Wandering Eyes

Horses' test results May 4 View the full article

Zuriman and Murray suspended View the full article

Still stung by the disqualification of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) in the GI Kentucky Derby, co-owner Gary West has told his stable manager Ben Glass that he is seriously considering leaving the sport. Though West gave several interviews early in the day on Sunday, he declined to speak to the TDN yesterday afternoon. Glass said that is because he is scheduled to appear on NBC’s Today Monday morning and promised the network an exclusive interview. But Glass was able to provide updates on the situation after consulting with West. He confirmed several reports that West will appeal the decision and that he will do so “first thing [Monday] morning.” West, who co-owns Maximum Security with his wife, Mary, hired Lexington-based attorney Barry Stilz to represent him and to file the appeal with the Kentucky Racing Commission. According to the Daily Racing Form, in Kentucky, decisions of the stewards “shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal.” That likely means that their appeal will quickly be rejected by the Racing Commission, but Glass said that if that happens the Wests will go to court to try and have the stewards’ decision overturned. Glass said that Gary West was more “disheartened than upset.” “He said, ‘You know what Benny, we tried to do this for 40 years and now we did it and the whole world is telling us we got robbed,” Glass said. “He said, ‘We’ve been doing this for 40 years and in 22 minutes they took it all away from us. Mr. West told me today that he thought maybe this would be a good time to graciously bow out of racing. He’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars in Kentucky on racehorses and after this he thinks that maybe his time and resources could be put to better use.” Glass said that if West does divest his racing and breeding stock he would spend more time and money on one of his other passions, The Gary and Mary West Foundation. According to the charity’s website, the foundation is a “501(c)(3) private, non-operating Foundation, established in 2006 and solely funded by Gary and Mary West, provid[ing] outcomes-based funding to support initiatives that lower the cost of healthcare to enable seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence.” “He spends millions on his foundation and a lot of time on it,” Glass said. “He’s thinking it may be time to do even more for the elderly. He’s at a crossroads right now. He’s 73 and thinking maybe it’s time to bow out of racing and spend more of his time helping the needy.” When asked if he thought West was serious, Glass replied: “I can’t tell you. Only he knows. But he’s never said that to me before. I think this hurt him really bad.” Glass said that he and the Wests have heard from people all over the world that they were “robbed.” “It’s not just what we think, it’s what everybody is telling us, that we got robbed,” he said. “Right up to the President. The President tweeted that we got robbed. Mr. West has horses in Australia and they said the whole country there can’t believe this.” Glass also questioned why the stewards took so long to reach a decision. “How many times have you seen objections take 23 minutes?” he said. “I’m not a steward and don’t want to be. But if I can’t make a decision quicker than 22-23 minutes to see if there was a foul then I’m really thinking they’re looking to do something. That’s the way I look at it. Then to let Mary West stand there for 20 minutes holding the roses and then to take them away from her. My God…and over a bad judgment call like that by stewards.” Maximum Security is expected to arrive Monday at the Monmouth Park barn of trainer Jason Servis. As to whether or not the horse will run in the Preakness, Glass said the decision will be left up to the trainer. “The Preakness is up to Jason,” he said. “The horse came out of the race fine, so we’re good there. Whether Jason wants to run back in Preakness, I don’t know. We’ll see what he says.” Glass knows that as good as Maximum Security is, there are no guarantees he will run as well in the Preakness, or any other race, as he did in the Derby. “It was a very tough night,” he said. “It was terrible because we absolutely had the best horse. He may never throw that race again, but he threw it on the day we needed it.” The post The Wests Threaten to Get Out of Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jockey Trevor McCarthy claimed his third consecutive meet title and trainer Mike Trombetta earned his first since 2015 as Laurel Park closed its 19-day spring stand May 5. View the full article

Former Haunui Farm stallion Showcasing has taken his standing as a sire of winning two-year-olds in New Zealand to a possible record level. His progeny won both the two New Zealand black type races run on Saturday with Rainbow Dash proving too strong in the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes (1100m) at Te Rapa and All About Magic picking up the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton. Rainbow Dash notched her third win from six starts with the triumph being a minor consolati... View the full article

