Woodford Reserve®, the Presenting Sponsor of the Kentucky Derby®, is honoring “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” with the release of its 2023 commemorative Derby bottle.
This year's special release celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic moments in sports history – Secretariat winning the 1973 Derby.
The bottle features the artwork of Kentucky native Jaime Corum, known for her stunning horse portraits. Her painting captures Secretariat in the Winner's Circle at Churchill Downs, with the famed Garland of Roses draped over the colt's withers.
The bottle retails for $55 and is available for purchase globally. A special presale on ReserveBar begins March 1.
Secretariat is considered one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time. A Triple Crown winner, he still holds the record for the fastest race time at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont.
“This is our most collectible Derby bottle yet, as Secretariat is perhaps the most revered and most loved racehorse in history,” Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall said. “Even 50 years after his stunning achievement, Secretariat's Triple Crown run is still considered one of the most iconic achievements in sports.”
Corum spent her formative years riding horses, painting and drawing them in her free time, and continued to focus on her equine subject after receiving her Masters of Fine Arts from The University of Kentucky. Each equine artwork begins with the foundation of her understanding of equine shape and movement and enhances that with the intangible quality of the horse's character.
“I hope that my painting for this year's Woodford Reserve Derby bottle, “Still The Greatest,” allows us to remember that moment of dreamlike perfection when Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby,” Corum said. “ I have been honored to paint Secretariat many times over the years, but this one is truly special to me, as it celebrates his 50th anniversary and is paired with Woodford Reserve. Who could imagine a more perfect pairing of two things that will never go out of style?”
Woodford Reserve's Derby bottle has been an annual collector's item anticipated by bourbon and racing fans since 1999.
After a sloppy victory in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, Confidence Game was voted into fourth position for the fifth week of the NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll. Trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden to victory by James Graham, Confidence Game (Candy Ride) is out of Eblouissante, the half-sister to Hall of Fame racemare Zenyatta.
Desormeaux purchased the Summer Wind Equine-bred colt for just $25,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling sale. With three wins from seven career starts thus far, Confidence Game has earned $785,525 on the racetrack.
The Top 3-Year-Old Poll of 2023 continues to be led by Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Forte, a son of Violence trained by Todd Pletcher. The colt has not yet started this year, but is entered in Saturday's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
In second position is remains G3 Southwest winner Arabian Knight (formerly trained by Bob Baffert, recently transferred to former Baffert assistant Tim Yakteen), while G3 Lecomte winner Instant Coffee sits in third (Brad Cox).
The 3-Year-Old poll represents horses competing up and through the Triple Crown.
TOP THREE-YEAR OLD POLL
HORSE
A-S
STATS
POINTS
PVS
1
FORTE (22)
3-C
0-0-0-0
333
1
2
ARABIAN KNIGHT (11)
3-C
1-1-0-0
316
2
3
INSTANT COFFEE (1)
3-C
1-1-0-0
245
3
4
CONFIDENCE GAME
3-C
2-1-0-1
149
–
5
CAVE ROCK
3-C
0-0-0-0
145
4
6
ANGEL OF EMPIRE
3-C
2-1-1-0
116
5
7
HIT SHOW
3-C
1-1-0-0
105
7
8
ROCKET CAN
3-C
1-1-0-0
98
6
9
BLAZING SEVENS
3-C
0-0-0-0
76
9
10T
LITIGATE
3-C
2-1-1-0
60
10
10T
REINCARNATE
3-C
2-1-0-1
60
8
Week Five of the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll provided a big change in second position when Taiba (now in seventh) failed to fire in the Saudi Cup. Instead, it was his stablemate Country Grammer who came up just short of a victory in the $20 million race for a second year in a row. That performance boosted Country Grammer from third to second in this week's poll.
Pegasus World Cup winner Art Collector remains atop the bunch. The Bill Mott trainee kicked off his 6-year-old season with the biggest win of his career, drawing away to win the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup by 4 1/2 lengths. Art Collector, sired by Bernardini, now owns 11 wins from 21 starts with earnings over $4 million.
Elite Power, Breeders' Cup winner and Champion Sprinter, also proved a powerful force in Saudi Arabia when he captured the Riyadh Dirt Sprint under Frankie Dettori. As a result, the Mott trainee was voted into third in this week's poll. Another Mott-trained stablemate, Cody's Wish, remains in fifth with his most recent start a win in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
Another Baffert trainee, Pegasus runner-up Defunded sits in fourth ahead of Saturday's Big 'Cap at Santa Anita.
