Unlike the previous three-day Kentucky Derby Future Wager opportunities, Pool 5 will feature an early start Thursday and will close Saturday prior to the first Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series event held that day. Nine individual betting interests in Saturday's pool are expected to run in that day's GI Toyota Blue Grass S., GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and GII Wood Memorial S.

Here is the complete field for Pool 5 of the KDFW (with sire, trainer and morning-line odds): #1 Barber Road (Race Day, John Ortiz, 50-1); #2 Charge It (Tapit, Todd Pletcher, 12-1); #3 Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}, Koichi Shintani, 50-1); #4 Cyberknife (Gun Runner, Brad Cox, 12-1); #5 Early Voting (Gun Runner, Chad Brown, 20-1); #6 Emmanuel (More Than Ready, Pletcher, 20-1); #7 Epicenter (Steve Asmussen, 5-1); #8 Ethereal Road (Quality Road, D. Wayne Lukas, 50-1); #9 Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah, Richard Mandella, 8-1); #10 In Due Time (Not This Time, Kelly Breen, 50-1); #11 Messier (Empire Maker, Tim Yakteen, 8-1); #12 Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo, Pletcher, 20-1); #13 Morello (Classic Empire, Asmussen, 20-1); #14 Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile Pletcher, 30-1); #15 Simplification (Not This Time, Antonio Sano, 15-1): #16 Slow Down Andy (Nyquist, Doug O'Neill, 50-1); #17 Smile Happy (Runhappy, Kenny McPeek, 6-1); #18 Summer Is Tomorrow (Summer Front, Bhupat Seemar, 50-1); #19 Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile, Cox, 50-1); #20 Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb, McPeek, 12-1); #21 White Abarrio (Race Day, Saffie Joseph, Jr., 8-1); #22 Zandon (Upstart, Brown, 20-1); #23 Zozos (Munnings, Cox, 30-1); #24 “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (15-1).

The post Epicenter Morning-Line Favorite in Final Derby Future Wager appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The Committee reviewed 891 U.S. stakes races with a purse of at least $75,000, and assigned Graded status to 449 of them–four more than were graded in 2021, and Listed status to 204 races. Eight Graded races were upgraded and three new Grade I, five new Grade II races and 13 new Grade III races were named. Twenty new Listed races and two new Listed-Restricted races were upgraded from non-Listed Black Type status.

Among the most notable changes was the upgrading of Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass from Grade II status back to Grade I. Keeneland's major GI Kentucky Derby prep had been downgraded prior to the 2017 running. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and New York S. at Belmont Park also go from Grade II to Grade I for 2022.

Two races were downgraded from Grade I to Grade II status: the Secretariat S. at Arlington Park and Flower Bowl S. at Saratoga.

Five races were upgraded to Grade II status: the Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Downs; Wonder Again S. and Bed o' Roses S. at Belmont Park; Fanduel Turf Sprint S. at Kentucky Downs; and Shuvee S. at Saratoga.

Four races were downgraded from Grade II to Grade III status: the Falls City S. at Churchill Downs; Best Pal S. at Del Mar; and Adirondack S. and Bernard Baruch H. at Saratoga.

Thirteen races were upgraded to Grade III status: the Jockey Club Derby Invitational S., Jockey Club Oaks Invitational S. and Pebbles S. at Belmont Park; Street Sense S. at Churchill Downs; Del Mar Juvenile Turf S. at Del Mar; Bryan Station S. at Keeneland; Dueling Grounds Derby and Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon S. at Kentucky Downs; Essex H., Hot Springs S. and Oaklawn Mile S. at Oaklawn Park; and Surfer Girl S. and Zuma Beach S. at Santa Anita Park.

Nine races were downgraded from Grade III to Listed status: the Excelsior S. at Aqueduct; Bashford Manor S. at Churchill Downs; Longacres Mile H. at Emerald Downs; Gulfstream Park Sprint S. at Gulfstream Park; Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash S. at Laurel Park; Los Alamitos Derby at Los Alamitos Race Course; Parx Dash S. at Parx Racing; and Astra S. and Lazaro Barrera S. at Santa Anita Park.

