Utley, who runs his family's Edward Utley Jr. Inc. beer (including Budweiser) distributorship in Henderson, got his biggest thrill in horse racing as favored Yes It's Ginger wore down the speedy Elle Z for a 1 1/4-length triumph in the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Ladies Sprint at Ellis Park. That's where the 59-year-old Utley has been going to the races since he was 12, as well as the hometown track for his eight partners who collectively own 25 percent of the 5-year-old mare with majority owner Brilliant Racing and Tagg Team Racing.

“It's great, in front of everybody,” Utley said. “I don't know how you can describe it… There will be a lot of Bud. I was crossing my fingers, trust me.”

He said the victory ranks No. 1 in his racing career as owner and fan “and it doesn't get any better.”

The Ladies Sprint was part of a turf stakes quartet Sunday that wrapped up the two-day Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Weekend at the RUNHAPPY meet at Ellis Park.

Marcelino Pedroza rode the Greg Foley-trained Yes It's Ginger for the first time, pressing Elle Z through a stiff pace before edging clear late. The Foley-trained Skinny Dip finished another 2 1/4 lengths back in third in the full field of 12 fillies and mares.

“I watched the replays on her and she's quick out of the gate,” said Pedroza, who earlier this meet won the Good Lord Stakes on the Foley-trained Bango. “She was quick out of the gate when she ran (finishing second June 3 at Churchill Downs) against Elle Z. We didn't want to be in the lead. We just wanted to sit there and make sure Elle Z felt the pressure. Turning for home, I asked her to go and she responded like a Quarter Horse. She was running in the end and was very impressive.”

Yes It's Ginger was the only one of the four Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Weekend stakes winners Sunday who didn't set a course record over the very firm turf. But she came close, powering 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:00.71, just off Totally Boss' mark of 1:00.26 set in 2019. Yes It's Ginger, a son of Yes It's True out of Ginger Light, paid $7 to win.

The mare now is 3 for 3 at Ellis Park. Brilliant Racing approached Foley about buying half-interest in Yes It's Ginger when she was a 4-year-old maiden who'd had arthroscopic surgery for a bone chip. Foley liked what he saw and brought in Utley's group, which had been looking for a horse and wanted to be part of the Foley family's Tagg Team Racing.

Yes It's Ginger promptly won a maiden and allowance race last summer at Ellis Park off a 13-month layoff. She came into this race off victory in Lone Star Park's $75,000 Chicken Fried Stakes in her last start. That made her the first stakes-winner for Utley, as well as for Louisville-based Brilliant Racing and Tagg Team, the partnership headed by trainer Greg Foley, wife Sheree and their sons Travis and Alex.

It was no sure thing that Yes It's Ginger would run at Ellis Park. She also was entered for a turf stakes Wednesday at Indiana Grand. While Foley thought the Indiana race's five-furlong distance would be even better, and the competition softer, the forecast for rain this coming week helped make the decision to stay put at Ellis.

“When we decided to run here, there were a lot of happy people, the boys from Henderson,” Foley said. “They're a great group, along with Brilliant, and then our own little group, our family.

“She's just a gutsy little filly. She gives you all every time you run her. From this time last year, when she broke her maiden over here at Ellis, she's just done nothing but gotten better all the time. She ran very impressive in Texas last time and again today. She's just a nice filly.”

Foley also was happy with Skinny Dip, who was making her stakes debut. The goal was to get at least a stakes-placing for the well-bred Into Mischief filly, a mission accomplished.

Yes It's Ginger now is 6-5-0 in 18 starts, earning $295,511. The $40,000 Ocala 2-year-old purchase in 2018 — the first horse bought by Brilliant Racing— was picked out by Brilliant founding members Natalie Gils and Brandon Stauble.

“She's been incredibly special to us — being the first one we bought, giving her all that time not knowing if she was going to come back,” Gils said. “… When it came to the point where we had to sell (part of) her, having the Foleys step in, it's just been a great relationship with them. It was really a blessing in disguise.”

