Kentucky Derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

2021 Kentucky Derby: Churchill Planning For Reduced Capacity, To Utilize All-Inclusive Ticket Plan

Though this year's Kentucky Derby was pushed from the first Saturday in May back to Sept. 5 by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and held without fans in attendance, Churchill Downs is planning to have at least limited spectators for the 2021 Run for the Roses.

According to wkyt.com, the track sent a letter to premium ticket purchasers this week. Churchill indicated that it is “planning for a capacity in line with today's protocols,” but that officials are “hopeful that we may be able to extend seating options for additional guests as we get closer to the 2021 Derby and Oaks dates.”

New to the seating arrangements in 2021 will be an all-inclusive ticket plan, with food and beverages included, which is intended to reduce patrons' need to spend time in lines, the letter said.

The 2021 Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 1.

Baffert Pointing Life Is Good to Sham

Two-year-old sensation and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Life Is Good (Into Mischief) will likely make his next start in the GIII Sham S. on Jan. 2 at Santa Anita, reports trainer Bob Baffert. The one-mile event carries a purse of $100,000.

“If all is going well, it looks like the Sham will be his next race,” Baffert said. “It will give me a chance to stretch him out. Then I will decide on what’s next and look at races like the Rebel at Oaklawn.”

Owned by WinStar Farm and the China Horse Club, Life Is Good was purchased for $525,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale. He made his debut Nov. 22 at Del Mar and instantly stamped himself as a contender for the 2021 Triple Crown with a 9 1/2-length win in which jockey Mike Smith never appeared to ask the horse for his best. His final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:15.50 and he earned a 90 Beyer figure.

In the first round of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, Life Is Good was the top choice after the “all others” option. He closed at 5-1, putting him ahead of Essential Quality (Tapit). The winner of the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the likely 2020 champion 2-year-old male, Essential Quality closed at 8-1.

Baffert noted that his 2020 GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) also won at first asking during the Bing Crosby meet at Del Mar before winning the Sham in his second career start.

“You can’t get an allowance race for these horses to fill around here,” Baffert said. “I ran Authentic in the Sham last year after he broke his maiden at Del Mar. The Sham looks like a logical spot.”

Baffert said he is looking forward to finding out more about Life Is Good.

“He’s got a great sire and they way he ran was impressive,” he said. “He’s got raw talent like American Pharoah and Justify. I think Authentic had that raw talent, too. But he was just immature at the time. This horse gives us something to get excited about, but they’ve got to go two turns first. I didn’t know how good American Pharoah was until he did it.”

Should Life Is Good make it to the Kentucky Derby, he will be in position to give Baffert his third win in the race over the last four years and his fourth since 2015. With six Derby wins, he is tied with Ben Jones for most by a trainer.

“I train for all the big guys, like WinStar,” he said. “I’ve made it to point where these people send me good horses and that makes my job easier. And we’ve figured out what to do with them when we do get a good one.”

The post Baffert Pointing Life Is Good to Sham appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Churchill Downs Releases 2021 Official Art of The Kentucky Derby

Churchill Downs released on Monday the 2021 “Official Art of the Kentucky Derby” by Breathitt County, Ky. artist Ralph Fugate.

Fugate's style of “impressionistic realism” utilizes bold, vibrant colors to capture the sheer beauty and power of the horse, the colorful silks, the enthusiasm of the crowd and the excitement of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and the Longines Kentucky Oaks.

2021 represents the fifth year in a row that Churchill Downs has tapped a talented Kentucky artist to capture the excitement of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks. Ralph Fugate is a self-taught professional sports artist specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing. As a child growing up in Eastern Kentucky, Fugate always loved to draw, but it wasn't until age 25 that he picked up a paintbrush for the first time. Having nurtured an interest in horses and horse racing throughout his life, the artist soon turned his creative passion into painting them.

Fugate's “Official Art of the Kentucky Derby” will be featured on the 2021 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks official racing programs and a variety of merchandise, including Derby and Oaks 147 limited edition artist-signed and numbered posters with embossed and metallic ink treatments. Other merchandise featuring the artwork includes apparel, posters and postcards available at select retail outlets including the Kentucky Derby Museum and www.KentuckyDerbyStore.com.

The post Churchill Downs Releases 2021 Official Art of The Kentucky Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Life Is Good, 5-1, Lowest-Priced Horse In Kentucky Derby Future Wager’s Opening Pool

With the Kentucky Derby still 22 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of “All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings” closed as the 6-5 favorite in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) and the Bob Baffert-trained Life Is Good was the 5-1 second choice.

