The special bejeweled 150th Kentucky Derby trophy. (Coady Media)
Local Riders Plan For Summer Ahead Of Churchill Downs’ Closing Day
Closing Weekend Stakes Bonanza with All-Stakes Derby City 6 To Be Offered Saturday
Churchill Downs Update/Edited
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The connections from Team Mystik Dan – owners Brent Gasaway’s 4G Racing LLC, Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby III and Scott Hamby’s Valley View Farm LLC; trainer Kenny McPeek; jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.; and breeders Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby and 4G Racing LLC – will be at Churchill Downs on Saturday to accept their newly-engraved Kentucky Derby 150 trophies for the colt’s thrilling victory in America’s greatest race on May 4. The ceremony in the Woodford Reserve Winner’s Circle is scheduled after Race 9 at approximately 5:08 p.m. Guests in attendance will be able to take pictures with Mystik Dan’s engraved Kentucky Derby 150 trophies as they’ll be on display inside the Paddock Gate near the Club SI entrance from 11:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. The Oaks trophy for Thorpedo Anna – owners Nader Alaali’s Brookdale Racing Inc., Mark Edwards, Judy B. Hicks and Sherri McPeek’s Magdalena Racing; trainer McPeek; jockey Hernandez Jr.; and breeder Hicks – also will be on display with the Derby trophies and will be presented in the winner’s circle after Race 7 at approximately 4 p.m.
Local Riders Plan For Summer Ahead Of Churchill Downs’ Closing Day
As Churchill Downs’ Spring Meet concludes on Sunday, many local jockeys are preparing to head west to Henderson, Ky. for the summer season at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming except for the current top three in the Spring Meet standings – Tyler Gaffalione, Jose Ortiz and Luis Saez – who will shift their focus to New York for the Saratoga meet, which begins July 11.
While Gaffalione, Ortiz, and Saez will have a few quiet days before Saratoga starts, many riders are already gearing up for Ellis Park’s Thursday opener.
“I always enjoy riding at Ellis, but I’ll also travel this summer as usual,” jockey Florent Geroux said. “I think a lot of us are like that now. We’ll just go where business is best.”
Jockeys James Graham and Corey Lanerie have made agent switches ahead of the Ellis Park season. Graham is now represented by Ben Allen, while Jake Romans will book mounts for Lanerie. Both were previously represented by Doug Bredar.
Another agent change involves Erik Asmussen, whose business will now be handled by Cody Caudill. Asmussen will compete at both Ellis and Horseshoe Indianapolis this summer.
With three days of racing left at Churchill Downs, Gaffalione leads the standings with 44 wins, followed by Ortiz with 40. Saez is third with 28 victories, while Geroux and Cristian Torresare tied with 21 wins each.
“We have a great group of riders here in Kentucky,” Gaffalione said. “Day in and day out, we challenge each other with so many talented people in the room. It keeps us at our best.”
If Gaffalione maintains his lead over Ortiz, it would be his 12th title at Churchill Downs, tying Don Brumfield for the third-most all-time. Pat Day holds the most titles at Churchill Downs with 34, followed by Lanerie with 19.
Closing Weekend Stakes Bonanza
Closing weekend at Churchill Downs will feature 11 stakes races cumulatively worth more than $3.85 million (six on Saturday totaling $2.75 million and five worth $1.1 million).
All-Stakes Derby City 6 To Be Offered Saturday
Churchill Downs will offer an all-stakes Derby City 6 Jackpot, Late Pick 5 and Late Pick 4 as part of its wagering menu Saturday. The all-stakes Derby City 6 will cover Races 7-12 starting at 3:52 p.m., which will encompass the Wise Dan (Race 7), Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis (Race 8), American Derby (Race 9), Kelly’s Landing (Race 10), Stephen Foster (Race 11) and Tepin (Race 12). All told, there will be four Pick 5s (Races 1-5, Races 4-8, Races 6-10 and Races 8-12) and three Pick 4s (Races 2-5, Races 5-8 and Races 9-12) on the card. Both the Pick 4 and Pick 5 are 50-cent minimum bets. The Derby City 6 Jackpot is a 20-cent minimum. The jackpot carryover for a lone winning ticket was $297,088 entering Friday’s 11-race program.
DOWN THE STRETCH … … … ……..
Live racing at Churchill Downs resumed Thursday for the final Twilight Thursday of the Spring Meet. The eight-race card had a first post of 5 p.m. and featured $2 domestic beer, live music on the Plaza Stage by Kevin Niehoff along with local food trucks All Thai’d Up, Annie Up Pizza, Black Rock Grille, Donut NV and Str8 Drop Mob Wing Spot. Thursday’s program also included a massive $284,891 in the 20-cent Derby City 6 Jackpot which spanned the final six races. …
A total of 42 horses schooled in the paddock following training Thursday morning including Stephen Foster favorite First Mission and Hanshin Stakes top contenders Tumbarumba, Zozos and Cagliostro. …
Friday’s 11-race program at Churchill Downs featured a massive $297,088 carryover in the 20-cent Derby City 6 Jackpot which spanned the final six races. Sunday’s closing day card will feature a mandatory payout in all wagers including the Derby City 6 Jackpot. …
The Dale Romans-trained Keep It Easy ($48.58) won Thursday’s third race, the first six-furlong $120,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds on the year at Churchill Downs, in 1:09.97 under Martin Chuan. The winner of the race has gone on to win a graded stakes event eight times in the last 18 years, including 2005 Hopeful (GI) winner First Samurai; 2009 Forego (GI) winner Pyro; 2009 Iroquois (GIII) winner Theskyhasnolimit; 2010 Sanford (GII) winner Maybesomaybenot; 2014 Dominion Day (GIII) winner Sky Captain; 2016 Sanford (GIII) winner Bitumen; 2021 Hopeful (GI) winner Gunite; and 2022 Saratoga Special (GII) winner Damon’s Mound. …
The Spring Meet finale of “Inside Churchill Downs” will air Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN Louisville and preview Saturday and Sunday’s 11 stakes events. Join Churchill Downs’ Darren Rogers and Kevin Kerstein as they preview the weekend action with the voice of Ellis Park and Turfway Park Tony Calo. Listeners in the Louisville area can tune in live on ESPN 680/105.7 and those worldwide can stream the show on www.espnlouisville.com. Following Friday’s show, Rogers and Kerstein will have a 60-day freshening before returning for the September Meet. Beginning July 12, fans are invited to listen to the “Ky Racing Spotlight with Louie Rabaut presented by the Kentucky HBPA” which will air during the same timeslot throughout the summer. …
For more information about the Churchill Downs Spring Meet and to purchase tickets for the remaining five days, visit www.churchilldowns.com.