As the three grim-faced Churchill Downs stewards tersely hustled out of the GI Kentucky Derby press conference Saturday night after chief state steward Barbara Borden recited 60 seconds of prepared remarks and the trio refused to face follow-ups about their controversial disqualification, they were peppered with shouted questions that deserved answers. “Why no transparency?” blurted one frustrated media member. “Aren’t you a state employee?” another asked stridently of Borden, who is appointed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC). “Why do you feel like you shouldn’t take any questions? [Don’t you] think it’s your duty to take questions?” And resonating loudest in the aftermath of the stunning decision, “Why no inquiry?” No other winner in 144 previous runnings of the Derby had ever been stripped of victory for an in-race infraction (Dancer’s Image in 1968 was DQ’d for a drug positive in a post-race test). But while the Derby demotion of 9-2 second favorite Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) from first to 17th for interference on the far turn is unprecedented, Borden and colleagues Brooks “Butch” Becraft (a state steward) and Tyler Picklesimer (an association steward) would apparently like us to believe their decision was strictly a result of “our typical procedure,” and that the running of America’s most important horse race was adjudicated no differently than a maiden claimer at Turfway Park in the dead of winter. This column won’t argue whether or not the elevation of 65-1 runner-up Country House (Lookin At Lucky) as the official race winner was the right call or the wrong call. That debate will linger in perpetuity, destined to remain part of Derby lore long after the initial shock of this controversy fades. To me, the question that begs a straightforward answer is exactly how close did the stewards come to hanging up the “official” sign before they received a jockey’s objection from Flavien Prat that would alter history? If they had instead received an “all clear” notification from the outrider, would the order of finish have stood? Prat’s mount, Country House, clearly did not take the worst of the chain-reaction tightening caused by Maximum Security’s shifting several paths off the inside while turning for home. But Prat had little to lose in lodging the foul claim against winning jockey Luis Saez, and his decision to ask for a review capped a bizarre ending to what was otherwise a compelling renewal of the Derby. Put another way, were the Churchill stewards on the cusp of letting the incident go–chalking it up to the heat-of-battle rough riding that occurs in almost every Derby–when the foul claim jolted them to the reality that more stringent scrutiny was in order? And could you necessarily blame the stewards for taking an agonizing 22 minutes to reach their decision considering the current climate of crisis that shrouds the sport? When equine safety is under a polarized national microscope, and the judges suddenly have to ponder the devastating implications of what might have happened if the clipping of heels between Maximum Security and War of Will (War Front) had triggered a tragic, multi-horse spill on live TV? But if the KHRC and Churchill Downs, Inc., are going to stick to the emerging narrative that Maximum Security’s DQ was a straightforward, by-the-book stewards’ decision, it’s important to note at least one page of the rule book was skipped. According to section 810 2:040 Sec. 5 (9) of the Kentucky Administrative Register, which deals with “Duties and Responsibilities of Stewards,” the inquiry sign is supposed to be “posted immediately after the horses have crossed the finish line in a race if any doubt is held by a steward or other racing official as to the fairness of the running of that race.” So if the stewards were, in fact, already zeroing in on the far-turn incident as a cause for concern, why was this was not reported to the public as required? On the Churchill Downs broadcast feed, no inquiry was posted or announced at any time after the horses crossed the Derby finish wire. The only indication that something might be amiss came a full three minutes and 40 seconds after the race, when announcer Travis Stone verbally relayed that the rider of Country House had lodged an objection against Maximum Security. The “Why no inquiry?” distinction is important because DQs that arise solely from a jockey’s objection are by far in the minority across all levels of American racing. Although no exact stats are kept on this, anecdotal experience will bear out that most DQs are either the result of a stewards’ inquiry or the combination of an inquiry and a subsequent jockey’s objection together. The reason is obvious, and you see this in all forms of sports officiating: Referees, umpires–and yes, horse racing stewards–don’t like to make reactive decisions solely based on a participant’s allegation that wrongdoing occurred. To put in bluntly, no official likes to have it appear as if they missed a crucial call that had to be pointed out by a participant. The full 22-minute wait was made even more confusing than it needed to be because it was also not immediately disclosed that Jon Court, the rider of Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy), had also claimed foul against Maximum Security. Long Range Toddy had checked hard between horses and plummeted to the back of the pack. Without knowing that a potential DQ of the winner now involved the 17th-place horse, it gave the impression that what was at stake was the reversal of Maximum Security and Country House as the 1-2 finishers, and not a takedown all the way to 17th place for the horse who crossed the wire first. In fairness, stewards nationwide do routinely screen for fouls at all levels of racing in the immediate aftermath of races without formally lighting the “inquiry” sign. But this was the Kentucky Derby, the pinnacle of the profession. What, if anything, were the Churchill stewards pondering in that 3:40 gap between when the final Derby runner crossed the line and when Prat’s objection was announced? If the stewards truly were independently inquiring into the far-turn Derby incident before the foul claims came in but just made a mistake in not letting the public know in a timely manner, that’s fine–so long as they step up to the podium and say so when explaining their decision after the fact. Instead, by refusing to field questions from the media at the press conference, it feeds the perception that the stewards were not intending to rule on any Derby interference until they were swayed by the foul claims. The Derby is the focal point of the Churchill Downs brand and, by extension, the pride of all of Kentucky. The track and the commonwealth have invested 145 years in building up the Derby as the greatest two minutes in all of sports. When the stewards who are tasked with the ultra-important responsibility of officiating the race refuse to explain in detail how and why they arrived at their decision to alter history, it tarnishes the first jewel of the Triple Crown. The post The Week in Review: Inquiring Minds Want to Know, Why No Derby Inquiry? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