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Ellis Park opens Sunday June 27 and runs through Sept. 4. With racing Fridays through Sundays, its schedule dovetails seamlessly with Indiana Grand, which this year runs Mondays through Thursdays. The only overlap between the tracks three hours apart is Thursday, July 1.

One could ride full-time at both tracks — if one doesn't mind riding seven days a week all summer. And Marcelino Pedroza doesn't. He, along with DeShawn Parker and Fernando De La Cruz, headlines the prominent Indiana jockeys looking to make hay at the Pea Patch.

“I'm so young, that if I can do it right now, why not?” the 28-year-old Pedroza said. “I missed a lot of days last year, probably rode only three months. So I feel fresh.”

Pedroza was sidelined for four months in early 2020 with a fractured collar bone, returning to ride nine races in May before an elbow injury kept him off another 3 1/2 months. He came back as strong as ever, winning 49 races at New Orleans' Fair Grounds over the winter to finish sixth in the standings. He currently leads at Indiana Grand with 27 victories since that meet began April 13.

Parker possesses 5,864 career victories, including leading the nation in 2010 and 2011. The jockey, who began riding in 1988, spent much of his career in West Virginia and then Texas before relocating in 2017 to Indiana Grand, where he already is No. 8 all-time in victories. He won his first Indiana Grand title with 106 victories during last year's COVID-shortened meet and currently ranks third with 18. Parker was honored in March as recipient of the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, voted on by riders nationally to recognize one of their own for an outstanding career and character.

The Peruvian-born De La Cruz won Indiana Grand's 2014 and 2016 riding crowns. He is the track's all-time riding leader in purse earnings at more than $25 million in the track's 19-year history. His 35 stakes victories in the state also are a record. He joins all-time track leader Rodney Prescott as the only jockey with more than 1,000 wins at Indiana Grand.

Jose Batista, who has 14 wins at Indiana Grand this meet, likewise will ride both tracks. In addition to record purses at Ellis Park, clearly the jockeys are hoping that a greater presence this summer in Kentucky sets up opportunities in the fall at Churchill Downs and Keeneland.

“There are a lot of good horses to ride in Kentucky,” De La Cruz said on the Churchill Downs backstretch. “That's the reason I'm with my agent walking around here, trying to get some good business.”

The Panamanian-born Pedroza was a fixture at Ellis earlier in his career. He won 20 races to tie for third in the 2015 riding standings and also was third in 2013 with 23.

Pedroza also leads at Indiana Grand this meet in purse earnings ($698,156) and mounts (161) as he pursues his third riding title at the Shelbyville track. He was leading rider in 2017 and then ran away with the 2019 Indiana Grand title, his 152 wins and $3,407,744 in purses records for the 120-date meet.

“Last year I was hurt, so that doesn't count,” Pedroza, who lives in Louisville, said recently at Churchill Downs. “And the year before that, I was doing so well at Indiana that I wasn't thinking about (riding at Ellis). I wasn't riding here at Churchill, so I wasn't worried about riding anywhere else than Indiana. Now I'm thinking to do more.”

While he has ridden sparingly at Churchill Downs so far this meet, Pedroza has made the most of limited opportunities. That includes winning the $150,000 Aristides Stakes on Bango and finishing second in the Grade 3 Matt Winn aboard O Besos, who four weeks earlier rallied to be fifth in Pedroza's first Kentucky Derby. Both horses are trained by Greg Foley.

“It was a great experience, I don't even have the words,” Pedroza said of the Derby. “It was a big dream come true. No excuses. The horse ran big.”

Asked about Pedroza, Foley said, “Marcelino is a good rider, period. A good kid, class act. I like him. I wouldn't have ridden him in the Derby if I didn't think he could ride.”

The Indiana jockeys will add to an already strong riding colony that should feature most of the Churchill Downs regulars. That includes 2020 Ellis leader Joe Talamo, 2019 champ James Graham, Corey Lanerie (five Ellis titles), Rafael Bejarano (two titles), two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Julien Leparoux, former apprentice Eclipse Award winners Brian Hernandez and Shaun Bridgmohan, along with Miguel Mena, Adam Beschizza, Gabriel Saez, Mitchell Murrill, Colby Hernandez, Declan Cannon and others. In addition, Louisville product Drayden Van Dyke will be based at Ellis Park for the first time this summer after making the move to Kentucky earlier this spring from California.

