Wednesday, February 15 2012
Churchill Downs Announces Three New Partnerships for 138th Running of Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, KY (Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012) – Churchill Downs Racetrack today announced three new partners for the upcoming $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, the historic track’s signature race and one of the country’s major sports and entertainment events.
Under the new partnership agreements, Moët & Chandon Champagne, one of the world’s most iconic brands, will introduce the all new “Moët & Chandon Toast to the Kentucky Derby” which will take place during the festivities preceding the running of the race. Moët, the author of iconic celebratory traditions such as champagne sabering, the champagne pyramid and the champagne spray, will continue the celebratory tradition at Churchill Downs with a toast as fans raise their glasses to the Kentucky Derby.
Sunday, February 12 2012
‘All Others’ Favored; Union Rags, Algorithms Well-Backed in Record Opening Pool of 2012 Derby
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012) – The opening pool of Churchill Downs’ 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”) soared into new territory Sunday when three days of pari-mutuel future betting ended with record total wagering for a single pool. But there was no change in one important aspect of Pool 1: the mutuel field, or “All Others” (#24), emerged as the strong favorite in the opening Derby Future pool for the 14th consecutive year.
The betting total for first of three 2012 KDFW pools was $631,304 – which included $494,263 in win betting and $137,041 in exactas – when Pool 1 closed at 6 p.m. (Eastern) Sunday at racetracks, off-track betting centers, and at TwinSpires.com and other online wagering outlets. The three-day total eclipsed the $620,362 wagered during the four-day opening pool of 2005, the year in which the KDFW three-pool betting record of $1,665,990 was established. The 2005 Derby Future bet did not offer exacta wagering, which was introduced in 2009.
FAVORED ‘ALL OTHERS’, UNION RAGS ATTRACT STRONG SUPPORT AS BRISK BETTING CONTINUES
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012) – Fans of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) continued their strong support for both the “All Others” (#24) option and talented Champagne Stakes (GI) winner Union Rags (#23) on Saturday, and brisk betting at racetracks and online pushed total wagering well past the $300,000 mark with one day remaining in the opening pool of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”).
Total betting after two days of the first of three 2012 KDFW pools stood at $331,059 late Saturday evening, which included $102,492 in support of the mutuel field wagering option that includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the 23 individual horses on the pool’s roster of wagering interests. That made “All Others” the 6-5 fans’ choice after two days of betting in 2012’s opening pool. The mutuel field, the Pool 1 bettors’ choice every year since the Derby Future bet was introduced in 1999, was the odds-on 3-5 favorite after Friday’s opening round of betting.
Wednesday, February 08 2012
‘All Others’ Strong Overall Favorite, But Unbeaten Algorithms Rated Top Individual for Derby Future
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012) - The first of three pools of Churchill Downs' 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager ("KDFW") begins its three-day run on Friday, Feb. 10, and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999: the Mutuel Field, or "All Others", looms as a very strong favorite.
Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has installed "All Others" as the 9-5 morning line choice for KDFW Pool 1, but the favored individual horse among the 24 wagering interests in this week's Friday-Sunday pool is an exciting newcomer. Starlight Racing's unbeaten Algorithms (#1), is the favored individual horse at 8-1 and the overall second choice in Battaglia's early odds for the Pool. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt burst onto the road to the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) with an emphatic five-length victory over previously unbeaten 2-year-old champion Hansen (#12) in the Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park.
He is one of seven winners of the race trained by Godolphin handler Saeed bin Suroor who saddles thr
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012) - The roster of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds nominated to compete in the classic races of the American Triple Crown has grown by one with the addition of Charles J. Cella's Cyber Secret, who was omitted from the initial roster of 397 early nominations because of a clerical error.
This year's 398th nominee is a Kentucky-bred son of Broken Vow trained by Lynn Whiting, who scored his only victory in a Triple Crown race with W.C. Partee's Lil E. Tee in the 1992 Kentucky Derby (Grade I). Cyber Secret collected his second win in four career starts in a 5 ¼-length victory in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 4. He started his career with trainer Chad Brown, but was transferred to Whiting when the colt was purchased privately by Cella after a seventh-place run behind WinStar Farm's unbeaten Triple Crown nominee Gemologist in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (GII) on Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs.
Wednesday, January 18 2012
Churchill Downs Announces Dates for 2012 Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks Future Wager Pools
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012) – Churchill Downs has set the dates for its trio of three-day betting pools for its 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”) and a single pool for the historic track’s Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (“KOFW”).