MADMAN (g, 3, Violence–One World {Aus}, by Danehill), off as the 3-1 third choice in a short but seemingly solid field of maiden colts, kicked of his career auspiciously with an eight-length score. Tracking from third early behind a :46.43 half, the homebred came with his run out wide heading for home and faced little resistance from his competition as he glided to the wire under a hands-and-heels ride, stopping the clock in 1:18.38. Longshot On Easy Street (Street Boss) rallied from a mile out of it to get second over favored Bob Baffert-trained firster Arcaro (Tapit-Panty Raid). The winner’s dam, already responsible for Australian Group 3 winner One Last Dance (Aus) and hailing from the female family of sires Storm Cat and Royal Academy, topped the 2013 Inglis Australian Easter Broodmare Sale at A$720,000 while in foal to Lonhro (Aus). She lost that foal, but produced the winning Encyclopedia (Smart Strike) the following year before foaling Madman. One World was bred back to Violence in 2017 and Kitten’s Joy in 2018 but did not get in foal either season. The Roth family’s LNJ Foxwoods is co-owner of GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Country House (Lookin At Lucky). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O/B-LNJ Foxwoods (Ky). T-Richard Baltas. The post Son of Violence Makes Auspicious Debut at Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Prominent Australian jockey Blake Shinn has been confirmed to ride promising Cambridge three-year-old Vigor Winner when he competes at Eagle Farm later this month. Cambridge trainer Lauren Brennan has confirmed Vigor Winner will make his Australian debut in the Gr.3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) on May 25 and is thrilled to have secured the services of Shinn. “It’s a bit of a coup getting him,” Brennan said. “He’s confirmed for the Fred Best and if the horse goes well we’re hoping he wil... View the full article

