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By Ed DeRosa Picking a Kentucky Derby favorite is much easier than picking the Kentucky Derby winner, but tabbing his (and 19 others’) off odds is among the more difficult guessing games in the Sport of Kings. Of this I’m certain: California Chrome will be favored and Wicked Strong will be second choice. After that, there are questions: What ...

Mike Maker has been looking forward to working General a Rod since his unexpectedly slow work last week. He has since compensated for the colt’s distractions by galloping him in blinkers, which has made him more focused and aggressive. This morning, again wearing blinkers and with Joel Rosario aboard, the powerfully built colt turned in a ...

When Medal Count showed up at Dale Roman’s barn at Churchill Downs as a promising 2-year-old, the colt was an immediate standout.“After he started training, I thought he was our best horse,” the trainer said. Owner B. Wayne Hughes had also thought enough of the colt by Dynaformer, out of the graded stakes-placed Brisquette (by Unbridled’s Song), ...

As predicted, California Chrome's arrival yesterday drew a large crowd, as did his first appearance on the track Tuesday morning. The son of Lucky Pulpit only jogged once around, but still made his presence felt, just by his demeanor and the way he handles himself. He appears to be a horse who knows what he's supposed to do and get it done at a ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'')  Fact: In each of the last ten renewals of the Kentucky Derby, at least one horse with odds of 20-1 or higher has finished in the superfecta. And in eight of the last ten Derbies, at least one horse with odds of 30-1 or higher has cracked the top four. With this in mind, it’s clear that if one wants to ...

While we wait for more two-year-old racing to start, Brisnet.com pedigree handicapper and blogger Doug Salvatore will profile each of the expected Kentucky Derby starters in terms of classic breeding and current form/speed. This final installment of three looks at the top contenders ranked in the bottom third of the prospective field by points on ...

There are heavy rains, torrential rains, and the rain that all but drowned Churchill Downs Monday morning. The lightning came fast and furious; one bolt knocked out light, and the flooding came just as fast. Some of the thunder claps were so loud and strong, several horses became noticeably spooked. But not at Todd Pletcher’s barn, where “spooked” ...

By Tom LaMarra For the record, the final Polytrack race run at Keeneland was won by Longitude Farm's Contessa B., trained by Al Stall Jr., ridden by Rosie Napravnik, and bred by Patricia Morange. The 3-year-old Kentucky-bred filly by Good Reward many end up being a historical footnote, but the synthetic Polytrack employed by Keeneland since the ...

It sounds as if this could be the last nice morning we get in a while, and fortunately, most of the Derby works have been completed. As typical of Derby works, the good ones drew waves of excitement, while others were overblown as bad works. And some were, well, just works.What separates Derby works from your typical works is that most people have ...

From Kentucky to New York to California to Maryland, there were Kentucky Derby works galore the past two days.But before we get to the works, the highlight moment of the day came at 5:45 a.m. when General a Rod went out for a gallop with blinkers n. Because of the colt’s slow work several days earlier when he became distracted by the giant ...