Twenty races were upgraded to Listed status: the Awad S. and Winter Memories S. at Aqueduct; Blame S., Kelly's Landing S., Mamzelle Overnight S., Mighty Beau Overnight S., Opening Verse Overnight S., Shawnee S., and Unbridled Sidney S. at Churchill Downs; Marie G. Krantz Memorial S. at Fair Grounds; Limestone Turf Sprint S., Palisades Turf Sprint S., and Perryville S. at Keeneland; Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S. and Music City S. at Kentucky Downs; Temperence Hill S. at Oaklawn Park; Prince George's County S. at Pimlico; Baffle S. and Speakeasy S. at Santa Anita Park; and Galway S. at Saratoga.

Two races were upgraded to Listed-Restricted status: the Oceanside S. at Del Mar and One Dreamer S. at Kentucky Downs.

Nine races were downgraded from Listed to non-Listed Black Type status: the Arlington-Washington Futurity at Arlington Park; Mystic Lake Derby at Canterbury Park; Indiana General Assembly Distaff S., Indiana Grand S. and Mari Hulman George Memorial S. at Indiana Grand; Dave's Friend S. at Laurel Park; Satin and Lace S. at Presque Isle Downs; She's All In S. at Remington Park; and Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park.

All Graded and Listed races from 2021 maintained their eligibility for February 2022 through January 2023. Of the 449 Graded stakes races determined by the AGSC, 101 are Grade I's (22.5%), 135 are Grade II's (30.1%) and 213 are Grade III's (47.4%).

For the complete list of Graded and Listed stakes, click here.

The post TOBA: Blue Grass Back to Grade I appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“That's the plan,” trainer Michael McCarthy told the Pimlico notes team Monday.

The homebred automatically qualified for a starting berth in the 146th Preakness with his victory in the El Camino Real Derby Feb. 13 at Golden Gate Fields. He was third, beaten 5 3/4 lengths in the Blue Grass behind champion Essential Quality (Tapit) and Highly Motivated (Nyquist), who finished fourth and 10th, respectively, in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby. Rombauer ran second by three-quarters of a length in the GI American Pharoah Sept. 26 at Santa Anita and completed his 2-year-old season with a fifth in the GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

“He's done everything and made a nice little progression from 2 to 3,” McCarthy said. “He's put on a little weight. He's a horse that takes pretty good care of himself, so he's been pretty easy that way.”

McCarthy said that Rombauer will have his final work at Santa Anita and will ship to Pimlico early next week.

Get Her Number (Dialed In), who defeated Rombauer in the American Pharoah, will not run in the Preakness, trainer Peter Miller said Monday.

The post Rombauer Confirmed for Preakness appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“He had always trained well on the dirt,” Sadler said. “Sometimes you run on turf when you don't think they are training well on dirt. He was training well on dirt, but we decided the way to develop him was to start him on the grass and then switch him over. Until they have run on it you can't be 100 % confident, but it wasn't like he had never trained well on the dirt.”

It was easy to overlook Rock Your World in Saturday's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. He had never run on the dirt, had never run particularly fast and was going up against a Bob Baffert-trained heavy favorite in Medina Spirit (Protonico) in a race that Baffert has dominated. He easily could have been a non-factor before returning to the grass.

Based on what we saw Saturday, Rock Your World has run in his last grass race. After setting the pace, he drew off to win by 4 1/4 lengths and earn a 100 Beyer Speed Figure. With Life Is Good (Into Mischief) on the sidelines, he is the only active 3-year-old to run a figure in the triple digits. Another plus is his running style. He led every step of the way in the Santa Anita Derby under Umberto Rispoli, but doesn't have to have the lead. It's easy to envision him sitting fourth early in the Kentucky Derby, getting the ideal trip. Then there's his breeding. A mile-and-a-quarter will not be a problem.

“What I like most about my horse is with the way he is bred, we always felt the further the better,” Sadler said. “You have Empire Maker on the dam's side and Candy Ride on the top side. I really feel with the way he moves that more distance will be good for him.”

This could be the type of breakthrough 3-year-old Sadler has been waiting for since beginning his career in 1978. While he has excelled with older dirt horses, he's never had a horse good enough to make his presence felt in the Triple Crown races. Sadler is 0-for-4 in the Derby and his best finish came with Corby, who was sixth, in 1993. It took him 17 years to get back to the Derby, and his three starters since 2010 have not finished better than 13th.