By late February of 1996, South Florida's betting public had seen plenty of a nondescript horse named Built for Pleasure. Starting at 2, the Florida-bred son of Homebuilder had made seven of his nine career starts at either Gulfstream Park or Calder Race Course, winning twice, and had already raced three times in the first six weeks of his 3-year-old season.
So, when the Fountain of Youth (G2) rolled around, having attracted a star-studded cast to Gulfstream led by Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Unbridled's Song, a horse touted by many as the one destined to end a Triple Crown drought that would last for another 19 years, little if any attention was given to Built for Pleasure – until the race was over.
Owned and trained by 78-year-old Tommy Heard Jr., Built for Pleasure got an ideal trip under two-time Calder riding champ Gary Boulanger to run down the heavy favorite and earn the first stakes victory of his career in the prestigious Triple Crown prep by a neck at odds of 143-1, still the biggest upset in race history.
“People ask me about it all the time. They're like, 'What's the biggest winner you've ever had?' Built for Pleasure. Fountain of Youth. 1996,” Boulanger said. “It's something that you'll never forget. It's something that's always part of your history. It's a blessing.”
The 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth, the next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) April 1, will have its 77th running March 4. Built for Pleasure remains the only horse to have a win payoff in triple digits – $288.20 – breaking the previous record of $88.40 set by Green Gambados in 1974.
“It was amazing. You didn't even know what his real number was, because it only showed him at 99-1 when we went into the paddock,” Boulanger said. “He's a big price, he's got a Calder-based trainer and a Calder-based rider, really, at the time. You're thinking everything just went the way you wanted it, but you're not thinking 'What did he just pay?' You're just glad you got there.”
Unbridled's Song headed to the Fountain of Youth having run second in the Hutcheson (G2) sprinting seven furlongs at Gulfstream to open his sophomore campaign. The Hutcheson winner, Appealing Skier, who also won the 1995 Laurel Futurity, would be back for another run.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas entered the pair of Editor's Note, a Grade 3 winner at 2, and Victory Speech, riding a three-race win streak, including back-to-back allowance triumphs at Gulfstream to start the year. Frisco View, who beat Built for Pleasure in a Gulfstream allowance the month before, Gold Fever and graded-stakes winners Gator Dancer and Gomtuu completed the field.
“Going into the Fountain of Youth we were really confident. I loved him going into that race. I knew he'd probably be a price,” Boulanger said. “Gary Stevens was coming in from California to ride [Victory Speech], and I knew he wasn't going to leave Mike Smith alone with Unbridled's Song. My horse had learned how to relax and had a really good move, so that had me really, really excited. Did I think I could beat him? Absolutely. I thought I could beat him if the cards fell the right way. It ended up falling out perfectly.”
Boulanger had gotten to know Built for Pleasure that winter, riding him four times at Gulfstream prior to the Fountain of Youth. They finished second to favored Seacliff in the Spectacular Bid (G2) Jan. 7 and ran in two allowance races before the month was out, including the loss to Frisco View. One more allowance was on tap Feb. 12, two weeks before the Fountain of Youth, ending in a front-running head victory in 1:45.36.
“The Spectacular Bid was the first time I rode him. We were just trying to teach him how to relax and use his speed the right way. It was kind of like a teaching process,” Boulanger said. “In the allowance race going two turns before we ran him in the Fountain of Youth … he ran really fast that day, timewise, and he did it the right way. Me and the assistant trainer were really happy with him.”
Built for Pleasure broke from Post 4 in the Fountain of Youth, between Smith and Unbridled's Song on the rail and Stevens and Victory Speech in Post 6. Gomtuu took the early initiative and led through four furlongs when Unbridled's Song closed to within a half-length, closely followed by Victory Speech. Boulanger and Built for Pleasure sat sixth, less than a length behind, watching Unbridled's Song and Victory Speech duke it out.
“Gary went to Unbridled's Song at about the 4 ½ [furlong] pole, put pressure on him all down the backside. I'm about five or six lengths back, then like three lengths off it turning for home, and I'm sitting on a ton of horse. I absolutely loved the trip I was getting,” Boulanger said. “I got into a really good position early on. He was sitting well and doing everything very comfortably.