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The 1 1/16-mile Matt Winn shares the Saturday spotlight with the $150,000 Regret (G3), $150,000 Aristides (Listed), $150,000 Blame, $150,000 Shawnee, $150,000 Audubon and $110,000 Douglas Park Overnight Stakes. The action-packed program gets underway at 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Matt Winn is carded as Race 9 at 4:55 p.m.

O Besos, a 3-year-old son of Orb, closed into the early Kentucky Derby pace but flattened in the final furlong to cross the wire fifth. Trained by Greg Foley, O Besos had several options on the table following the Derby but opted to stay at Churchill Downs for the Matt Winn.

“We love running at Churchill and this race gives us plenty of options going forward,” Foley said. “He worked an easy half-mile (in :49) Monday morning and is doing well from the Derby. We can lead him over for the race right from Barn 11.”

Jockey Marcelino Pedroza, who rode O Besos to a third-place finish in the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) and in the Kentucky Derby, has the call in the Matt Winn from post No. 3.

Chief among O Besos' rivals in the Matt Winn is D J Stable's $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner Helium. The Mark Casse trainee finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby. He'll be ridden in Saturday's race by Julien Leparoux from post 2.

Also entered in the Matt Winn field is Juddmonte's $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes winner Fulsome. Trained by Brad Cox, Fulsome broke his maiden on turf but was transitioned to dirt in April at Keeneland when a first-level allowance event changed surfaces due to inclement weather. Fulsome defeated six rivals by 3 ½ lengths that day, which catapulted him to a 1 ¼-length win in the Oaklawn Stakes on May 1.

Florent Geroux has the mount from post 5.

The complete field for the Matt Winn (from the rail out with jockey and trainer): Ready to Pounce (Brian Hernandez Jr., Neil Pessin); Helium (Leparoux, Casse); O Besos (Pedroza, Foley); Southern Passage (Corey Lanerie, Dale Romans); Fulsome (Geroux, Cox); Hello Hot Rod (Francisco Arrieta, Caio Caramori); Sittin On Go (Joe Talamo, Romans); and Game Day Play (David Cohen, Robertino Diodoro).

Churchill Downs' admission gates will open Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and tickets, starting at $5, are available on www.ChurchillDowns.com/tickets. For those outside the Louisville area, all 11 races are scheduled to be televised on Fox Sports 2 from 12:30-6 p.m. Fans can also watch the live simulcast feed and wager on www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

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Fierro, a long-time employee for Foley, was diagnosed with Stage 2 colon cancer in 2016, and underwent surgery and several long months of recovery before returning to the racetrack. Eventually Fierro returned to galloping horses as well.

“That was a good therapy for me, to be around horses,” Fierro said. “After that, I never think I'd be able to gallop again, and I did. I still do it. I'm lucky to be alive. I'm very grateful, you know. I said, 'Thanks God, for giving me this second chance in life, because some people, they don't get it.”

Pedroza lost his mother to brain cancer two years ago, at the young age of 44.

“I'm glad that she doesn't suffer any more, and that she's in a better place,” said the jockey. “She told me, 'Papi, life continues, you gotta keep going, you got kids and a wife that depends on you.”

He took those words to heart. The same day his mother passed away, Pedroza won a race at Indiana Grand. He believes she'll be riding with him in the Kentucky Derby, celebrating his success.

Now, both Fierro and Pedroza will head to the first Saturday in May with big dreams. Both believe their big chestnut colt has a solid chance to wear the roses.

“My plan is to be in the Derby, and win it,” Pedroza summarized.

Check out the full video below:

The @Foley_Racing-trained O Besos moved into the top 20 in the @KentuckyDerby points standings over the weekend!