Life Is Good, who won his Nov. 22 debut at Del Mar by 9 ½ lengths for the record-equaling six-time Derby-winning trainer, edged Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) winner Essential Quality, who closed at 8-1 in the betting. Other horses who attracted interest from bettors: Hopeful (GI) and Champagne (GI) winner Jackie's Warrior (18-1); Nyquist Stakes winner Highly Motivated (18-1); and Saturday's Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) winner Keepmeinmind (19-1).

Horses in order of the public's betting choice (with trainer, Pool 1 odds and $2 Win will pays): #24 “All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings” (6-5, $4.60); #11 Life Is Good (Bob Baffert, 5-1, $12.80); #3 Essential Quality (Brad Cox, 8-1, $18.40); #8 Jackie's Warrior (Steve Asmussen, 18-1, $38.20); #6 Highly Motivated (Chad Brown, 18-1, $39.80); #9 Keepmeinmind (Robertino Diodoro, 19-1, $40); #1 Caddo River (Brad Cox, 27-1, $57.40); #20 Speaker's Corner (Bill Mott, 29-1, $61); #4 Fire At Will (Mike Maker, 30-1, $62.80); #7 Hot Rod Charlie (Doug O'Neill, 34-1, $71.40); #14 Red Flag (John Shirreffs, 35-1, $72); #15 Reinvestment Risk (Chad Brown, 35-1, $72.60); #17 Savile Row (Bob Baffert, 36-1, $75.80); #18 Scarred (Steve Asmussen, 49-1, $100.40); #22 Ten for Ten (Shug McGaughey III, 51-1, $105.80); #23 “All 3-Year-Old Fillies” (56-1, $114.40); #12 Midnight Bourbon (Steve Asmussen, 59-1, $120.40); #10 King Fury (Kenny McPeek, 60-1, $122.40); #5 Get Her Number (Peter Miller, 64-1, $130.40); #19 Sittin On Go (Dale Romans, 68-1, $139.20); #2 Dr. Shivel (Mark Glatt, 72-1, $146.80); #16 Rombauer (Michael McCarthy, 88-1, $178.80); #13 Pickin' Time (Kelly Breen, 96-1, $194.60); and #21 Super Stock (Steve Asmussen, 103-1, $209.60).

Total handle for the Nov. 26-29 KDFW pool – the first of five scheduled wagering pools in advance of the 147^th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) on Saturday, May 1 – was $249,331 ($191,984 in the Win pool and $57,347 in Exactas).

Inaugurated in 1999, the Kentucky Derby Future Wager has been offered for a 23^rdconsecutive year, but this marks just the eighth time that Churchill Downs has hosted a KDFW pool on closing weekend of its Fall Meet.

This year's early Derby betting menu also included the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, which, for the sixth consecutive year, provided bettors with a unique opportunity to wager on select breeding stars and their entire crop of juveniles with the hope of winning next year's Kentucky Derby.

Into Mischief and “All Other Sires” attracted the most attention from bettors. Into Mischief, the sire of Life Is Good and Highly Motivated among others, closed as the 4-1 favorite ahead of “All Other Sires” at 5-1 and progeny by Tapit at 6-1.

Sires in order of favoritism for the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager (Odds and $2 Win Will Pays): #12 Into Mischief (4-1, $10.20); #24 “All Other Sires” (5-1, $12); #20 Tapit (6-1, $15.20); #6 Curlin (12-1, $27.80); #1 American Pharoah (13-1, $29); #5 Constitution (17-1, $36.40); #22 Uncle Mo (19-1, $41.20); #8 Frosted (21-1, $44.80); #18 Quality Road (22-1, $47.40); #10 Hard Spun (24-1, $50); #19 Street Sense (25-1, $53.20); #9 Ghostzapper (27-1, $56.80); #17 Pioneerof the Nile (30-1, $62.60); #16 Not This Time (30-1, $63.80); #14 Medaglia d'Oro (35-1, $72); #21 Tiznow (35-1, $73.20); #2 Bernardini (36-1, $74.20); #23 Union Rags (43-1, $89.80); #11 Honor Code (44-1, $91.40); #15 Munnings (47-1, $97); #4 Candy Ride (ARG) (47-1, $97.80); #13 Liam's Map (49-1, $100.40); #3 Bodemeister (60-1, $123.60); and #7 Flatter (80-1, $162.80).

Total betting on the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager was a record $47,567 ($33,269 in the Win pool and $14,298 in the Exactas).

The KDFW and Sire Future Wager combined to handle $296,898 compared to $397,394 in 2019 and $291,313 in 2018.

The other Future Wager dates are tentatively set for Jan. 22-24 (Pool 2), Feb. 12-14 (Pool 3), March 5-7 (Pool 4) and March 26-28 (Pool 5). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 on March 5-7.

The post Life Is Good, 5-1, Lowest-Priced Horse In Kentucky Derby Future Wager’s Opening Pool appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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