Any filly who wins the G3 Dick Poole S. and the G2 Rockfel S. in 2019 will receive a £25,000 bonus due to the newly created Shadwell Fillies Bonus, the stud announced on Sunday. The scheme will also run in 2020 and will award participating owners a £25,000 payout if their filly wins the Sept. 5 Group 3 at Salisbury and the Newmarket Group 2 on Sept. 27. To date, no filly has completed the double, with the Roger Varian-trained Yourtimeisnow (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) attempting the feat in 2018. “We are delighted to be launching the Shadwell Fillies Bonus in 2019 and it is another indication of Sheikh Hamdan’s unwavering commitment to British racing,” said Shadwell Stud Director Richard Lancaster. “It will be the second year Shadwell have sponsored the Dick Poole S. at Salisbury and it dovetails perfectly with the Shadwell-sponsored day at Newmarket later that month, which is headed by the Rockfel S. There are three weeks between the two races, which should give trainers more than enough time if they wish to attempt to land the double. The two races have proven track records of producing high-class fillies, who have the potential to go and compete in the following season’s Classics and we hope the lure of an additional £25,000 will not only maintain but enhance the level of filly competing in the two races.” The post Shadwell Launches Fillies Bonus appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jockey Trevor McCarthy claimed his third consecutive meet title and trainer Mike Trombetta earned his first since 2015 as Laurel Park closed its 19-day spring stand Sunday. Live racing shifts to Pimlico Race Course for the 12-day Preakness Meet at Pimlico starting Thursday, May 9. McCarthy finished with 22 victories, 11 more than Horacio Karamanos, and had purse earnings with more than $750,000. Trombetta had no horses entered Sunday, but ended with 12 wins to snap Claudio Gonzalez’s streak of four straight meet titles at Laurel. Maryland’s top trainer the past two years, Gonzalez finished second with nine wins. The title is Trombetta’s second in Maryland and first outright. He previously tied with Kieron Magee for Laurel’s 2015 spring championship. The post McCarthy, Trombetta Take Laurel Titles appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In a sentence, the Churchill Downs stewards made the right call to disqualify first-place finisher Maximum Security in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), but did so in a way that hurt the public's faith in the integrity of racing. View the full article

Turning back to his pet distance of a mile for the first time since his G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. win in December, Japanese champion 2-year-old colt Admire Mars (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) regained the winning thread with a half-length victory in the G1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo on Sunday. The second choice on the board at 3-1 after favoured Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), the Riichi Kondo colourbearer was just a bit tardy breaking from his wide draw, and had no choice but to sit in midpack three or four deep behind a half-mile in :45.80 delivered by Iberis (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Scrubbed on 500 metres from home, he forged farther out into the center of the course, and, with some solid handling from pilot Mirco Demuro, ground up into contention inside the final quarter mile. As many as a dozen horses looked in with a chance a furlong from the winning post, but Admire Mars found more to shrug off the rallying Cadence Call (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Catedral (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}), sprinting up the rails to join the conversation, was only a nose behind in third. G1 Japanese 1000 Guineas heroine Gran Alegria finished fourth, but was demoted to fifth behind Danon Chaser (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) following a stewards’ inquiry. The crowd’s pick solidly bumped that foe as she came through a gap at the quarter pole, knocking that rival off stride. “Our draw was wide, his start wasn’t so good and we had to race in a lower position than hoped, but he just hates to lose—once another runner came up next to him, he found his second wind,” said Demuro, who was winning his 29th Group 1 on the JRA circuit. “He’s truly an amazing miler.” A winner of his first four starts-all at 1600 metres–including the G2 Daily Hai Nisai S. at Kyoto and the 1600-metre G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. at Hanshin on Dec. 16, Admire Mars lost his unbeaten record with a second to Danon Kingly (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the 1800-metre G3 Kyodo News Hai (Tokinominoru Kinen) while making his sophomore bow over this course Feb. 10. He was most recently fourth in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) when trying 2000 metres for the first time Apr. 14. Pedigree Notes G3 Prix de Lieurey victress Via Medici’s last known produce is a juvenile filly by Kinshasa no Kiseki (Aus). The second dam of Admire Mars is the G3 Prix des Reservoirs heroine Via Milano (Fr) (Singspiel {Ire}), who also counts GSW and G1 Prix Rothschild runner-up Via Ravenna (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) and GSP Via Manzoni (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}) among her brood. Sunday, Tokyo, Japan NHK MILE CUP-G1, ¥205,080,000 (US$1,843,734/£1,400,149/€1,647,482), Tokyo, 5-5, 3yo, c/f, 1600mT, 1:32.40, fm. 1–ADMIRE MARS (JPN), 126 c, 3, Daiwa Major (Jpn) 1st Dam: Via Medici (Ire) (GSW-Fr, $111,524), by Medicean (GB) 2nd Dam: Via Milano (Fr), by Singspiel (Ire) 3rd Dam: Salvinaxia (Fr), by Linamix (Fr) (¥52,000,000 Ylg ’17 JRHAJUL). O-Riichi Kondo; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Yasuo Tomomichi; J- Mirco Demuro. ¥108,906,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt-Jpn, 7-5-1-0. *1/2 to Via Pisa (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}), SW & G1SW-Ity, $104,884; and Via Firenze (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), SW & MGSP-Fr, GSP-UAE, $150,624. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Cadence Call (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–Inductee (Jpn), by Heart’s Cry (Jpn). O-Sunday Racing; B- Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥43,116,000. 3–Catedral (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Heart’s Cry (Jpn)–Abyla (GB), by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire). O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥26,558,000. Margins: HF, NO, 1 1/4. Odds: 3.30, 86.70, 31.80. Also Ran: Danon Chaser (Jpn), Gran Alegria (Jpn), Val d’Isere (Jpn), Happy Hour (Jpn), Toya Rito Seito (Jpn), Wide Pharaoh (Jpn), Groove It (Jpn), Meiner Flap (Jpn), Pourville (Jpn), Fantasist (Jpn), Kurino Gaudi (Jpn), Wittelsbach (Jpn), Iberis (Jpn), Mikki Black (Jpn), Lord Gladio (Jpn) *Gran Alegria (Jpn) finished fourth, but following a stewards’ inquiry, was demoted to fifth. Click for the JRA chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA Video. The post Admire Mars Relishes Mile Trip at Tokyo appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