Dates for the pools for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which is now in its 14th year, are:
Tuesday, January 17 2012
Coiuntdown Rolling Toward Saturday Deadline for Early Nominations to 2012 Triple Crown
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Monday, Jan. 16, 2012) – Owners and trainers who wish to make their promising 3-year-old Thoroughbreds eligible to compete in the 2012 Triple Crown series of classic American races have only a few days remaining to complete that task as the early nomination period to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), the Preakness (GI) and the Belmont Stakes (GI) nears its conclusion.
A payment of $600 must accompany each nomination made during the early phase of early Triple Crown nominations, which will close on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. A late nomination period that requires payment of a $6,000 nomination fee opens at 12 a.m. (all times Eastern) Sunday, Jan. 22 and will run through Saturday, March 24.
Wednesday, December 21 2011
JULIAN ‘BUCK’ WHEAT, CHURCHILL DOWNS’ ‘MAYOR OF THE BACKSIDE,’ DEAD AT 78
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011) - Julian Logan "Buck" Wheat, Churchill Downs' Director of Horsemen's Relations long known as the "Mayor of the Backside" at the home of the Kentucky Derby, died Wednesday afternoon of complications from injuries suffered in a Tuesday fall at his home. Wheat was 78.
The Churchill Downs veteran, whose career at the track in various roles spanned more than 60 years, died at approximately 2:10 p.m. (EST) at University of Louisville Hospital, where he had been treated since he was found unconscious in his home following his Tuesday accident. Family members said Wheat did not appear to be seriously injured following the mishap, but they became concerned when he could not be contacted later in the day. He was rushed to the hospital after family members went to Wheat's home to check on him, but he never regained consciousness.
Friday, December 16 2011
Churchill Downs To Permit Also-Eligible Entries for Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks Starting with 2012
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Friday, Dec. 16, 2011) – Churchill Downs will permit four also-eligible entrants to the $2 million guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), America’s greatest race, and the $1 million guaranteed Kentucky Oaks (GI), the nation’s premier race for 3-year-old fillies, beginning with the respective 138th runnings of those races in 2012.
For the first time in the history of those races, the new system allows as many as four horses to remain eligible to compete in each race beyond the official time of entry and one or more of the “also eligible” horses could be allowed to run in their respective race if members of the original fields for their races scratch from the race within a specified period of time. A maximum of 20 horses is allowed to compete in the Kentucky Derby, the 1 ¼-mile race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds conducted each year on the first Saturday in May, while the Kentucky Oaks, the Derby’s 1 1/8-mile counterpart for fillies run on the eve of the Derby, is limited to 14 starters.
Monday, November 28 2011
Churchill Downs Closes Memorable Fall Meet Highlighted by Breeders’ Cp, Clark ‘Cap;Field Sizes Decli
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011) – Churchill Downs concluded the 122nd Fall Meet in its 137-year history on Sunday, Nov. 27 during which rainy weather failed to dim the highlights of a memorable 21-day racing session highlighted by a record eighth visit by the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, the introduction of a new star in the Grade I Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare, and a sparkling racing session for Bill Mott, the track’s all-time leading trainer.
Other highlights of the Oct. 30-Nov. 27 meet included a successful “Downs After Dark” night racing session on Friday, Nov. 18; the track’s first participation in Movember, a worldwide effort to raise awareness of and research funding for the effort to find a cure for prostate cancer; and a popular renewal of the annual Churchill Downs-Kentucky Thoroughbred Association College Scholarship Day.
A Diehl Closing-Day Feature at Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011) - G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s A Diehl rallied in-between horses at the top of the stretch, took the lead prior to the eighth pole and held off a late rally from Color Me Blue to win the $51,470 Sunday afternoon closing-day feature at Churchill Downs by 1 ¼ lengths.
Trained by Rusty Arnold and ridden by Freddie Lenclud, A Diehl covered the mile on the sloppy main track in 1:36.72.
CHURCHILL DOWNS BARN NOTES Sunday, November 27, 2011
ASMUSSEN BATTLING FOR ANOTHER ‘LEADING TRAINER’ CROWN, REFLECTS ON SUCCESSFUL FALL MEET – Steve Asmussen has won the last five training titles at Churchill Downs and will wrap up another successful meet at the home of the Kentucky Derby when its fall racing session concludes on Sunday. Entering the final day of the 21-day Fall Meet, Asmussen had saddled 14 winners from 63 starters and trailed Mike Maker by a single victory in his bid to add another “leading trainer” title to his collection.
“We were very fortunate to get a couple of wins at the Breeders’ Cup and we’ve had some really nice 2-year-olds this meet,” Asmussen said via phone Sunday morning. “The meet was everything we could have hoped for.”