“I didn't sleep last night,” Sadler said Sunday morning. “I guess that gives you an indication of how I'm feeling about this. I feel this will be the best chance I've ever had to win the Derby and that we will go in with a good horse. I feel very good about where we are at.”

As for the rest of the field in the Santa Anita Derby, it's hard to imagine anyone but Rock Your World winning at Churchill Downs. Runner-up Medina Spirit is a consistent horse, but his three second-place finishes this year indicate that he is a cut below the very best in the division. Third-place finisher Dream Shake (Twirling Candy) obviously has some talent but he has some catching up to do before he can be considered a top colt.

Essential Quality Solid in Blue Grass Win

Unless Concert Tour (Street Sense) runs a crazy good race in Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby, Essential Quality (Tapit) will be the Derby favorite, but he certainly doesn't look invincible. Not, at least, after the GII Toyota Blue Grass S.

Essential Quality is not one of those horses who ever takes your breath away, and that was again the case Saturday at Keeneland. In what was a two-horse race every step of the way, Essential Quality was able to wear down Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) in deep stretch after battling that one most of the way. He won by a neck and earned a 97 Beyer.

Will a similar effort be good enough to win the Kentucky Derby? It may. It may not. Whereas Life Is Good might have been a heavy favorite in the Derby had he stayed healthy, it looks like Essential Quality's odds will be in the 7-2 range.

Highly Motivated will also take some money at Churchill Downs and rightly so. He put up a very good fight in the Blue Grass in his first-ever start around two turns and probably hasn't run anywhere close to his best race yet. The 3-year-old colts are not normally Chad Brown's strength, but he has a good one here in Highly Motivated. Brown is 0-for-5 in the Derby.

“We hooked up at the top of the stretch and we had a good battle all the way to the wire,” said Highly Motivated's rider Javier Castellano. “He ran huge. I am very happy with my horse.”

No one else out of the Blue Grass figures to be a factor in the Derby.

A Shocker in the Wood Memorial

The GII Wood Memorial has struggled in recent years to produce top candidates for the Kentucky Derby and this year looks like it will be more of the same.

No Wood Memorial winner has won the Derby since Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000 and the last Wood starter to win the Derby was Funny Cide in 2003.

Calumet Farm has never been afraid to run big longshots in major races and it paid off Saturday at Aqueduct, where 72-1 Bourbonic (Bernardini) closed for last to win by a neck over Dynamite One (Union Rags). Both are trained by Todd Pletcher and the all-Pletcher exacta paid $906 for $2. The final time was 1:54.49, the slowest ever in the Wood, but the race was run over a very deep racetrack. He got an 89 Beyer figure.

Good job by NBC's Randy Moss, who predicted the final time would be the slowest in the race's history.

Bourbonic, who was ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, clearly took advantage of the fact that several of the top Wood contenders did not run their race. Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) was seventh and the highly regarded Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) was sixth in his stakes debut. Crowded Trade (More Than Ready), the second choice at 5-2, ran third but was never a serious threat.

Just one week earlier, it looked like Pletcher might not have a starter in the Derby. He's started at least one horse every year since 2003. He now has four horses who have enough points to get into the Derby field. Along with the two Wood horses, he has GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Known Agenda (Curlin) and Jeff Ruby Steaks S. runner-up Sainthood (Mshawish).

In a year where so much focus has been on diversity, it will be nice to see Carmouche ride in the Derby. He will be the first African American to ride in the race since 2013 and will attempt to become the first black jockey to win it since Jimmy Winkfield in 1902.

The post Week in Review: Out of Nowhere, Rock Your World Emerges as Serious Derby Threat appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Saturday's live coverage begins from Aqueduct Racetrack with the Wood Memorial, which has registered 11 Derby winners. The 5-2 morning line favorite is Risk Taking, ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and trained by Chad Brown. Additionally, the Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, is expected to feature undefeated 3-5 morning line favorite Essential Quality, who was named 2020's Champion 2-year-old male. Rounding out Saturday's show is the GI Santa Anita Derby. Headlining the field is Medina Spirit, trained by Hall-of-Famer Bob Baffert, who has won the Santa Anita Derby a record nine times.

