On Saturday at about 6:30 pm, 20 horses will line up to run for the roses in the Grade I, $2 million Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands. Post positions and morning line odds were announced yesterday, and with the publication last night of past performances, handicappers began putting the final phase of making selections…
“How great is this?” asked Ed Stanco, standing near the winner’s circle at Aqueduct Racetrack on February 27. Despite the 30-degree (Fahrenheit) temperature and the wind coming off nearby Jamaica Bay, and despite the unglamorous setting — Aqueduct plays third fiddle to its sexier New York Racing Association cousins, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course…
She’s as closely associated with Churchill Downs as the twin spires, but though she’s been a proud resident of the bluegrass for decades, Jill Byrne is a product of Virginia, her childhood spent at one of the Mid-Atlantic’s premier racing facilities, the pedigree of which might even challenge that of the historic track in Louisville…
In early March, Emily Daignault-Salvaggio logged onto Facebook and saw that her friend Bev Strauss, the co-founder and president of Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue, had tagged her in a post. When she clicked on it, her heart sank. Staring at her from the screen was a familiar face, a chestnut horse that she had, months earlier,…
With a week to go until Kentucky Derby 142, the expected field has taken shape, with entries and post positions to be drawn on Wednesday, May 4. Bear in mind, though, that in recent years, the week before the Kentucky Derby has seen significant scratches, with high-profile horses dropping out and making room for those…
Just in time for the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs is offering the chance to become involved in Thoroughbred ownership, ordinarily a pricey endeavor, for the low, low price of $500. Churchill announced last week the creation of theChurchill Downs Racing Club, a partnership in which 200 people would become members—not owners—for a one-time fee of…
More than 24 hours after Paulassilverlining won her second graded stakes, the Distaff (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack April 17, owner and breeder Vincent Scuderi was still beaming. “Yeah,” he said. “I still have a smile on my face.” A 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper, out of the Grindstone mare Seeking the Silver, Paulassilverlining won her first stakes race,…
by Brian Nadeau of Horseplayer Now and Capital OTB TV. Keeneland: The GIII, $150,000 Lexington at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) While this year’s Lexington likely won’t send anyone to the Kentucky Derby, as no one can secure a berth with a win, there’s some intrigue, as a few classy runners from major barns take…
by Brian Nadeau of Horseplayer Now and Capital OTB TV. Oaklawn Park: The GI, $1 million Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 100-40-20-10) #1 Discreetness (20-1): Deep closer didn’t make any headway behind many of these when seventh in both of the two local graded stakes, the GIII Southwest in February and GII Rebel…
Training hours are coming to an end on a March morning at Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach, Florida. A lot of outfits have already shipped at least some of their horses north, to New York or Kentucky or Toronto, and quiet sinks over much of the training center. Not so much at Barn 11, one…
Brooklyn Backstretch 