President Donald Trump took to Twitter at 8:49 a.m. ET May 5 to voice his displeasure about the disqualification of Maximum Security to his 60 million followers, linking the decision to an atmosphere of political correctness. View the full article

Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) is likely to make his reappearance in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas later this month. Having won the G3 Acomb S. at York last August, the Charlie Hills-trained grey went on to chase home Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster before being touched off by subsequent G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at the same track. A tilt at Saturday’s Classic at Newmarket had been under serious consideration, but Hills was forced to rule his charge out of it and is now eyeing the Irish equivalent at The Curragh on May 25. “He just gave one or two coughs and his scope wasn’t 100%,” said the Lambourn-based trainer. “We’ve knocked that on the head now, but Newmarket was going to be too soon for him. It’s unfortunate as it did look a very open 2000 Guineas this year, but we’re doing right by the horse. We’ve given ourselves a bit more time and the plan is to go to for the Irish Guineas. He’ll probably have another racecourse gallop between now and then.” The post Phoenix of Spain Bound for Irish Guineas appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

NBC Sports' coverage of the 145th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) on NBC May 4 delivered multiple overnight ratings milestones, according to data provided by Nielsen. View the full article

Bourbon War, the runner up in the Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), is likely to start in the Preakness Stakes (G1), according to owner Mike McMahon of Bourbon Lane Stable. View the full article

