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John Clay: After last year's problems, HISA and Churchill Downs take measures to avoid a repeat
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Exactly one year ago, Churchill Downs was a race track in crisis at the worst possible time.
Kentucky Derby week was being overshadowed by an early spate of equine deaths at the Louisville facility. Before the Spring Meet had concluded, the fatalities had risen to 12 and racing had been shifted to the Churchill Downs Inc.-...Read more
Kentucky Derby 2024 has its first scratch. See who's out, and who's now in the field.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — It’s only Tuesday, but we already have a scratch for Saturday’s 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby.
Encino — trained by Brad Cox and drawn into post position 9 — won’t run in Derby 150.
With Encino scratching out of the race, Epic Ride — trained by John Ennis — will move into the 20-horse field as a result of ...Read more
John Clay: After last year's heartbreak, Mike Repole is back in same spot for Kentucky Derby 150
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Mike Repole has a message for people about Mike Repole: Don’t feel sorry for Mike Repole.
“I mean I’ve got a pretty awesome life,” the 55-year-old New York native said last week.
You could say that. According to Forbes magazine, Repole is worth $1.6 billion. He helped start Glaceau, the company behind Vitaminwater ...Read more
Kentucky Derby storylines: 150th running clouded by who is not in race
Regardless whether you think this is Kentucky Derby 150, Kentucky Derby 150* or Kentucky Derby 149½, most of the animus around this year's historic race will be forgotten, if only briefly, when the gates open at Churchill Downs on Saturday evening.
Somewhere around 20 of the best 3-year-old horses in the world will be hoping to win the most ...Read more
The 2024 Keeneland Spring Meet is over. Here are the leading jockeys, trainers and owners.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Keeneland’s 16-day Spring Meet came to a close Friday.
Held from April 5-26, this year’s Spring Meet included a historic 100th edition of the meet’s signature race, the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, as well as 19 stakes races in total that offered a combined, season-record purse of $8.6 million.
The meet also took place ...Read more
Post positions drawn for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. See the full fields with odds.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fierceness, the Todd Pletcher trainee who won the Florida Derby by more than 13 lengths last month, was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s historic 150th edition of the $5 million Kentucky Derby.
A winner in three of his five career starts, Fierceness was assigned post position 17 for the Derby. That�...Read more
Some of 2024's best horses will miss the Kentucky Derby as Churchill's feud with Bob Baffert lingers
LEXINGTON, Ky. — This year’s historic 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville will, once again, be absent of the biggest name in modern horse racing.
Bob Baffert — the 71-year-old trainer who is tied for the most Derby wins by a trainer (six) in history — is once again barred from saddling a horse in the ...Read more
Judge rules against attempt to get Bob Baffert-trained horse into 2024 Kentucky Derby
LOS ANGELES — The attempt to allow Bob Baffert to run a horse in this year's Kentucky Derby was denied in a ruling by Jefferson County, Ky. Judge Mitch Perry on Thursday, possibly ending a last-ditch effort by owner Amr Zedan to get Arkansas Derby winner Muth into the 150th running of the most famous horse race in the country, if not the world...Read more
Woman sues Churchill Downs, trainer over horse bite at Kentucky Derby
LEXINGTON, Ky. — For many racing fans, being invited to the Kentucky Derby would be a dream come true.
But for one fan, it turned into a nightmare that ended with surgery and a case before the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The court heard arguments on April 11 in the liability case that asks, who is responsible when a horse hurts someone on the ...Read more
Harness horsemen call for end to Hawthorne's veto power over new track and casino
CHICAGO — Illinois enacted a sweeping law in 2019 to allow casinos at horse racing tracks, known as racinos. Nearly five years later, Hawthorne Race Course, a main beneficiary of the legislation, still hasn’t opened a racino. In the meantime, the industry is dying for lack of money.
Part of that legislation gave Hawthorne officials an ...Read more
John Clay: This could be the year the Blue Grass Stakes ends its Kentucky Derby drought
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Ever since prominent thoroughbred owners opted to stick with Bob Baffert instead of transferring their contenders to trainers eligible for the Kentucky Derby, the assumption was the first Saturday in May would not include this year’s top 3-year-old.
