the better. That's how he trained. Up until six weeks before he made his debut, he kind of seemed he'd go long, long, long,” Joseph said. “He was lacking that early speed. When we put blinkers on him, they gave him that dynamic, showing some speed. We already knew he had the stamina. He's really turned around.”

Joseph also trains Triple Crown prospect White Abarrio (Race Day), who captured his first two races impressively before finishing third in the Nov. 27 GII Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs.

“He's doing well. We gave him a little freshening,” Joseph said of the colt who worked three furlongs in :36.00 (3/11) at Gulfstream Sunday. “He's most likely going in the Holy Bull.”

The post Joseph Eyes Triple Crown Trail With Make It Big appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Nominees Released For Fair Grounds’ New Road To The Derby Kickoff Day

December 26 marks the inaugural running of two new Kentucky Derby and Oaks prep races at Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots – the $100,000 Gun Runner for 2-year-olds and the $100,000 Untapable Stakes for 2-year-old fillies – and nominations for both races have been released.

With a first post of noon CT, six stakes will be run on the Road to the Derby Kickoff Day card on Saturday, Dec. 26, with the newly anointed races leading into to Fair Grounds' traditional Kentucky Derby preps – the Lecomte (G3), Risen Star (G2) presented by Lamarque Ford and the Twin Spires Louisiana Derby (G2), and traditional Kentucky Oaks preps – the Silverbulletday, Rachel Alexandra (G2) presented by Fasig-Tipton and the Twin Spires Fair Grounds Oaks (G2). The Gun Runner, which will award 10-4-2-1 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, closed with 21 nominations and the Untapable, which will award 10-4-2-1 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, closed with 22 nominations.

Post positions for the Dec. 26 card, which also includes the Tenacious Stakes, Richard R. Scherer Memorial Stakes, Blushing KD Stakes, and the Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes will be drawn on Thursday December 16. The Joseph E. “Spanky” Broussard Memorial, The Woodchopper, Sugar Bowl, Letellier, and Pago Hop Stakes, to be run on Dec. 27, will be drawn on Friday, Dec. 17.

“With the type of horses and trainers we have on the backside here year in and year out we thought it was the perfect opportunity to have these stakes with Derby and Oaks points attached four weeks out from Lecomte Day,” Fair Grounds' racing secretary Scott Jones said. “It's perfect timing too, as most of our open horses come from Churchill Downs and it's four weeks removed from their Stars Of Tomorrow card. You'll see a lot of 2-year-olds that ran on that day reappear here on Dec 26.”

Run over 1 1/16 miles, the Gun Runner is named for the local winner of the 2016 Risen Star and Louisiana Derby. He also counts the 2017 Breeders Cup Classic (G1) and 2018 Pegasus World Cup (G1) among his top stakes scores.

Brad Cox leads all trainers with six Gun Runner nominees, including Dean Maltzman's Kaely's Brother, the adjudicated winner of the Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs, and Frank Fletcher Racing Operations and Ten Strike Racing's Rocket Dawg, a dominant winner at first asking at Churchill Downs on Nov. 19.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen has a trio of horses nominated to the Gun Runner including dominant recent maiden winners in Ed and Susie Orr's All In Sync and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter.

Other top nominees to the Gun Runner include: Tom R. Durant's Tejano Twist, who has already racked up three wins for trainer Bret Calhoun, including the Lively Shively last out on the Nov. 27 Stars of Tomorrow card at Churchill Downs and C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stables' White Abarrio, who has two wins and a recent third place finish behind Smile Happy and Classic Causeway in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs on his resume for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

Trainer Ken McPeek has a pair of potential aces nominated to the Untapable, to be run over 1 mile and 70 yards, in Dixiana Farms' Cocktail Moments and Bret Jones and Cold Press Racing's Park on the Nile, both of whom won impressively at first asking on the Stars of Tomorrow card.

Cox and Asmussen each boast a trio of Untapable nominees. Cox's fillies include the Godolphin homebred Matereya, who won at first asking in advance of a fifth place finish behind her stablemate Ju Ju's Map in the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland and a runner-up performance in the Fern Creek at Churchill Downs last time out. Famed, a Godolphin half sister to likely champion Essential Quality, who was last seen finishing fourth in the Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill and Gregory Hoffman's Golden Sights, a recent maiden dominator at Keeneland, are also Untapable options for Cox.

Asmussen's Untapable nominees are led by an impressive first out winner in the Stonestreet homebred La Crete, who is a half sister to last year's Rachel Alexandra winner Clariere.

Chris Walsh's California Angel, the 17-1 upset winner of the Jessamine (G2) on the Keeneland turf in advance of a disappointing 11th place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar, is also nominated to the Untapable, which is named for the 2014 winner of the locally-run Rachel Alexandra and Fair Grounds Oaks in addition to the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders Cup Distaff that same year.

The list of nominees and the past performances for all 11 stakes to be run at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Dec. 26-27 can be found here https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaSNHW.cfm?trk=FG.

The post Nominees Released For Fair Grounds’ New Road To The Derby Kickoff Day appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Casey Ramage Named Vice President Of Marketing, Partnerships For Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby

Churchill Downs announced today that Casey C. Ramage has been named Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships for the famous racetrack. In this role, Ramage will be responsible for establishing the brand strategy for the property and the Kentucky Derby while leading the marketing and partnerships teams. She will serve as the primary liaison with all external agencies to ensure consistency across the brand and to guarantee alignment with the overall goals of Churchill Downs. Ramage will report directly to Mike Anderson, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack.

Ramage returns to Churchill Downs having previously served as Vice President of Branding and Licensing (2009-2012) and Senior Director of Marketing (2007-2009). During that tenure, she launched enduring Kentucky Derby week assets like Taste of Derby and the KentuckyDerbyParty.com platform, chaired the re-launch of Kentucky Oaks to focus on women and charity and was on the charter team responsible for establishing “The Road to the Kentucky Derby.”

“I'm thrilled to return to Churchill Downs and contribute to our growth as we prepare for Derby 150,” Ramage said. “The Kentucky Derby is an incomparable experience and I'm eager to work with our partners, the community and the team to build impact around this incredibly special institution and iconic tradition.”

Prior to assuming her current leadership role at Churchill Downs, Ramage developed brand vision for Champion Gaming as their Chief Marketing Officer. Her 17 years of extensive experience in marketing and public relations include Vice President roles at EdjSports and Brown Jordan Company. Ramage holds a B.S. in Business from the University of Kentucky and has earned an Executive Education from Wharton Business School.

“Casey brings a deep understanding of the Kentucky Derby brand and we are thrilled to welcome her back to Churchill Downs to lead these critical marketing and partnerships functions,” Anderson said. “She brings the ideal combination of experience, passion and emotional connection to usher this timeless brand into its 150th year.”

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