“It wasn't like I had to use him to get any kind of position. He got there very easily, and he was relaxed and doing what I wanted him to do. I was never worried about where I was,” he added. “I thought I was in a great position at the time. Turning for home, I loved where I was. What I didn't know was how much Mike had with Unbridled's Song or Gary had with Victory Speech. It worked out that day where everything fell together the right way.”
Boulanger swung Built for Pleasure out four- wide entering the stretch and came with a steady run to reel in the front-runners approaching the wire, emerging from a three-way photo finish a neck in front of Unbridled's Song, with Victory Speech another neck back in third. Appealing Skier ran fourth followed by Editor's Note – who would go on to run second in the Preakness (G1) and win the Belmont (G1).
Interestingly, Built for Pleasure was not even the longest shot in the Fountain of Youth. That honor went to Gomtuu, who was sent off at odds of 144-1.
“It wasn't a head bob or one of those. I knew I had got by them,” Boulanger said. “At the eighth pole, you're just working. You don't know if you're going to get there or not, but he's running, they're running and the wire's coming. When it did, I knew I got there.”
Built for Pleasure went on to run seventh after pressing a fast early pace in the Florida Derby, with Unbridled's Song and Editor's Note finishing 1-2 and Appealing Skier sixth. He would never win another race or run in another grade stakes following a 19th place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1), in which he was ridden by John Velazquez.
“It's fun when you work with a horse and you help develop their real talent and it shows up in a race. I wish we could have done things differently in the Florida Derby,” Boulanger said. “That was kind of the downfall for him. It's unfortunate because the horse had a lot of talent to beat those kind he did.”
Now 55, Boulanger had only moved his tack to South Florida two years prior to winning the Fountain of Youth but found instant success with 1994 and 1995 riding titles at Calder as well as the 1994-95 Tropical Park meet. He had come from the West Coast, riding in Northern California and Washington, where he broke Stevens' single-season record with 247 wins at Longacres, a 13 ½-hour drive from his birthplace of Drayton Valley, Alberta.
Boulanger is approaching 3,700 career victories including two of Canada's most prestigious races – the 2001 Queen's Plate with Hall of Fame filly Dancethruthedawn and 2021 Prince of Wales with Haddassah. The latter came 16 years after Boulanger went down in a near-fatal spill during the Mac Diarmida (G3) at Gulfstream, in which he suffered a ruptured spleen, broken ribs and a detached tendon in his left elbow, and needed part of his skull removed to prevent pressure on his brain.
Told he would never ride again, Boulanger returned in February 2013 at Tampa Bay Downs, two years after Heard passed away at the age of 93. He continues to be a mainstay at Woodbine in Canada, spending the winter with his family in Ocala, Fla.
“In our game, it's not when you get hurt, it's how bad. I've had some injuries, and I've had some bad ones. I'm just grateful that I got to do something that I love to do, and I'm still doing it,” Boulanger said. “I never look back at it. I don't have any bitter thoughts toward Gulfstream, and I don't have any bitter thoughts from when I broke my back at Calder. That's part of our game. If you dwell on all the little things, you're probably not going to make it back. That was always my goal – what did I have to do to get back do doing what I really love to do – and that's all I ever focused on.
“Now I'm just trying to get my body to where I want it physically fit-wise going into Woodbine and be prepared the best I can be,” he added. “I'm getting on horses in Ocala, and I have a really good 3-year-old Canadian colt, Twin City, for [trainer] Stu Simon. He's probably second or third choice for the King's Plate. He's as good a 3-year-old Canadian-bred that there is in Canada. I think he's a bright light in my future, so I'm really excited about him.”
Boulanger was inducted into Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2020, three years after receiving the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award which recognizes a jockey that has made a significant contribution to the sport.
“Obviously when you're acknowledged as one of the biggest upsets in a major sporting event, to win that is something you never forget. It's part of history. It's something you always cherish,” Boulanger said. “It's right up there with winning the Queen's Plate and the Prince of Wales and breaking Gary Stevens' record. Those were huge accomplishments.
“You're proud of things like that. You don't look at it when it really happens, but when they keep talking about it 30 years later that means something,” he added. “Do you have a special spot in your heart for Built for Pleasure? Yeah, of course I do. It's an honor to be remembered from this far back. It was a fun day.”
One of four Bob Baffert trainees that will be saddled for the first time by Tim Yakteen, Hejazi heads an outstanding field of 11 sophomores going 1 1/16 miles in Saturday's $400,000 San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita.
One of America's most important classic preps, the San Felipe winner will be awarded 50 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points with the second- through fifth-place finishers receiving 20, 15, 10 and five points.
