February 25th, 2008
The Kentucky Derby goes May 3 in Louisville, and the eyes of horseplayers were fixed Sunday on one of the top contenders: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner War Pass.
Sunday saw the running of the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, but that proved to be a mere appetizer for the simple 1-mile allowance race War Pass competed in – his first start as a 3-year old. The Nick Zito-trained dark bay remained undefeated with an easy 7 ½-length victory as a 1-9 chalk over four other horses.
Now that we’ve gotten a chance to see War Pass do his thing, it’s time to look back at the Fountain of Youth to see what we missed: Cool Coal Man (7-1) beating a talented field that included Anak Nakal, Z Fortune, Court Vision and 7-2 favorite Monba. Will Cool Coal Man be Zito’s first Derby winner since Go for Gin in 1994? It’ll be a stunner if he does.
February 18th, 2008
The Triple Crown trail has already produced its first big-name 3-year-old. Pyro stepped up earlier this month in New Orleans to take the Grade III Risen Star Stakes. “He’s a tremendous horse,” trainer Steve Asmussen told the Daily Racing Form after Pyro displayed an eye-opening stretch drive without even getting the crop from jockey Shaun Bridgmohan. The victory was enough for Pyro to open as the favored horse in Pool 1 of the Derby Future Wager at 3-1.
But is Pyro the horse to gallop in the hoof steps of 2007 Eclipse winner Curlin? There is at least one commonality; Curlin took a back seat to Street Sense during most of last year’s thoroughbred season, and then beat a talented field at the Breeders’ Cup Classic to earn Horse of the Year honors. It could take a similarly gifted horse to outrun this year’s collection of horses – Z Fortune, War Pass and El Gato Malo among them.
February 14th, 2008
Who could forget the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro.
Last weekend’s Risen Star Stakes made Pyro an instant favorite leading up to the Kentucky Derby. But with close to 25 Derby prep races to go, there’s still plenty of room for other Derby contenders to make a case (and a name) for themselves. Here are the remaining Derby prep races leading up to the 2008 Kentucky Derby:
Feb 16 2008 Borderland Derby
Feb 18 2008 Southwest Stakes
Feb 24 2008 Fountain of Youth Stakes
Mar 1 2008 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes
Mar 1 2008 Sham Stakes
Mar 8 2008 Louisiana Derby Fair Grounds
Mar 8 2008 El Camino Real Derby
Mar 8 2008 Gotham Stakes Aqueduct
Mar 15 2008 San Felipe Stakes
Mar 15 2008 Rebel Stakes Oaklawn Park
Mar 15 2008 Tampa Bay Derby Tampa Bay Downs
Mar 16 2008 WinStar Derby Sunland Park
Mar 22 2008 Rushaway Stakes Turfway Park
Mar 22 2008 Lane’s End Stakes
Mar 29 2008 Florida Derby
Mar 29 2008 U.A.E. Derby
Apr 5 2008 Santa Anita Derby
Apr 5 2008 Wood Memorial
Apr 5 2008 Illinois Derby
Apr 12 2008 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
Apr 12 2008 Arkansas Derby
Apr 12 2008 Holy Bull Stakes
Apr 19 2008 Federico Tesio Stakes
Apr 19 2008 Coolmore Lexington Stakes
Apr 26 2008 Derby Trial
Apr 26 2008 Withers Stakes
Ready to make a bet on the Kentucky Derby? Think you’ve got a good feeling about one horse in particular to win it all? The Kentucky Derby futures bets are now available.
February 13th, 2008
If you were one of the lucky thousands who witnessed Pryo’s come from behind performance at last weekend’s Risen Star Stakes then you already know that this is one fast horse. Based on that performance alone, Pyro has catapulted from being a Kentucky Derby contender to being a Kentucky Derby favorite at 5/1 odds to win. Some are saying that he could be our next Triple Crown winner…and here’s why:
1. Pyro trains with Curlin and has pulled in equally fast times.
2. At Risen Star, Pyro ran his final quarter-mile in an estimated :22.30. That’s beyond impressive.
3. Pyro had not raced since his runner-up performance Oct. 27 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Only time will tell how well Pyro will perform against all other Kentucky Derby contenders.
February 11th, 2008
It’s amazing how little we know about what will happen at the 2008 Kentucky Derby. On Friday, the mutuel field once again opened as the Pool 1 favorite for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, as it has every year since their parimutuel futures market opened in 1999. In very early betting Friday, the field was 5-2, ahead of War Pass at 7-2 and Pyro at 9-1.
Things changed significantly after Pyro won Saturday’s Grade III Risen Star Stakes in New Orleans. By the close of Pool 1 betting on Sunday, the field was 3-1, Pyro was 5-1 and War Pass was 6-1.
There will be two more Future Wager polls before the Run for the Roses on May 3. The Derby futures market usually follows these odds quite closely; picking the winner this early is difficult, but can pay off handsomely, as supporters of Street Sense (12-1 in last year’s Pool 1) can tell you.
February 6th, 2008
Trained by Nick Zito, War Pass is expected to make a strong presence at the Kentucky Derby.
The horses have already competed in a few prep races and with the field set for the first pool in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (which opens tomorrow), it seems the chase for the Kentucky Derby is officially on.
War Pass, Pyro and Court Vision are the early co-favorites at 12/1 odds to win, as set by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. The morning line favorite at 5/2 odds is the field.
Pool 2 is set for March 6-9 and Pool 3 will go April 3-6. Last year, the combined handle on the three Derby futures pools was $1,365,424.
Technorati Tag(s): kentucky derby, war pass
February 4th, 2008
The revolutionary new racing surface that Santa Anita has had installed is not saving the lives of the horses like it’s supposed to be doing. Instead it’s causing the cancellation of races in unprecedented numbers. The new track has had drainage issues since the first heavy rainfall after installation, and is taking forever to dry out. Representatives of Cushion Track have admitted that there was an error in the sand, wax and fiber combination used on the top of the track.
This is a blow to Cushion Track because Santa Anita has already made arrangements for competitor Pro-Ride synthetic track surface to replace the $10m mistake. Races are postponed until Feb 8th or 9th, once the re-surfacing work is complete. Racing secretary Rick Hammerle said the Grade I Santa Monica Handicap, which had been scheduled to be run Sunday, will be rescheduled for Saturday and entries will be redrawn.
