Kentucky Derby News
December 30, 2021
Expert Pick of the Week: 2022 Smarty Jones Stakes
A full field of 14 newly turned three-year-olds will travel one mile in Saturday’s $250,000 Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park. The 2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby series event will reward the top four finishers with qualifying points on a 10-4-2-1...
December 29, 2021
Oaklawn qualifiers begin with 14-horse Smarty Jones
The Road to the Kentucky Derby series makes the first of
four stops at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, as a field of 14 will compete for 17 points
(10-4-2-1 scale) in the $250,000 Smarty Jones S.
Contested over a two-turn mile, the Smarty Jones will mark
the...
December 29, 2021
Mackinnon switches to dirt for Sham
A multiple stakes winner on turf, and a fast-closing third in
the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), Mackinnon
will move to the main track for Saturday’s $100,000 Sham S. (G3) at Santa
Anita.
Five runners are set for the two-turn mile test,...
December 29, 2021
Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Epicenter
Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Epicenter picked up 10 points on the 2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge series following his 6 1/2-length romp in the $98,000 Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds on December 26. The winner clocked 1 1/16 miles on the fast...
December 27, 2021
Epicenter dominates for Gun Runner connections; North County takes Untapable
Sunday’s inaugural running of the $98,000 Gun Runner S. was going to be a memorable occasion for connections of the race’s namesake, the 2017 Horse of the Year who is now a record-breaking freshman sire. But the result turned out to be...
December 23, 2021
Study Guide: 2021 Gun Runner Stakes
Rocket Dawg winning his debut at Churchill Downs (Coady Photography)
The Road to the Kentucky Derby just got a little bit longer. Sunday's inaugural running of the $100,000 Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds serves as a new steppingstone to the 'Run...
December 23, 2021
Expert Pick of the Week: Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds
A total of seven two-year-olds will go postward in Sunday’s $100,000 Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds. The 1 1/16-mile contest acts as a 2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge series race, with the top four finishers earning points towards the Run...
December 18, 2021
Make It Big handles stretch-out in Springboard Mile
Red Oak Stable’s Make It Big passed his first two-turn test in Friday night’s $401,200 Springboard Mile at Remington Park, earning 10 points toward the Kentucky Derby (G1).
The 13-10 favorite after capturing both prior starts at his...
December 18, 2021
Tejano Twist heads Gun Runner; California Angel, Cocktail Moments vie in Untapable
A tremendous 13-race card at Fair Grounds awaits fans on Dec. 26, with the
stakes action highlighted by new additions to the 2022 Road to the Kentucky
Derby and Kentucky Oaks series.
For Derby aspirants, the $100,000 Gun Runner S. at 1 1/16 miles kicks...
December 16, 2021
Tales from the Crib: Pappacap
When Gun Runner went out on a high note in the 2018 Pegasus World Cup (G1), he crowned his career with a five-race winning streak and padded his bank account to nearly $16 million.
But the Horse of the Year did something else at Gulfstream Park...