Stronach Stables' Einstein, unplaced in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), was assigned top weight of 123 pounds for the Nov. 27 Clark Handicap (gr. II) at Churchill Downs.
6 hours ago
On paper, it seems as though multiple graded stakes winner Acoma is moving in the wrong direction. The 4-year-old daughter of Empire Maker has been way off her game in her last two starts, finishing sixth and ninth, respectively, in the July 19 Delaware Handicap (gr. II) and Oct. 10 First Lady (gr. IT) at Keeneland.
2 days ago
Popular Churchill Downs-based jockey Calvin Borel, who swept this year's Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) and Kentucky Derby (gr. I) aboard Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird, respectively, will be honored at Churchill Downs Nov. 21-22 with a bobblehead giveaway, autograph session, roast and his very own drink special.
2 days ago
Churchill Downs will install permanent lights and schedule regular nighttime racing programs. The announcement was made Nov. 17 during a news conference at the Louisville racetrack.
2 days ago
Mary's Follies took over at the eighth-pole and went on to win the $209,500 Mrs. Revere (gr. IIT) in stakes record time Nov. 14 at Churchill Downs, remaining perfect in two starts on turf.
6 days ago
Nelson McMakin's homebred Hot Cha Cha tries to put the finishing touches on a terrific 3-year-old campaign in the $175,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes (gr. IIT) Nov. 17 at Churchill Downs, but she will have to take down an overflow field of improving sophomore fillies.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Journeyman rider Chris Emigh is expected to return to the races in a few days after sustaining a "slight concussion" in a fall during the sixth race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 11.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Churchill Downs has announced that D. Brett Hale has been named senior vice president of corporate and government relations.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Churchill Downs will celebrate "Ladies' Weekend" on Saturday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 15 with a ladies-only handicapping seminar, boutique bazaar and warehouse sale, and the second annual celebration of "Horses and Hope" to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Kentucky Derby Museum announced renovation plans Nov. 2, an action necessitated by damage from a flood in Louisville, Ky., three months ago. The Museum is located on the grounds of Churchill Downs.
Monday, November 02, 2009
TVG has reached an agreement with TrackNet Media Group that allows it to offer wagering on racing from Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
The Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky., has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with Churchill Downs to be named the official host hotel of the track, the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), and the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), it was announced in an Oct. 30 release.
Friday, October 30, 2009
The president of Churchill Downs Inc. said he believes recent developments with the makeup of the Kentucky General Assembly are positive and could help lead to legalization of video lottery terminals at racetracks in the state.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has entered Robert Baker and William Mack's highly-touted Dublin in the $100,000 Iroquois (gr. III) for juveniles at a mile on the main track. A field of 12 was drawn for the Churchill Downs fall meet opening day co-feature.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Trainer Dale Romans unleashed a true "Star of Tomorrow" in the 2008 Pocahontas (gr. III) when Sara Louise romped to victory by 3 3/4 lengths over Rachel Alexandra. On Nov. 1, Romans hopes history repeats itself when he saddles Jerry Romans' Sassy Image in the $100,000 event for 2-year-old fillies. A full field of 13 was drawn.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The logo for the 2010 Breedersf Cup World Championships was unveiled Oct. 29 by the Breedersf Cup and Churchill Downs, the Louisville track that will be hosting the two-day racing event for a record seventh time. The 2010 Breeders' Cup is scheduled for Nov. 5-6.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Hal Wiggins hit the apex of his training career this spring when he saddled Rachel Alexandra to her resounding victory in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) May 1. He hopes the final month on the backside gets off to a rousing start Nov. 1 when he sends out Brassy Boy in the Iroquois (gr. III) for longtime client Millsap Stables.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Ellis Park officials said Oct. 27 the racetrack will shut down after Nov. 8 and suspend simulcast operations until April 1, 2010. The move affects 75 full- and part- time employees at the Western Kentucky track.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Churchill Downs Inc. and HorseplayerPRO.com have joined forces to provide interactive online discussions between horse racing fans and a panel of experts each race day throughout Churchill Downs' 21-day fall meet Nov. 1-28.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The harsh competitive environment in which Kentucky racing finds itself was on displayed in black and white Oct. 26 when a subcommittee of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission considered applications from Thoroughbred racetracks that signal a drastic reduction in live racing dates for 2010.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Churchill Downs and Kentucky horsemen have reached a three-year agreement that sets purse payments, establishes purse supplements and ends a legal dispute that began in the spring of 2008.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Kempton in Great Britain, inaugurated in 2009 to award a Europe-based horse a berth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), won't be held next year. But officials said it could return.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Leading Horse of the Year candidate Rachel Alexandra returned to her home base at Churchill Downs Oct. 7 and settled into familiar surroundings in trainer Steve Asmussen's Barn 38 following a long van ride from Saratoga, where she spent much of the summer and the early days of fall.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Thoroughbred races have been held under the lights at Hawthorne Race Course in the late fall and winter as daylight diminishes, but for the first time, the Chicago-area track will offer night racing.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Based on a review of its experimental three night racing cards during the spring meet, Churchill Downs Inc. announced Sept. 28 it will install permanent lights at its flagship racetrack in Louisville.