The whole Foley barn is excited, especially O Besos' exercise rider, Margarito Fierro, and jockey @jockeypedrozajr.@TheBrownAndrew reports: #KyDerby pic.twitter.com/H2A2AuWTiD

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) April 19, 2021

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“I'd say we've got a good chance,” trainer Greg Foley told Jennie Rees in a video for the Kentucky HBPA earlier this week. “Another jump and we'd have been second in the Louisiana Derby, and we wouldn't have to worry about getting in the race. But our horse is doing good, so we're just gonna watch him. We'd love to run, and if we get that chance we'll be ready to go.”

O Besos, a chestnut homebred for Barrett Bernard also campaigned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Tagg Team Racing, breezed five furlongs in an official 1:00 3/5 on Tuesday at Churchill Downs (see video below). Up for the workout was jockey Marcelino Pedroza,

“I didn't have him go real fast or anything, just want him to finish up good the last eighth and gallop out good and strong, which he did that,” Foley said. “On the video you can see he picked it up pretty good.”

Pedroza complimented the colt's workout as well.

“I asked him just a little bit after the wire,” Pedroza said. “He did respond like I wanted him to, galloped out really strong, and then he was enjoying himself again, looking around. I'm really happy with the way that he worked today.”

O Besos got in some works this morning for @Foley_Racing, and we talked to Marcelino Pedroza about how the horse did, just 18 days from #TwinSpiresDerby

Read all about several bubble horses https://t.co/TXQw2ddOk1 pic.twitter.com/yS36Og8UZh

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) April 13, 2021

Out of the 12-time winner Snuggs and Kisses (Soto), O Besos shouldn't have a problem with the 1 1/4 miles over the Kentucky Derby.

Pedroza added: “He will love it.”

O Besos would be the second Kentucky Derby starter for the Louisville native Foley, who sent out Major Fed to finish 10th in last year's Sept. 5 edition.

Foley likes his chances with O Besos for this year's race.

“It's anybody's race, I think. It's a wide, wide open race,” Foley said. “Our horse is ready he's doing good. We're gonna train like we're going in the race.”

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Featured on the card is a $37,000 Indiana sired allowance in the sixth race. The eight-horse field brings the return of several Indiana winners from last season, including Sudden Shift from the Bob Gorham Stable. The three-year-old Unbridled Express gelding finished second in his final start of 2020 in the $75,000 Indiana Futurity. DeShawn Parker, 2020 leading rider at Indiana Grand, will guide Sudden Shift from post seven.

Parker earned his first leading jockey title at Indiana Grand in 2020 with 106 trips to the winner's circle. The jockey with more than 5,800 career wins adds the title from Indiana Grand to his impressive resume with numerous leading jockey titles from Mountaineer Park. Joining Parker in the race for leading jockey in 2021 is Marcelino Pedroza, Jr., who won his second leading jockey title at Indiana Grand in 2019. Pedroza was sidelined for most of the 2020 season due to injury.

In the trainer category, Genaro Garcia returns seeking his fifth straight title. He topped the standings last year with 43 wins over the shortened 96-day racing season. His stable, Southwest Racing, teamed up with Steve Lewis last year to also win leading owner honors.

The 120-day racing season extends through Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. The stakes schedule has been expanded to include several new stakes, bringing the total count to 40 with purses exceeding $3.6 million. Highlighting the stakes season is the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby and the Grade 3 $200,000 Indiana Oaks set for Wednesday, July 7. Also featured is the state's richest turf race, the $150,000 Caesars Stakes (Listed) set for Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Live racing is conducted Monday through Wednesday at 2:25 p.m. with first post on Thursday set at 3:25 p.m. Six all-Quarter Horse days have been set beginning with the first one Saturday, June 5 at 10 a.m. More information about the 2021 racing season is available at www.indianagrand.com.

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Trained by Chris Block and ridden by Marcelino Pedroza, the 6-year-old son of Malibu Moon was 1 3/4 lengths ahead at the finish, covering 1 1/8  miles on the soft Fair Grounds turf  in 1:50.27 and paying $89 on a $2 bet.