All eyes are on the re-opening of The Curragh on Monday after its lengthy redevelopment, with Ballydoyle’s star filly Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) gracing the Kildare venue with her presence in the G2 Coolmore Highland Reel Irish EBF Mooresbridge S. Joined by the two colts Flag of Honour (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) that she readily upstaged in the G3 Alleged S. at Naas Apr. 13, there is nothing obvious to suggest this will not be a victory lap as she prepares for this track’s G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and Royal Ascot’s G1 Prince of Wales’ S. The card begins with a six-furlong juvenile maiden in which Ballydoyle look to continue their perfect sequence with the colts and Ryan Moore is partnering Harpocrates (Ire) by the 2000 Guineas-winning sire Invincible Spirit (Ire). Rosegreen also put forward the Apr. 17 Dundalk debut scorer King Neptune (War Front) in the Listed First Flier S. over five and the recent Chelmsford conditions second and fourth Antilles (War Front) and U S S Michigan (War Front) in the Listed Coolmore Churchill Irish EBF Tetrarch S. over seven. Michael O’Callaghan runs his up-and-coming dual handicap scorer I Am Superman (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) and he said of him, “He’s thriving on his racing, so I think he’ll improve again. He has got an entry in the Irish Guineas, because we always thought a bit of him, but that is still a long way away.” Potential Irish 1000 Guineas clues are on offer in the card’s G3 Coolmore Gleneagles Irish EBF Athasi S. over seven furlongs, where four 3-year-old fillies meet their elders. They include Ballydoyle’s Apr. 6 G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial runner-up Happen (War Front), a daughter of the stable’s dual Oaks heroine Alexandrova (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), and Moyglare Stud’s Apr. 3 Leopardstown maiden winner Titanium Sky (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). With the G1 Prix du Jockey Club just under four weeks away, its host Chantilly stages one of the vital trials in the nine-furlong G3 Prix de Guiche. His Highness The Aga Khan’s exciting Makmour (Fr) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), who caught the eye when second to Starmaniac (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in a 10 1/2-furlong conditions event at Saint-Cloud last time Mar. 30, meets an Andre Fabre-trained pair in Godolphin’s G3 Prix Noailles runner-up Syrtis (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and the Wertheimers’ Mar. 12 course-and-distance scorer Flop Shot (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}). The fixture’s Listed Prix des Lilas over a mile sees the return of Khalid Abdullah’s soft-ground Saint-Cloud winner Obligate (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a Pascal Bary-trained granddaughter of Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}), and Ecurie des Charmes and the Foriens’ impressive Angers winner Mythic (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). The post The Curragh Back With a Bang appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The field for the $700,000 Man o' War Stakes (G1T) may get some international flavor as Magic Wand and Hunting Horn are both expected to return to the United States and race in the 1 3/8-mile turf stakes May 11 at Belmont Park. View the full article

Rich Averill’s Averill Racing finished on top of the Tampa Bay Downs owners’ standings after today’s closing day card was canceled due to inclement weather following the first race. Averill defended his 2018 title with 23 victories, 14 on his own and nine in various partnerships. On the training side, 75-year-old Gerald Bennett picked up his fourth consecutive meet title and fifth overall with 69 victories, the second-highest single-season total in Tampa Bay Downs history. Samy Camacho paced all jockeys with 123 winners to capture his first Oldsmar title. Racing resumes at Tampa with the track’s annual two-day Summer Festival of Racing June 30-July 1. The post Averill, Bennett, Camacho Win Tampa Titles appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Television ratings for Country House’s victory in Saturday’s GI Kentucky Derby delivered a 10.9/25 overnight rating, matching 1992 as the best overnight for a Kentucky Derby broadcast since 1990, NBC Sports announced Sunday. The rating was also a 20% increase over last year’s Derby broadcast. The post Derby Ratings Highest Since 1992 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

While there was certainly talk of the May 18 Preakness (G1) outside Bill Mott's Barn at Churchill Downs May 5, what dominated the conversation was the disqualification of Maximum Security that awarded the Kentucky Derby (G1) to Country House. View the full article

