Chip Woolley Jr. sees the glass as half full for Mine That Bird in the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) during Santa Anita Park's Oak Tree meeting Nov. 7.
Sunday, October 18, 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
The official event logos for Kentucky Derby 136 and Kentucky Oaks 136 were released Sept. 29 by Churchill Downs Incorporated, and officially licensed apparel and gifts items featuring the new marks are now available for purchase at www.TheDerbyStore.com.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird worked one-half mile in :48 on Sept. 7 at Ruidoso Downs, continuing his preparations for the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic (gr. I) Nov. 7 Tree at Santa Anita.
Monday, September 07, 2009
After the Thoroughbred racing information website Equibase discovered that Hold Me Back's running line in the chart of the 2009 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) was inaccurate, the company reported it had corrected its error and redistributed the chart.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
It appears the Louisiana (gr. II) and Florida (gr. I) Derbies will be run on the same day in 2010.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
With both his parents by his side, Bob Baffert, the sixth winningest trainer of all time by money won, will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame at Saratoga Aug. 14. A three-time champion trainer, Baffert, who has three Kentucky Derby (gr. I) wins, four Preakness (gr. I) victories, and seven Breeders' Cup titles under his belt, enthusiastically reflected on his experiences in the industry during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association teleconference Aug. 11.
Tuesday, August 11, 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
Mine That Bird breezed through a four-furlong workout at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort on July 27. The track's clockers recorded a time of :49 4/5 as the Kentucky Derby winner continued his preparations for Aug. 1, $750,000 West Virginia Derby (gr. II).
Monday, July 27, 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
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
Mark Allen, the co-owner of Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird, said the gelding will appear in New Mexico in September.
Monday, July 20, 2009
IEAH Stables has filed court documents claiming that David Lanzman failed to disclose injuries to I Want Revenge that eventually led to the 3-year-old colt being scratched on the morning of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), for which he was the morning- line favorite.
Thursday, July 16, 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
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
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
John Asher, vice president of Racing Communications at Churchill Downs answers questions about night racing at Churchill Downs, the recent defeat of the VLT Bill in the Kentucky Senate, the Kentucky Derby and more. Transcript Now Available!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird returned to the racetrack for the first time since finishing third in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) by leisurely back-tracking once around the Churchill Downs oval June 11 under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
After working Mine That Bird June 1 at Churchill Downs, jockey Calvin Borel "guaranteed" that the gelded son of Birdstone would win the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I). Believe it or not, Borel is now even more confident.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Pari-mutuel handle, purses, and race days all declined in May compared with the same month in 2008, according to the Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators released June 4.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
So, when the interviews are done and night spreads over Churchill Downs and all that remains to be done at Churchill Downs is cleaning tons of trash off the ground, does one's life really change after winning the world's most famous race?
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
ESPN and ABC will offer seven hours of Belmont Stakes (gr. I) coverage starting at noon ET--including ABC's two-hour race broadcast June 6 at 5 p.m.--as jockey Calvin Borel attempts to complete an unprecedented personal Triple Crown.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Trainer Tim Ice will scale new heights, literally, when he visits the Empire State Building for the first time June 2. Figuratively, Ice, the conditioner of Summer Bird, hopes to reach the zenith of his burgeoning training career in the $1 million Belmont Stakes (gr. I) June 6.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Chocolate Candy put the finishing touches on his preparations for the June 6 running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes (gr. I), with a final breeze at Belmont Park June 1.
Monday, June 01, 2009
An exuberant Calvin Borel expressed confidence that Mine That Bird will win the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) after working the diminutive gelding a half-mile in :50 on a warm, sunny June 1 morning at Churchill Downs.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Mine That Bird's entourage grew a bit the morning of May 31 as Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach, the New Mexico-based co-owners of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner, made a quick stop in Louisville en route to New York for the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I).