Ahmed Fareed hosts Saturday's triplecast coverage, alongside analysts Jerry Bailey, Randy Moss, and insights analyst Steve Kornacki, who will be at his Big Board to analyze the Kentucky Derby points standings as qualifying for the Run for the Roses enters its final weeks. Reporters Laffit Pincay III and Britney Eurton will be on-site in Santa Anita, Matt Bernier will be in New York and Kenny Rice will report from Keeneland. NBCSN will also present highlights of Saturday's “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” races from across the country.

Coverage will be streamed live on www.NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app–NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs.

The post NBC Sports to Present the May 1 Kentucky Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“Keeneland is excited to welcome racing back to the Bluegrass in April,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “With the cancellation of last year's Spring Meet because of the pandemic, it is critical to the Thoroughbred industry that we are able to offer our full slate of April stakes on their traditional dates. These races are key fixtures on the international racing calendar.”

“For this year's Spring Meet,” Arvin added, “Keeneland is working on plans for ticketing options under our COVID-19 safety protocols and we plan to make an announcement in the next few weeks.”

Keeneland will conduct a total of 10 stakes on grass and eight stakes on dirt while offering multiple stakes on four days during the Spring Meet.

Opening day, Friday, Apr. 2, features three stakes: the $150,000 GIII Kentucky Utilities Transylvania S., a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds; the $150,000 GIII Beaumont S. at seven furlongs, 184 feet, on dirt for 3-year-old fillies; and $100,000 Palisades Turf Sprint S., for 3-year-olds going 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass.

The Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland will be contested the following day, Saturday, Apr. 3, as part of a blockbuster card of six stakes. Both are worth 180 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road to the Kentucky Oaks, respectively. The winners of each stakes will earn 100 qualifying points to the respective races. Joining the Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland on April 3 are the $300,000 GI Madison S. for older fillies and mares at seven furlongs; $200,000 GII Appalachian S. for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on the grass; $200,000 GII Shakertown S. for 3-year-olds and up at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf; and $200,000 GIII Commonwealth S. for older horses at seven furlongs.

For the remainder of the Spring Meet, racing will be held Wednesday through Sunday. For the entire stakes schedule, visit Keeneland.com.

The post Keeneland Releases Spring Stakes Schedule appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

After airing over subsequent GIII Indiana Derby hero Shared Sense (Street Sense) in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 13, the Bruce Lunsford homebred followed up with another impressive performance capturing Keeneland’s GII Toyota Blue Grass S. July 11, his second straight victory with a triple digit Beyer Speed Figure.

“I’m just hoping for a good clean trip more than anything,” trainer Tom Drury, Jr. said. “We want this race to be a stepping stone for the next one. I’d love to see him go down there and get a good, clean, easy trip wherever he may finish and then be able to move forward from that race.”

A full field will be standing in the way of the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/8-mile contest, which offers GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points of 50-20-10-5.

Dean Martini (Cairo Prince), claimed by Tom Amoss for $50,000 three starts back in his maiden breaker at Churchill Downs in May, posted a breakthrough victory in the GIII Ohio Derby last time June 27.

The aforementioned Shared Sense, 6 1/2 lengths adrift Art Collector in Louisville, delivered as the 5-2 favorite with a three-length decision in Indiana last time. He will have to work out a trip from post 12, however.

The post Streaking Art Collector on Display in Runhappy Ellis Park Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

That long-held dream took an important step forward when Hernandez guided Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector to a 3 1/2-length victory over the talented filly Swiss Skydiver in Keeneland's $600,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on July 11. The triumph in the Grade 2 stakes was the first in a graded stakes for trainer Tommy Drury, a close friend of Hernandez. Drury has trained horses for 30 years, but a large part of his business has been getting 2-year-olds and horses coming off layoffs ready for other trainers.

Hernandez has won a slew of graded stakes races, capped by Fort Larned's score in 2012 in the then-$5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, North America's most lucrative race. He's only had two cracks at the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, in his adopted hometown of Louisville: finishing 12th in 2016 on Tom's Ready and eighth in 2017 with McCraken.

Had the Derby been in its usual First Saturday in May time slot, Hernandez would not be in this position with Art Collector.

