BloodHorse.com

Few people have experienced the joy of breeding or racing a horse good enough to start in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Imagine how breeder John Gunther felt April 7 after two horses he bred—Vino Rosso and Justify—won the Wood Memorial presented by NYRA Bets (G2) and Santa Anita Derby (G1), respectively. Both figure to ...

1 Vino Rosso Todd Pletcher Curlin—Mythical Bride, by Street Cry I know this is going to shock a lot of people, being the only one of 25 voters in the Derby Media Poll to have him No. 1 and the only one of 46 voters in the NTRA poll (he ranks 8th and 9th on both polls). But when totally confused, look outside the box. This colt actually ...

It has been one of my missions in horse racing to re-tell the story of Jim French every four or five years, because if I don’t it will quickly fade away and not even remain a minor footnote in the history books. For those who have never read or heard the story, and even those who have, but stashed it away in the deepest recesses of the mind, I ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Bolt d'Oro or Justify? While it's rare to see two of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby square off four weeks out from the big race, racing fans will be treated to a special exception in Saturday's $1 million Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park. The unbeaten, untested ...

The email arrived Saturday evening, just as it does every Saturday this time of year. The missive from Darren Rogers, senior director, communications and media services for Churchill Downs, is a detailed listing of the points leaders for the upcoming Kentucky Derby—this year presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Sitting at the top this ...

1 Bolt d’Oro Mick Ruis Medaglia d'Oro—Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy Once again, you couldn’t fault his workout, as he did everything smoothly and professionally, sitting two lengths off his workmate and cruising by him late under no urging. He won’t get a chance for a rematch with McKinzie, but will now have to contend with the much-hyped ...

Because a pair of international races could generate several Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) starters, this weekend's points races will be the most important weekend in determining where this year's Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points bubble will fall. As many as three horses based outside of North America could secure ...

We've seen some impressive performances so far on the road to the 2018 Kentucky Derby. The showdown between McKinzie and Bolt d'Oro in the San Felipe comes quickly to mind, along with Justify's romping victories at Santa Anita and the clear-cut victory by Good Magic in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. But arguably no single moment on the Derby ...