Sunday, May 31, 2009
With the recent spell of wet weather having finally moved on, three contenders for the 141st running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes (gr. I) turned in their final serious moves this morning at Belmont Park in preparation for the June 6 race.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
With firm knowledge that the Preakness (gr. I)-winning filly Rachel Alexandra would pass on a possible run in the third jewel of the Triple Crown, trainer Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr. and jockey Calvin Borel are both enthusiastically looking forward to the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) and a bid to take two-thirds of the crown with Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Rachel Alexandra will not be running in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), Jess Jackson, the co-owner of the filly announced May 29.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Vinery Stables' and Fox Hill Farm's Friesan Fire, who was made the favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) after three consecutive graded stakes wins this spring, has been sidelined for a couple of months due to an injury.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Chip Woolley, the trainer of Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird, said jockey Calvin Borel will ride his horse in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) if Rachel Alexandra isn't entered.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Jockey Calvin Borel, who is in the enviable position of being considered to ride the country's two best 3-year-olds in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), was aboard Monday, May 25 as Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird worked four furlongs in :51.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Thomas Allen Pauly's love for painting subjects of Thoroughbred racing was developed somewhat like the intricate portraits he produces from his Chicago-area studio: layer by layer.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Early on the morning of May 18, trainer Bennie "Chip" Woolley had just loaded Mine That Bird into a horse trailer and was preparing for the 9-10 hour drive from Baltimore, Md., to Louisville, where the little gelding had won the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) before going on to finish second in the May 16 BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Monday, May 18, 2009
One day after combining to win the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (gr. I), trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Calvin Borel were enthusiastic in their praise of the Rachel Alexandra.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
There will be no Triple Crown winner in 2009, but there is a possibility of a showdown in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) between the winners of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Blackberry Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Sunday, May 17, 2009
As Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), quietly goes about his business at Pimlico in preparation for the May 16 Preakness Stakes (gr. I), so does the man who has been at his side since the Birdstone gelding's unlikely Triple Crown quest began. Charlie Figueroa is Mine That Bird's excercise rider and groom.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission reported May 11 that testing associated with this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) has been completed and there were no medication violations.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Zayat Stables' homebred Pioneerof the Nile, second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), breezed a half-mile in :47 3/5 at Churchill Downs May 11 as the Empire Maker colt prepped for the May 16 Preakness Stakes (gr. I). The time was fourth-fastest of the morning among 48 horses working four furlongs.
Monday, May 11, 2009
General Quarters and Flying Private, the respective 10th- and 19th- place finishers in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), worked at Churchill Downs May 11 as they tuned up for the May 16 Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Monday, May 11, 2009
Trainer Chip Woolley, who had said Mine That Bird would not have a workout prior to the May 16 Preakness Stakes (gr. I), called an audible and breezed the son of Birdstone at Churchill Downs on the morning of May 11.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Join Calvin Borel as he talks about his Derby winning ride aboard Mine That Bird, Rachel Alexandra's Kentucky Oaks, and more. Transcript also available.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Grey Goose vodka joined forces with fashion designer Rachel Roy to create a hat worn by Brooke Shields at the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) at Churchill Downs.
Friday, May 08, 2009
A top Thoroughbred owner said NetJets' sponsorship of jockeys in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) is something that can be built upon, and that owners will work with jockeys on future endeavors.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
NBC announced national television ratings for the May 2 Kentucky Derby that rose from 2008 figures.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
The morning after it was announced that powerhouse filly Rachel Alexandra had been sold to Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stables and Harold T. McCormick, trainer Hal Wiggins went about his business as usual, in spite of the empty stall where the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) winner used to reside.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Some owners who had horses in the grade I Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands are questioning the manner in which a corporate sponsorship tied to charitable causes was handled, but the Jockeys' Guild said the parties followed proper procedure.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Mine That Bird's upset in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands attracted the interest of editors at Sports Illustrated, who devoted the entire cover to it in the magazine's May 6 edition.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
