Tag: The Friday Show

The final prep races have been run. Thoroughbreds from all corners of the United States (and Japan) are converging on Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Jockey commitments, with only a few exceptions, have been made.

All that's left are two weeks of closely analyzed training runs and the post position draw, then it's game on in the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

Handicapper Andrew Champagne, who authors The Derby Bubble for the Paulick Report, has been following all the top 3-year-olds on the road to the Triple Crown, providing rankings and rationale for why a horse can or can't win America's most famous horse race.

Which preps were the strongest? Which were the weakest? Who is best  suited for the mile and a quarter distance? Who isn't? How much will post position matter? And what about those Japanese horses?

We get into those questions and more in this week's edition of The Friday Show. Join Andrew Champagne, Ray Paulick and Joe Nevills for a lively discussion ahead of this year's Kentucky Derby.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Icon Global: Sorting Through Kentucky Derby Contenders appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Japanese horsemen have made four previous attempts to win the Kentucky Derby going back to 1995 when trainer Hideyuki Mori sent Ski Captain out for a 14th-place finish behind Thunder Gulch. The closest they've come in the Run for the Roses was when Master Fencer closed from last to be seventh (and placed sixth upon Maximum Security's disqualification) in 2019.

A lot has happened since then, including two breakthrough victories by Japanese runners in the 2021 Breeders' Cup world championships and a host of triumphs in major international races in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. Most recently, Japanese horses scored multiple wins on the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup programs in 2023, including in the world's two richest races.

Japanese runners, led by Derma Sotogake, also finished 1-2-3-4 in this year's UAE Derby, and the UAE Derby winner and third-place finisher Continuar are now at Churchill Downs preparing for Kentucky Derby 149.

Kate Hunter, an American living in Japan who now recruits Japanese horses for major international races, including America's Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup, joins Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills to discuss the Japanese horses pointing for this year's Kentucky Derby. She also shares some insights on why horses from Japan are beginning to win on the international stage with such frequency.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Icon Global: A Closer Look At Japan’s Kentucky Derby Contenders appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Kentucky recently became the 37th state to approve sports betting since the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that a federal law banning such wagering was unconstitutional. While Kentuckians will have to wait until later this year or early in 2024 to place their first legal sports bet in their home state, the number of people betting on sports and the volume of wagering across the United States quickly surpassed horse racing's totals and continues to grow.

This year, for the first time, individuals in many states with sports betting or fantasy sports accounts through FanDuel will have the opportunity to wager on horse racing's biggest race, the Kentucky Derby, without having to open a separate advance deposit wagering account.

The introduction of the so-called “single wallet” promises to introduce horse racing to a new, younger generation of gamblers, states Andrew Moore, general manager of racing for the FanDuel Group.

Moore joins Ray Paulick and Joe Nevills in this week's Friday Show in a wide-ranging discussion on the latest developments on the sports betting front and how horse racing can benefit between the merger of the two types of wagering.

Moore also discusses the rebranding of TVG to FanDuel TV, pointing out that the FanDuel Group's investment in horse racing continues to expand, citing as one example more on-the-scene coverage of major races from Florida to Louisiana to Kentucky and California.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Icon Global: Merging Sports Betting With Horse Racing appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jockey Jareth Loveberry's saddle has taken him a lot of places over the course of his career, but the top of the Kentucky Derby points standings was uncharted territory until last weekend.

Following a convincing victory in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 25 at Turfway Park, Two Phil's sits at the top of the list with 123 qualifying points, assuring the son of Hard Spun a spot in the Kentucky Derby on May 6. Loveberry has been aboard Two Phil's for all but one of the colt's career starts, and this would be his first Kentucky Derby mount.

A start the Derby would continue an amazing career progression for Loveberry, whose riding career began at Great Lakes Downs in his native Michigan. He has won meet titles at Mountaineer, Canterbury Park, and Hawthorne Race Course, and he was the final leading rider at Arlington Park in 2020 and 2021. He most recently finished third in the jockey standings during the recently completed Fair Grounds meet in Louisiana.

On the Chicago circuit, Loveberry became the first-call rider for perennial leading trainer Larry Rivelli, who conditions Two Phil's for owners Patricia's Hope LLC and Phillip Sagan.

On this week's episode of The Friday Show, Loveberry discusses his Jeff Ruby trip aboard Two Phil's, recovering from a hairline fracture to his fibula that could have put that mount in jeopardy, and his journey through the blue-collar tracks of the Midwest and Southwest to potentially ride in the biggest race on the calendar.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Icon Global: Jareth Loveberry Talks Two Phil’s appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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