It’s challenging being the champ; walking (and running) around with a bullseye plastered on your hind end. Ever since being honored as the nation’s top 2-year-old in January, Essential Quality has worn the crown well. He appeared to be on-the-ropes Saturday in the Keeneland stretch, when Highly Motivated proved a surprisingly stubborn foe in the […]
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This Saturday’s Grade I Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park is the final race offering 170 points toward a spot in the starting gate at this year’s 147th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby on May 1. Also Saturday, Keeneland’s Grade II Lexington Stakes has 34 Kentucky Derby points up for grabs to the […]
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As a consequence of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, having fun these days has become quite a challenge. But trainer Bob Baffert is one person who did have some fun last Saturday. Watching on television at his Southern California home not far from Santa Anita, Baffert was understandably elated as to what happened in the two […]
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Two…that’s two…for the price of one. To borrow a phrase, ‘Double your pleasure, double your fun.’ There’s no Kentucky Derby Saturday–COVID 19 saw to that–instead we’ve got two versions of the Arkansas Derby—where 22 original entries necessitated a ‘split’ of the race into two divisions. It’s a unique opportunity to see if, on the first […]
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Bob Baffert no doubt hopes it goes better for him at Oaklawn Park this Saturday than it did in last year’s Rebel Stakes. When the 2019 Rebel attracted 19 entries, Oaklawn split the race into two divisions. Baffert sent out the odds-on favorite in each division. They both narrowly lost, causing their Hall of Fame […]
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A pair of bullets were fired in morning workouts Wednesday (April 15) at Santa Anita. Nadal drilled five furlongs in :59.80, fastest of 65 works at the distance. Charlatan worked six furlongs in 1:12.20, fastest of 11 works at the distance. Two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert recently revealed plans for Charlatan and Nadal, plus […]
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The Kentucky Derby, this country’s most famous horse race, has been held on the first Saturday in May for decades. It had been scheduled to be run this year on May 2. But as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s 146th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs has been shifted to […]
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This past weekend felt like the start of something big—the journey toward horse racing’s premier annual event: The Kentucky Derby. Granted, as the thermometer on the wall reminds, we’re a couple of months away from the first Saturday in May. However, from now until the Arkansas Derby April 11, just about every winter weekend offers […]
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It was 10 weeks ago that Omaha Beach debuted on my Kentucky Derby Top 10. All he had done at that point was win a maiden race. But his Feb. 2 maiden performance impressed me to such an extent that, even though he had not even run in a stakes race yet, I decided to […]
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Classic Empire’s path to potential favoritism in the 2017 Kentucky Derby has been anything but ‘Classic.’ To review: He promptly broke maiden first out going four and one-half furlongs at Churchill Downs over a ‘sloppy’ surface. The Equibase chart footnote reports that he “…finished with a surge and kicked away.” Next out, he “rolled by […]
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