Turns out, that’s a maybe, maybe not.
That’s not because Amr Zedan, ...Read more
Bob Baffert could end up in Kentucky Derby if new lawsuit is successful
LOS ANGELES — Is it possible that Bob Baffert will have at least one horse in this year's Kentucky Derby? Maybe, it will all rest with a judge in Jefferson County, Ky., Circuit Court.
On Wednesday, Amr Zedan, one of Baffert's biggest clients, filed suit in Louisville seeking a temporary injunction that would allow Zedan horses, and others ...Read more
11 horses set to run in 100th Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. See the full field with odds.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The full field, with post positions, is now known for a historic running of one of the most important Kentucky Derby prep races.
At 5:52 p.m. Saturday, the 100th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes will be held at Keeneland.
A field of 11 horses will go 1 1/8 miles on the Keeneland dirt, with plenty ...Read more
2024 Kentucky Derby Watch: Three key prep races will shape the field this weekend
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The prep race season ahead of the 150th Kentucky Derby is in full swing.
Less than 40 days remain until the Run for the Roses — which now carries a $5 million purse — gets underway on May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Keeneland’s annual Spring Meet starts next week, with horse racing soon to take center stage ...Read more
Amid Santa Anita's threat to sell or close, California Horse Racing Board approves Pleasanton race dates
LOS ANGELES — In a stunning rebuke of Santa Anita's letter threatening to close or sell the track, the California Horse Racing Board voted to grant racing dates for a meeting at Pleasanton in Northern California at the end of this year.
Six commissioners were present to vote Thursday to grant the dates to Golden State Racing, which is ...Read more
What's next for Santa Anita after threat to sell the track? Could it really close?
LOS ANGELES — On Thursday, the California Horse Racing Board will hold its most consequential meeting in its 91-year existence. It must decide if it will allow racing to continue in Northern California based on a proposal long on hope and short on specifics. Or, if it will send that business — and simulcast money — to the south in the hope...Read more
Maryland horse racing bill begins 3-week sprint for General Assembly approval
BALTIMORE — If a plan to revive Maryland’s thoroughbred racing industry by building new facilities in the state with public money and organizing a state-created racing operator actually comes to fruition, a bill will need to sprint through Annapolis over the next three weeks.
During the legislation’s first hearing Tuesday before the House...Read more
1/ST Racing threatens to sell or close Santa Anita
LOS ANGELES — As a critical California Horse Racing Board vote on Thursday approaches, 1/ST Racing, a subsidiary of the Stronach Group, made a not-so-veiled threat to consider selling or closing Santa Anita if the board authorizes racing in Northern California this year.
It’s unclear if it’s a serious threat or just gamesmanship, but in a...Read more
Maryland horse racing bill would use $400M to rebuild Pimlico, training facility
BALTIMORE — With less than a month left in the Maryland General Assembly’s 2024 session, legislators will consider a horse racing bill that aims to install a new day-to-day operator, rebuild Pimlico Race Course and construct a training facility using $400 million in state bonds.
The plan — a much-amended version of a 2020 blueprint — is...Read more
Preakness Stakes purse will increase to $2 million in 2024
BALTIMORE — The purse for the Preakness Stakes will increase to $2 million, up from $1.5 million in 2023, and it will become part of a new three-leg series with a potential bonus payout of $5 million, 1/ST Racing said Friday in a move designed to increase the appeal of Maryland’s signature race.
Despite its status as the second jewel in the...Read more
Popular Stories
- John Clay: After last year's problems, HISA and Churchill Downs take measures to avoid a repeat
- Kentucky Derby 2024 has its first scratch. See who's out, and who's now in the field.
- Post positions drawn for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. See the full fields with odds.
- Some of 2024's best horses will miss the Kentucky Derby as Churchill's feud with Bob Baffert lingers
- Kentucky Derby storylines: 150th running clouded by who is not in race