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Kentucky Derby Museum, heavily damaged by floodwaters in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 4, will be closed through the end of the year.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
A potential outbreak of strangles at Hoosier Park has forced Kentucky racetracks and public training stables to temporarily ban all horses from the Indiana track.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Trainer Rick Dutrow will serve a 30-day suspension after reaching a settlement with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe of Florida are nearing their Aug. 31 deadline to approve a Gaming Compact, which would trigger a new law that would provide economic benefits for the state's Thoroughbred industry and for that tribe's casinos.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
After training horses for more three decades and having his career peak this year with the success of the sensational filly Rachel Alexandra, Hal Wiggins will ride off into the sunset of retirement at the end of Churchill Downs' fall meet in November.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Flooding caused by a severe storm in Louisville Aug. 5 has caused more than $4 million in damage to the Kentucky Derby Museum.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Items at the Kentucky Derby Museum, located on the grounds of Churchill Downs, suffered damage due to heavy rains Aug. 4 and the facility will be closed until further notice, museum officials said.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
A torrential rainstorm in the Louisville area Aug. 4 has wreaked havoc at Churchill Downs. Flooding caused several horses to be removed from the barn area, both the main track and infield are completely underwater, and employees at the racetrack were unable to get off the property for hours due to severe flooding in the parking lot and on many area roads.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Favored Hot Dixie Chick showed she was more than a speed freak in the $111,000 Schuylerville Stakes (gr. III), rating patiently just off the pace before grabbing the lead and then pulling away to a 6 1/4 length victory July 29, the opening day of the Saratoga meeting in upstate New York.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Churchill Downs Inc. released its second-quarter results after the close of the stock market July 29, with a slight increase in earnings due to its advance deposit wagering system and slot-machine gaming.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
A new chapter in the history of West Virginia racing began being written at 1:47 p.m. EDT on Friday. That's when this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner, Mine That Bird, stepped off the van at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.
Friday, July 24, 2009
The 135th renewal of the grade II, $400,000-added Clark Handicap highlights the 12 stakes races with total purses of $1.775 million for the Nov. 1-28 fall meet at historic Churchill Downs.
Friday, July 24, 2009
A trailer carrying Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Serte Equine's Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), departed Churchill Downs the morning of July 24 on an approximately seven-hour journey to West Virginia's Mountaineer Racetrack Casino and Resort.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Serte Equine's Mine That Bird, winner of the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), turned in a sharp four-furlong work July 20 in his final major training move at Churchill Downs prior to his scheduled run in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby (gr. II) Aug. 1 at Mountaineer.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Citing a variety of claims that his client's rights were violated, an attorney for trainer Rick Dutrow has filed an appeal over the 30-day suspension levied by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for a Clenbuterol positive in the spring of 2008.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Churchill Downs Incorporated announced July 13 that T. Kevin Flanery has been named the 13th track president of Churchill Downs Racetrack.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Kentucky legislation authorizing a pari-mutuel tax exemption for the Breeders' Cup World Championships was modified to allow for one-day or two-day events and sets a lower purse minimum to qualify for the exemption.
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) will continue to thrive at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. It's the rest of the year that's a problem for racing venues in the self-proclaimed "horse capital of the world."
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan could be sidelined for as long as six weeks after suffering a compression fracture in a vertebra, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. He was injured when a 2-year-old he was working July 6 at Churchill Downs broke down after the wire.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
In a rare decision, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has rejected it's stewards and hearing officer's recommendations and suspended trainer Rick Dutrow 30 days for a Clenbuterol positive that dates back to May 2, 2008.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Ed Seigenfeld will step down as executive vice president of Triple Crown Productions (TCP) at the end of August. He has led the organization since March 1990, overseeing the Chrysler and Visa sponsorships of the Triple Crown and managing the network television negotiations for the series.
Monday, July 06, 2009
A wet track July 6 prompted trainer Chip Woolley to delay by a day a scheduled work at Churchill Downs for Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
Monday, July 06, 2009
Darley Stable's Tizaqueena will try to bounce back off a third-place finish in the Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (gr. IIIT), a defeat that broke a string of four consecutive scores, as she headlines a field of eight fillies and mares in the $100,000 Locust Grove Handicap (gr. IIIT) on the Churchill Downs turf July 5.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Zayat Stables' Thorn Song will attempt to become the first repeat winner of the Firecracker Handicap (gr. IIT) when he takes on seven rivals July 4 at Churchill Downs.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
It is unlikely that Hal Wiggins will find a horse like Rachel Alexandra any time soon, but he does have a promising young colt making his stakes debut in the $100,000 Bashford Manor (gr. III), a sprint for 2-year-olds July 3 at Churchill Downs.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
