#Bourbon Trail

Opening weekend at Del Mar ended with a bang when two long shots came home in the final two turf races, and horseplayer Caitlin Oishi was all over it, hitting the Pick 4 for $7620 and placing win bets behind her best opinions to bring her total over $8000. This isn't her first Del Mar big score; she hit a Pick 5 at Fair Grounds bigger than this…

Flavien Prat and Hot Rod Charlie after their win in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby. This Saturday's Grade 2, $500000 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs may not be a qualifying race for the Breeders' Cup Classic five weeks from Saturday, but it certainly has implications because the top three contenders may be running in that race depending on their…

The $500000, Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes Saturday at Churchill Downs may not be a qualifying race for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic five weeks later, but it certainly has implications because the top three contenders could be be running in that race depending on how they perform in this one. Hot Rod Charlie leads the six-horse field in career…

When a heavy favorite starts at a lower price than the horse that beat him in their previous meeting, the latter is usually a value play. This pattern often happens in big stakes races where bettors favor fan favorites, even if they do not earn their role as favorite. In the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Saturday, Taiba starts as the…

A quartet of stakes for three-year-olds, highlighted by the $275000 Dogwood (G3) at seven furlongs, were offered at Churchill Downs Saturday evening. Unraced since a fourth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), champion two-year-old filly Echo Zulu got back in the win column with a sharp wire-to-wire tally in the Dogwood. The classy frontrunner has now won…

G2 Lukas Classic Preview: Rich Strike Could Hit It Big Again This Saturday (Rich Strike / Photo by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Saturday's G2, $500000 Lukas Classic is shaping up to be one of the more competitive races in North America this year. Grade I winners Happy Saver and Hot Rod Charlie are among the nominated…

Bourbon Trail Stakes: Home Brew Inches Out Victory (Home Brew, on the rail, inches out a victory in the Bourbon Trail Stakes at Churchill Downs / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Three horses made a thrilling dash for the finish line in Saturday night's second running of the $275000 Bourbon Trail ® for 3-year-olds at…

Bango Joins Elite Group By Winning 8th Race at Churchill Downs (Bango / Coady Photography) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Tamaroak Partners' classy 5-year-old homebred Bango kicked clear to a 4 ½-length victory in Friday's featured ninth race to become only the 12 documented horse in Churchill Downs' modern history to win at least eight races…

For me, one main attraction to superfectas is that a superfecta probable payout pool is not displayed making this bet an unknown endeavor relative to an exacta and even trifectas in some circumstances where the probable payouts are available. However, if you observe the pool results over a long period of time, you will come to realize the heavily…

No Decision Yet on Whether Team Asmussen Will Run Both Echo Zulu & Wicked Halo in G3 Dogwood Stakes (Wicked Halo / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Winchell Thoroughbreds' racing manager David Fiske reported Friday morning that "no decision has been made at this time" if stablemates Echo Zulu and Wicked Halo will both…

The TwinSpires Jury - Kellie Reilly, Vance Hanson, and Ashley Anderson - this week takes a look at Saturday's Pennsylvania Derby Day card and the "Downs After Dark" program at Churchill Downs for the weekend's best plays. Kellie Reilly: In an open-looking Gallant Bob (G2) at Parx on Saturday, #8 Witty (12-1) makes sense, especially at the price.…

Cyberknife, shown winning the Arkansas Derby, runs in Saturday's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing. Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Saturday's Pennsylvania Derby brings together many of the top U.S. 3-year-olds just hours after a few of the top prospects for next year's European Classics kick off the…

Gunite Ready to Fire in Saturday Night's Harrods Creek Stakes (Gunite / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Winchell Thoroughbreds' Grade I-winning sprinter Gunite will meet Patricia's Hope and Mark Farrar's speedy Conagher for the third time as the headliners in Saturday night's second running of the $275000 Harrods…

Churchill Downs' Barn Notes: Echo Zulu Returns in Saturday's G3 Dogwood Stakes (Echo Zulu / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churhcill Downs Media Team: L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' three-time Grade I-winning filly Echo Zulu will make her first start since finishing fourth in this year's $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (Grade…

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' three-time Grade 1-winning filly Echo Zulu will make her first start since finishing fourth in this year's $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (Grade 1) when she goes to post as the likely favorite in Saturday night's 42nd running of the $275000 Dogwood (G3) at Churchill Downs. The seven-furlong Dogwood…

Churchill Downs Ready To Pop Gate on September Meet (Set Piece gets a morning bath at Churchill Downs / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Horse racing on the Kentucky circuit shifts to Churchill Downs on Thursday, Sept. 15 with the first of three Twilight Thursday programs at 5 p.m. (all times Eastern) as the famed…

Churchill Downs' News: Santin, Smooth Like Strait May Be Showdown in Saturday's G1 Arlington Million (Santin / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Godolphin's Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (Grade I) winner Santin will face six fellow turf specialists, including Cannon Thoroughbreds' 2021 Shoemaker Mile (GI)…