Preakness Week underway
The countdown to the 140th Preakness Stakes continues as final preparations are being made for horses and horsemen contesting the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
Tom Law
Preakness preview bucket No. 2
Less than a week to go until the 140th Preakness Stakes and the field continues to take shape for the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Danzig Moon was confirmed Saturday and Todd Pletcher continues to evaluate his group of 3-year-olds that may or may not contest Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah in Baltimore.
Here & There – May 8
The 141st Kentucky Derby is in the books. The Preakness just about a week away; the Iroquois Steeplechase now only a day away. Busy days indeed in the racing world and it always seems like everyone’s playing catch-up.
Breeding Watch: Long live the line
On a spectacular first Saturday in May in Louisville, American Pharoah had to work a little harder than usual to wear that coveted garland of roses.
The Bob Baffert-trained son of Pioneerof the Nile took the overland route to the infield winner’s circle all the while taking another step toward superstardom. He also became the latest in a long string of Mr. Prospector-line Kentucky Derby winners.
What is good for racing?
Tis the season to read or listen to the words, “good for racing.”
Sometimes those words are ramped up a notch to “great for racing.”
The discussion is about as tired and boring as the racing is dead versus the racing is alive and well debate in the weeks leading up to and including the Triple Crown. Conclusions cannot be made about the game when only looking at the winter months or looking at the nearly 300,000 fans that packed Churchill Downs for two days in May. But we’ll revisit that discussion another day.
Tardy Tuesday – Back on pace
The Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks dominated the racing world last weekend, rightfully so considering on-track crowds were in excess of 300,000 and television audiences into the millions – but there was plenty of top-tier racing across the country and around the world.
Day at the Races: Derby 2015
The masses flooded into Churchill Downs on a beautiful day Saturday, smashing the attendance record for American racing’s biggest day. The reported attendance of 170,513 that turned out to see American Pharoah defeat Firing Line, Dortmund and 15 others easily broke the previous mark of 165,307 set in 2012 when I’ll Have Another was victorious.
Unique double for VanMeter
When researching the connections of some of the greatest Thoroughbreds, it often goes undocumented how many times they change hands or how many great people, farms and consignors are involved with them beyond the breeder, owner, trainer and jockey.
Tom VanMeter, D.V.M., has enjoyed tremendous success as a breeder, as a former partner in industry giant Eaton Sales and more recently with his personal consignment company, VanMeter Sales.
Lovely’ stories emerge from Kentucky Oaks
A trainer who was in a coma last April gave an opportunity to a 56-year-old, roughneck jockey to ride a horse who was named after a disabled hotel worker in Florida and owned by a former Kentucky Governor. All that unfolded Friday at Churchill Downs as Gov. Brereton Jones’ Lovely Maria, trained by Larry Jones and ridden by Kerwin “Boo Boo” Clark, won the Longines Kentucky Oaks in front of the largest crowd in the race’s history, 123,763.
Packed house for stellar Oaks undercard
Molly Morgan seems to be getting better with age. The Dale Romans trainee captured her first career Grade 1 victory in Friday’s $300,000 La Troienne in front of a loud, lively and record Kentucky Oaks crowd on a near-perfect afternoon at Churchill Downs.