Country House (Lookin At Lucky) exited his controversial GI Kentucky Derby win in good shape, trainer Bill Mott reported Sunday. Mott remained noncommittal sending the chestnut to the GI Preakness S., while adding that third-place finisher Tacitus (Tapit) is under consideration for the GI Belmont S. “The discussion [about the Preakness] is going to start in the next day or two, I’m sure,” Mott said. “People want to see the Derby winner in the Preakness. Certainly, for Country House, there’s some pressure to go. With Tacitus, there isn’t any and we are well-suited with him to go to the Belmont.” Mott, fresh off saddling his first Derby winner, said his main concern about running Country House in the Preakness stems from the horse’s heavy workload this spring. The Preakness would be the colt’s fourth race in eight weeks after competing in the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 23, the GI Arkansas Derby Apr. 13 and the Run for the Roses Saturday. “We’re talking about a horse who has had quite a few races in a short period of time, if he runs in the Preakness,” the Hall of Fame conditioner said. “It may compromise his chances a bit and it’s not a normal situation to run so often, but the Triple Crown is not a normal situation.” Mott added that a key to Country House’s victory was his improved tactical speed Saturday. “I thought he had the effort in him and I was very surprised that he broke and was as close as he was early,” he said. “I would have thought it would have been the other way around with Tacitus up where Country House was and Country House in the back where Tacitus was–but that’s why it’s so interesting. You don’t know what is going to happen.” Mott also reflected on the unusual nature of winning a Derby via disqualification and forecasted that this year’s renewal will live on vividly in history because of it. “I’m thrilled with [Country House] and I’m happy for everyone who has worked with the horse and I think they deserved the win. It’s just such an unusual way to have to go to the winner’s circle and win a Kentucky Derby,” he commented. “This Kentucky Derby will be talked about for a long time, up there with [Bill] Shoemaker standing up at the sixteenth pole [in 1957 on Gallant Man]. It’s one of those things that’s not going to go away. We’re going to take the win and hopefully we come back and Country House runs big in the future, whatever race it may be–whether it’s the Preakness, Belmont, Travers–whatever it is. You hope he continues to show the quality horse that he is.” Jason Servis reported that original winner Maximum Security (New Year’s Day), placed 17th by the stewards, was in good order Sunday morning, but had no thoughts about possibly running at Pimlico. “For what it’s worth, I think my horse was the best horse [Saturday],” Servis said. “We haven’t even talked about the Preakness.” Most other trainers of Saturday’s Derby horses were also unwilling to commit to future plans in the immediate aftermath. “I don’t know. I’ll have to talk to [owner] Mr. [Will] Farish,” Shug McGaughey said of runner-up Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}). “He’ll go back to New York this afternoon and we’ll go from there. I would definitely like to have a fresh horse for Saratoga and finish the year up. So we’ll just see.” Bob Baffert also reported Sunday morning that he had “no plans yet” for his trio of Derby runners. Improbable (City Zip) finished best of the three to be fourth, while Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) was one spot back in fifth and Roadster (Quality Road) checked in 15th. Mark Casse, however, said he was looking to send seventh-place finisher War of Will (War Front) to the Preakness after reflecting on how fortunate his charge was not to go down when Maximum Security drifted into this path. “As much as I want to win the Kentucky Derby, I feel like a lucky man today because I just got him out and jogged him and he’s perfect,” Casse said. “The horse racing world should be happy War of Will is such an athlete because not every horse doesn’t go down there. I’ve been saying he’s special for a long time … If he’s happy and healthy, we’re probably going to go to Baltimore. I would think there are probably going to be a few at Baltimore because normal Derbys kind of separate the men from the boys. I would say there are going to be a lot of excuses coming out of yesterday and it will be bigger than usual.” The post Country House In Good Shape After Derby Win, Preakness Status Undecided appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

While the decision was a hot topic on social media May 5, with opinions generally split between whether the right or wrong call was made, there was general consensus among veteran horsemen that the regulators got it right. View the full article

The field for the $700,000 Man o'War Stakes (G1T) may get some international flavor as Magic Wand (IRE) and Hunting Horn (IRE) are both expected to return to the United States and race in the 1 3/8-mile turf stakes May 11 at Belmont Park. View the full article

While there was certainly talk of the May 18 Preakness (G1) outside Bill Mott's Barn at Churchill Downs May 5, what dominated the conversation was the disqualification of Maximum Security that awarded the Kentucky Derby (G1) victory to Country House. View the full article