Logical Myth finished second, edging Peace Achieved by a head, with Set Piece a nose bacj in a three-horse photo. Factor This, the 9-5 favorite, finished fifth in the field of 10 older runners. Blackberry Wine was scratched, trainer Joe Sharp opting to run the horse one race earlier in the Mineshaft Stakes.

Captivating Moon raced near the back of the field, alongside Set Piece, as Spectacular Gem and Factor This battled on the front end through fractions of :23:35, :48.14 and 1:12.20 for the opening six furlongs.

Pedroza took the outside route and Set Piece went inside as the field rounded the turn and headed into the long Fair Grounds stretch. Captivating Moon began running down the leaders in the final furlong, after a one-mile clocking in 1:37.99, then took command in the closing strides.

“He does like a soft turf,” said Block. “Marcelino did a nice job of keeping him in the clear.”

Block had also entered Captivating Moon in the Colonel Power Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong turf stakes, earlier in the card, but opted for this spot.

The victory was the fifth in 29 career starts for Captivating Moon, who had run on dirt in his eight most recent races. The Fair Grounds Stakes was his first graded stakes victory.

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Bred to run on the turf, Strong Tide stepped up to tackle opponents on the dirt in the 23rd running of the $100,000 To Much Coffee Stakes. Named in honor of one of Indiana's first standouts, To Much Coffee, multiple stakes winning and track record setting gelding, the race showcased the state's best older males in the event.

Strong Tide began his journey from the center of the starting gate and was in the midst of an all-out charge to the first turn of the one and one-sixteenth mile event. Horses were stacked seven-deep into the first turn and jockey Marcelino Pedroza found a resting spot along the inside early on as Mystery Unbridled and Kendal Sterritt emerged as the first leader of the 12-horse field.

Down the backstretch, the field remained tightly packed with Uphold and Jesus Castanon moving to the lead by the halfway marker. Pedroza had Strong Tide right at his heels tracking every move he made heading into the turn. Mystery Unbridled was not going away easily on the inside in the turn, and it gave Strong Tide the opportunity to move out three-wide and get ready for the attack in the stretch.

Strong Tide and Uphold began to match each other stride for stride in the early stages of the stretch drive, but as the wire neared, Strong Tide was able to get into another gear and get by Uphold. The three-year-old son of English Channel was a two-length winner at the wire over Uphold for second. Max Express and Alex Achard closed quickly on the outside for third.

“We were able to get right behind the two (Uphold) early on, and I thought that was a great place to be,” said Pedroza, who scored four wins on the Wednesday racing card. “I thought the two (Uphold) had a shot after looking at the way he ran in his last race, so we stayed right there until we got a shot to get through. Once we got through and he got by the two (Uphold), he really responded and was strong all the way to the wire.”

It was the fifth win in 17 starts for Strong Tide, who is a homebred by the Lauers, who also campaigned Dreamin Big. Mike handles the training duties while is wife, Penny, is the owner. The sophomore colt now has in excess of $247,000 in purse earnings.

The abbreviated 2020 racing season comes to a close Thursday, Nov. 19 with a mandatory payout in the Straight Fire 6. The carryover heading into closing day is in excess of $140,000 and will begin in Race 5 to capture the final six Thoroughbred races of the season. Racing dates for 2021 will be approved and announced by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission in December.

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Russian Influence broke sharply and could have been a contender early, but Pedroza grabbed the reins and opted to settle in behind the field in next to last place. A herd of horses shot to the lead. America Rules and Tommy Pompell were the first to claim the top spot on the inside but were tracked closely by Hungarian Princess and Sammy Bermudez to their outside. Big If True and Eddie Perez were a lane further out. Horses were stacked three-wide through the first seven spots down the backstretch.

Pedroza began to move Russian Influence forward heading into the final turn of the one mile, 70-yard event, but ran into traffic trouble midway through the turn and was delayed a few strides. However, room opened up soon after and he was able to shoot through horses and was among the top three heading into the lane.

In the stretch, Russian Influence took over and sped out to the top spot, rallying home for the win by two and three-quarter lengths in a time of 1:45.88. Hungarian Princess held off Timeless Glory and Geena Lucille to finish second.