Although as yet unproven going a route of ground, New York-bred Hejazi has been near brilliant on two occasions and with a $3.5-million price tag as a 2-year-old in training this past May, will hope to be a show-stopper in the San Felipe with Mike Smith Back aboard.
Favored in three out of his four starts, Hejazi comes off a brilliant 1 ¼ length maiden score at 1-2 going 6½ furlongs at Santa Anita on Jan. 15, earning a 99 Beyer Speed Figure.
In his only try around two turns, Hejazi, who was off at 5-2, was a well-beaten third two starts back behind stablemate Cave Rock in the American Pharoah (G1) Oct. 8 going 1 1/16 miles.
Off as the even-money favorite in his second start, Hejazi ran second going 5½ furlongs behind stablemate Speed Boat Beach. And although he was beaten 1 ¼ lengths, Hejazi posted a lofty 100 Beyer. Owned by Zedan Racing Stables Inc., Hejazi, who is by Bernardini out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare G Note, is 1-2-1 from four starts and will look to procure a berth in the Run for the Roses with victory on Saturday.
An impressive first-out maiden winner going 6 ½ furlongs at Del Mar Sept. 3, National Treasure was then second in the American Pharoah was third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 4 at Keeneland and was most recently third, beaten one length as the 3-5 favorite by stablemate Reincarnate, third in Saturday's Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, going one mile in the Sham Stakes (G3) on Jan. 8 at Santa Anita.
With John Velazquez riding for the fifth consecutive time, National Treasure, who was purchased as a yearling for $500,000, will no doubt command considerable respect heading into the 86th running of the San Felipe. A bay colt by Quality Road out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Treasure, National Treasure is 1-1-2 from four outings and is owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stable LLC, et al.
A well-beaten third as a maiden three starts back in the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G1) Sept. 11, C R K Stable's Skinner was then distanced in the American Pharoah, but was an ultra-impressive 3 ¼ length one mile maiden winner off the bench here on Feb. 12 and thus looms a major contender in Saturday's San Felipe.
Trained by John Shirreffs and ridden by Victor Espinoza, Skinner was next to last early in his maiden win and rallied like an A-List Derby hopeful in his maiden score while earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.
A $510,000 OBS Spring 2-year-olds in training sale purchase last April, Skinner is by Curlin out of the Malibu Moon mare Winding Way.
With Flavien Prat back in the saddle, Richard Mandella's speedy Geaux Rocket Ride, a brilliant 5¾-length first-out maiden winner going six panels on Jan. 29 at Santa Anita, takes a giant leap on Saturday in what will be only his second start.
Purchased for $350,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling, Geaux Rocket Ride is a Kentucky-bred colt by Candy Ride out of the Uncle Mo mare Beyond Grace. Owned by Pin Oak Stud LLC, Geaux Rocket Ride earned a 92 Beyer while outrunning his 6-1 odds.
An impressive one-mile maiden winner here on Jan. 2, Sunny Brook Stables homebred Mr Fisk has kept good company in all three of his starts and would appear to have significant upside as one of the four Baffert alums.
A close second to next-out winning stablemate Reincarnate in a one mile maiden race two starts back on Nov. 25 at Del Mar, he defeated another next-out winning stablemate, Harlocap, by three-quarters of a length in his maiden score and thus would appear to have a solid two turn foundation heading into his first graded stakes assignment.
A Kentucky-bred colt by Arrogate, Mr Fisk has been ridden in last two starts by Juan Hernandez, but will get the first-time services of Frankie Dettori in the San Felipe.
Although Yakteen will be busy pinch hitting for Baffert with Hejazi, National Treasure, Mr Fisk, and Fort Bragg, he'll also be saddling Practical Move, who he sent out to a handy 3 ¼-length victory in the Los Alamitos Futurity(G2) on Dec. 17.
Dismissed at 10-1, Practical Move stalked the early pace and drew off to win by 3¼ lengths under Ramon Vazquez, who rides back on Saturday. A bay colt by Practical Joke out of the Afleet Alex mare Ack Naughty, Practical Move, although never worse than third, was winless in four starts heading into the Los Alamitos Futurity, which was his second two-turn assignment.
Owned by Jean Pierre Amstoy Jr., Leslie Amstoy, and Roger Beasley, Practical Move sold at the 2022 OBS spring 2-year-olds in training sale for $230,000.
The San Felipe field in post-position order with jockey, weight:
