Victor native returns home after competing in Kentucky Derby

A feel-good story that had damn near everything a Hollywood scriptwriter could want mesmerized sports fans in the spring of 2004 - murder, health issues, mammoth sums of money, unlikely heroes, and a budding star from humble beginnings. Even 20 years later, it sounds too far-fetched to believe. In a sport that loves an underdog saga, Smarty Jones…

The 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks is almost here. The events are scheduled to happen next year but the prep races for the classic races have begun. On Saturday, two stakes races took place of which one was Grade 3, $300000 Iroquois Stakes. This Stakes had a difference from the previous races as the distance of the race was…

KY Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby: Wadsworth May Be Worth a Shot (Wadsworth / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Ellis Park Media Team / Kevin Kerstein: Godolphin and trainer Brad Cox will once again take aim at another stakes victory from Ellis Park with their newly-minted turf specialist Wadsworth, who was made the solid 8-5 morning line…

Brad Cox is having one of those years again. Maybe not withthe classic victories that he had in 2021. But four Grade 1 triumphs came hisway in the first half of 2023, and he is aiming for more this summer. In a stable full of stars, Angel of Empire might be the namethat comes to mind right away, what with his prominence on the Kentucky Derbytrail.…

BALTIMORE - Mage's path to a potential Triple Crown is not an easy one. The Kentucky Derby winner opened as the favorite for Saturday's 148th running of the Preakness Stakes, but Mage will have to top a talented field - albeit small in number - to become the first horse to take the first two Triple Crown races since Justify won them all in…

Who doesn't love Derby Day? Big hats, mint juleps, and the most exciting 2 minutes of sports you'll see! Here are our odds on favorites for the best Kentucky Derby Memes for 2023. Y'all, it's that time of year again - the Kentucky Derby! For those of you who don't know, the Kentucky Derby is a prestigious horse race held annually at Churchill Downs…

The crowd in front of Barn 27 was growing by the moment - television crews, reporters, well-heeled owners in dressed-down jeans. But they weren't there to chronicle the day of the barn's most prominent occupants, Practical Move and Reincarnate. They were the spillover from an adjacent barn where trainer Todd Pletcher has three horses including race…

The 2023 Arkansas Derby picks will see several horses tipped up for glory at Oaklawn Park on Saturday - the latest Kentucky Derby trial race. However, we feel the Bill Mott-trained Rocket Can is the one that can blast his rivals away. ��Time/Date: 6:50pm (Local) (Saturday April 1, 2023) ��Racecourse: Oaklawn Park (Race 12, Grade 1, Dirt, 1m 1/8 for…

Kingsbarns takes them all the way in the Lousiana Derby and remains undefeated (Hodges Photography) Fair Grounds Press Release NEW ORLEANS- On paper it appeared as though speed was lacking, and it was Kingsbarns who took advantage, striking a commanding lead early in the 110th running of the $1 million Twispires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), drawing…

On paper it appeared as though speed was lacking, and it was Kingsbarns who took advantage, striking a commanding lead early in the 110th running of the $1 million Twispires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), drawing away by open lengths and dominating a field of 11 other 3-year-olds at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns earned…

Fair Grounds' Col. E.R. Bradley Stakes Preview: Two Emmys Back For More From the Fair Grounds Media Team: Winner of the 2022 Muniz Memorial (G2) presented by Horse Racing Nation, Wolfe Racing and trainer Hugh Robertson's Two Emmys returns to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for Saturday's $100000 Col E.R. Bradley Stakes. The 7-year-old gelding is…

By Andy Serling FOX Sports Horse Racing Analyst The field for the 154th Belmont Stakes, the final jewel of the Triple Crown, is scheduled to break from the gate at 6:44 p.m. ET on Saturday at beautiful Belmont Park. All eyes will be on Rich Strike. While not the morning-line favorite, the upset winner of the Kentucky Derby that was held out of the…

The nation's third oldest racetrack, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots is set to open for the 151st meet on Friday, Nov 18. Two racing days kick things off and post time will be 3 p.m. (all times Central) on Friday and 1:15 p.m. on Saturday. Opening weekend of the 80-day Thoroughbred meet includes the inaugural running of six stakes written for…

The nation's third oldest racetrack, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots is set to open for its 151st meet on Friday, Nov 18. Two racing days kick things off and post time will be 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday and 2:15 p.m. EST on Saturday. Opening weekend of the 80-day Thoroughbred meet includes the inaugural running of six stakes written for…

Horse racing is never short on surprises. Can a 3.6 million dollar horse like Cezanne just vanish without a word? Apparently so. I wonder if he was trained by Bob Baffert when he disappeared and either died or was euthanized if it would have been as hush hush. Actually I don't wonder that at all, I believe it would have likely been racing headline…

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - About 20000 thoroughbreds are born every year, so the odds of winning the Kentucky Derby aren't great. But every foal comes into this world with a hint of hope. Joe and Anne McMahon would know. In April 2000, they foaled a horse that would go on to win the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. "He was pretty…

Barber Road, the horse ridden by Victor native Reylu Gutierrez, finished 6th in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Barber Road had odds of 60-1 to win the race. But a horse with even longer odds, Rich Strike, who went off at 80-1, upset the field to win the Kentucky Derby. --------------- There is a local connection to horse racing's most prominent event…

One of the fascinating changes to sports broadcasting during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 came from networks and broadcasters trying to adjust to not having fans at venues. In some cases, that involved fake crowd noise (and even fake fan images), and that often took criticism. But even beyond that, there were effects…

The horses are nearing the starting gate for the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby. The post position draw and morning line oddswere released today, and the countdown to "the most exciting two minutes in sports" and America's most popular horse race is set. Post time for the Kentucky Derby from Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY is 6:57 p.m. ET on…

The Arkansas Derby, one of the final races for the second leg of the 2022 Road to Kentucky Derby series, is just a month away now. The annual event will be held at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The winner of the race will pocket an ultra-valuable 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. Second place will take home 40, third place 20…

After a two-weekend pause, the Road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby resumes Saturday in New Orleans. Pappacap is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Grade 3, $200000 Lecomte Stakes. Post time from Fair Grounds is 7:20 p.m. EST, with TVG showing the 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds. The Lecomte awards points toward the Kentucky Derby on a 10-4-2-1…

For the first time ever, the Belmont Stakes will be the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. Historically the last leg, following the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and longest race at 1½ miles, the distance will be shortened to 1⅛ miles for Saturday's 152nd running at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Post time will be at approximately…

After a dominant performance in the Kentucky Derby, Nyquist enters the Preakness Stakes as a substantial favorite to take the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. While a small handful of Derby contenders will return in an attempt to knock Nyquist from his perch, much of the field is likely to be made up of newcomers looking to prevent a…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - They were not worried, and they said so all week. Everyone had stopped by the barn of the trainer Doug O'Neill and told him that his colt Nyquist did not have the stamina to last a mile and a quarter - that he had cranked up his baby too much in capturing a $1 million bonus last month in the Florida Derby. There could not be…

2023 Kentucky Derby: 5 things to know when reading a racing formBetting on the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Preakness Stakes or any other horse race? Here are five things to know when reading a racing form. While Downs After Dark is "opening night" and a week before the Kentucky Derby, 502's Day feels more like actual Kentucky Derby week. It's…