“I got on this filly after the last time she ran and really liked her and it gave me the opportunity to know what to recognize from her,” said Pedroza. “She just needed distance. She broke sharp but the plan for the race worked out perfectly. We let the speed go and at the 5/16ths, I was looking for a way to get through. Once we got through, I had a lot of horse left.”

It was the second win in three starts for Russian Influence and her first appearance in stakes action. She was purchased as a yearling at the Keeneland January All Ages Sale in 2019 for $120,000 by owner Stuart Grant of The Elkstone Group. He instantly liked what he saw.

“Stuart (Grant) texted me after the sale and told me he just bought the next Lady Fog Horn,” said trainer Tony Granitz, who campaigned two-time Indiana Horse of the Year Lady Fog Horn to more than $825,000 in earnings. “I told him those were big shoes to fill. We had to wait quite a while before we got her, but to this point, she's done everything right. We took the blinkers off of her tonight and it worked out great. We've been waiting for two turns.”

It was the first time Pedroza had been aboard Russian Influence in a race, but he was familiar with the Into Mischief Indiana bred filly from the mornings. With Andres Ulloa riding two of three entrants entered in the Miss Indiana Stakes for Granitz, he had to find a new pilot for Russian Influence.

“Andres (Ulloa) had just won on Taperinea so I told him we'd leave him on her and get someone for this filly (Russian Influence),” said Granitz. “We worked Russian Influence and Taperinea together last week and Marcelino came over and breezed her. It can be stressful having three in one race, but all three ran well today. I thought Timeless Glory ran really well to finish third. It's been a great year for all of our 2-year-olds.”

Russian Influence completes her two-year-old campaign with more than $70,000 in earnings in just three starts. The filly was bred by Deann and Dr. Greg Baer of Columbus, Ind.

For Pedroza, it was his third win on the program. The Panamanian jockey recently returned to riding after a three-month layoff due to an injury. In only two months of action, Pedroza has earned a spot among the track's top six riders and has accumulated more than $1 million in purses in the process.

The final two days of racing in 2020 are set for Wednesday, Nov. 18 and Thursday, Nov. 19 with a 2:05 p.m. start time. The Wednesday program offers the final two Thoroughbred stakes races of the year with the 23rd running of the $100,000 To Much Coffee Stakes and the 24th running of the $100,000 Frances Slocum Stakes for older Indiana breds on the program. The afternoon card will also feature a $115,522.76 carryover in the Straight Fire 6 Jackpot Pick 6, which begins in Race 2.

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“I've been working hard and exercising and getting on an equicizer to get back in shape, and I feel great,” said Pedroza. “I didn't want to get on any horses until I got the okay from the doctor because I wanted to do everything right. I got the okay from the doctor yesterday (Wednesday, Sept. 2) and was able to get on four horses (Thursday, Sept. 3). It feels really good to be back.”

Pedroza has been competing on the Indiana circuit full time for the past five years. He earned the leading rider title during the 2017 meet followed up by a title in 2019. Last year's record-setting season in Indiana brought him 153 winners during the 120-day meet. He set the record for most purse earnings in one season ($3,406,044). He also tied Rodney Prescott for most wins on one program with six wins. Pedroza has earned 15 career stakes wins at Indiana Grand and is ranked fifth on the list of all-time leading riders for wins in Indiana with 495 trips to the winner's circle, bringing in more than $12 million in total purse earnings.

“I've been exercising a lot in addition to my physical therapy,” added Pedroza. “I go to therapy for my (left) elbow twice a week and my therapist told me last week I was ready, but we had to wait for the doctor's okay. I'm just happy to finally be back and I can't wait to ride Monday. It's good to be able to do what you love to do.”

Pedroza has five scheduled mounts on the Monday, Sept. 7 racing program. He will begin in Race 1 aboard Talented Tapper from post one at odds of 5-2.

Racing is held Monday through Thursday each week through Wednesday, Nov. 18. Two more Saturday programs are slated for all-Quarter Horse racing days Oct. 3 and Oct. 24 with a daytime first post. For more information, visit www.indianagrand.com.

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