LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano finally won the Kentucky Derby aboard Mage. It took navigating traffic through the final turn before he broke clear and chased down Two Phil's to win by a length. The Venezuelan rider entered the Hall of Fame in 2017 after guiding Cloud Computing to a Preakness win but lacked a win in horse racing's premier event. "I feel like I'm […]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Derby is up for grabs. The starting gate will contain 19 horses vying to wear the garland of red roses. Most of the 3-year-olds will be running 1 1/4 miles for the first time on Saturday. Besides the distance, the traffic-choked conditions typically eliminate half the field in the opening quarter-mile. Here are some horses to watch: FORTE - Comes into the Derby on […]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Churchill Downs is planning a series of celebrations and fan experiences leading up to the milestone 150th Kentucky Derby in May 2024. The track rolled out a new website on Wednesday that included the official Kentucky Derby 150 logo. Horse racing's marquee event for 3-year-old thoroughbreds is the first jewel of the Triple Crown, as well as the United States' longest continually run sporting event since […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Did an 80-1 longshot really win the Kentucky Derby? People apparently wanted to make sure of Rich Strike's win. NBC Sports says some 36 million people watched a replay of the race on one of the network's social media accounts, including a record-setting 11.6 million on TikTok. Live race coverage itself averaged 16 million viewers on NBC and the Peacock streaming service, with the numbers peaking […]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The celebration after Rich Strike's stunning Kentucky Derby upset continued long into the night. The 80-1 longshot has the sports world buzzing. Next up is for Rich Strike's trainer Eric Reed and the rest of his chestnut colt's team to decide whether the storybook journey continues at the 147th Preakness on May 21 in Baltimore. Similar decisions also loom for the favorites whom Rich Strike surged […]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Derby is moving closer to normalcy after two years of upheaval amid COVID-19 restrictions. The 2020 running was delayed until Labor Day, then held without spectators. It returned to its familiar spring slot eight months later in 2021, but with limited capacity. Churchill Downs will welcome everybody without restrictions this Saturday, raising hopes of getting back to 150,000 or more beneath the Twin Spires. […]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bob Baffert has sued Churchill Downs and track leadership in federal court, seeking to overturn the Hall of Fame trainer's two-year suspension on grounds it violated his due process rights. The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court names Churchill Downs Inc., CEO William C. Carstanjen and board chair R. Alex Rankin. The historic track suspended Baffert last spring through 2023 and cited a recent spate […]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended for two years by Churchill Downs after an additional drug test of Medina Spirit confirmed the presence of the steroid betamethasone in the Kentucky Derby winner's system. Disqualification of Medina Spirit could be next. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is still completing its investigation before making that ruling. But Baffert won't be able to enter any horses in the Kentucky […]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Medina Spirit's victory in the Kentucky Derby is in serious jeopardy because of a failed postrace drug test. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert called a news conference to announce that Medina Spirit tested positive for an excessive amount of the steroid betamethasone that is sometimes used to treat pain and inflammation in horses. Churchill Downs immediately suspended Baffert and said Medina Spirit would be disqualified […]