“The most special thing about it is to be on this trail with Tommy,” Hernandez said. “The Blue Grass being his first graded-stakes win meant a lot. I've ridden at every little racetrack in the country, I think, for Tommy. Indiana, River Downs, Beulah, Ellis and now to win the Blue Grass for him is a special moment. Being friends like we are, it's more special to have this good of a horse. We've always talked about, 'Man, if we could ever get a really good one like this, the trip it would put us on.' It's meant a lot.

“…You're always thinking about the Derby. Every time we work these young 2-year-olds, you're always thinking, 'Hey, maybe this will be our next Derby mount.' Hopefully one day it will be the Derby winner. I've never won it, so I couldn't tell you what it takes to win it. I know just from riding it the few times we have, it does take a special horse. The year we went into it with McCraken, we went in thinking we had a really big chance. And we kind of lost our chance at the start that day. That just shows you how difficult a race it is.”

Drury said that if Art Collector needs another race before the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, it will be the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby, at 1 1/8-miles on Aug. 9. The winner receives 50 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby, enough to virtually secure a spot in the 20-horse field. But that's not an issue with Art Collector, who earned 100 in the Blue Grass.

Hernandez, the 2012 Ellis Park meet titlist, has ridden Art Collector in a race five times, including the past three when the colt won at seven furlongs, 1 1/16 miles and the Blue Grass' 1 1/8 miles — all by open lengths.

“He's just one of those rare, very intelligent horses that everything put in front him, he's jumped through all the hoops,” the jockey said. “He seems to be improving with each start.

“He's a top 3-year-old right now, and it's a different year with this whole Derby-in-September time. He was one of the late developers. It's a lot of fun, kind of hard to put into words. You're going into the Derby with one of the favorites, and you've just got to be excited about it.”

Lunsford and Drury are lifelong Louisvillians, while the 34-year-old Hernandez has lived in the Louisville area since he began riding full-time in 2004. That's the year the Louisiana product won the Eclipse Award as North America's outstanding apprentice jockey.

“I think we've lived in Louisville now just about as long as I did in Louisiana,” he said. “I guess now we're just Kentuckians. That's another fun part of the journey, being able to say, 'Hey, Tommy's from Louisville here, and Bruce is as well. It's all Kentucky guys. It just goes to show you how strong the Kentucky program is getting now. We're one of the top circuits in the country.”

Hernandez has been a shining example that riding at Ellis Park in the summer isn't a detriment to riding in the sport's biggest races (although this year, there's the COVID-19 wrinkle of tracks such as Saratoga closing its doors to outside jockeys).

The jockey won his first Grade 1 victory in Saratoga's 2012 Whitney Handicap with the Ian Wilkes-trained Fort Larned, then rode at Ellis Park the next day. Three months later, the jockey and Fort Larned won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

“It's always worked well for us being at Ellis,” he said. “Like last year, we picked up a really good 2-year-old in Fighting Seabee. He broke his maiden at Ellis and in his very next start he won the With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga. And just having that relationship with clients who run at Ellis during the summertime, we do get the opportunity to run at places like Saratoga and all the stakes out of town — most of the years.”

The post Hernandez: ‘You’re Always Thinking About The Derby’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The victory gave trainer Tom Drury Jr. his first graded stakes triumph.

“It was a pretty special day,” Drury said Sunday morning, noting there was not much time for celebration. “You know how we horse trainers are. I had to get him back to Skylight last night and I had to be at Churchill Downs at 5:30 (this morning) for the first set. I wound up having a frozen pizza and a cold beer.”

With the Toyota Blue Grass victory, Art Collector picked up 100 qualifying points toward the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1) to be run Sept. 5. That total is good for fourth place on the Derby leaderboard with only six points races remaining for the classic, which is limited to the top 20 point earners that pass the entry box.

“I am going to get with Bruce in the next couple of days and figure out what we will do,” Drury said about the eight weeks remaining before the Derby. “Art Collector will stay at Skylight for a little while because it is quieter there and then like we have done before, two weeks or so before he runs we will bring him back to Churchill.

“If we do anything, it likely would be Ellis (the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9).”

On Saturday evening, trainer Kenny McPeek tweeted that Peter Callahan's Toyota Blue Grass runner-up, Swiss Skydiver, “came back in good order. Very proud of her race today. We will likely point towards the Kentucky Oaks.”

The post ‘Frozen Pizza And A Cold Beer’: Drury Celebrates Blue Grass Win In Style appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post