East or West, who holds the stronger Kentucky Derby hand?

Wed Feb 21 2018Scott Shapiro

It’s a light week ahead on the Road to the presented by Woodford Reserve, so now’s a good time to take stock of the division following the first 50- points-to-the winner-prep race. With less than seventy-five days until the first Saturday of May ...
Fair Grounds: Risen Star Showcases Another Derby Contender

Wed Feb 21 2018D.S. Williamson

Two Kentucky Derby prep races were the highlight of this past President's Day Weekend. The Fair Grounds in Louisiana ran the Risen Star Stakes. Oaklawn Park in Arkansas ran the Southwest Stakes. Only one, the Risen Star, produced what should be a tru ...
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10 -- 2/20/18

Tue Feb 20 2018J. Keeler Johnson

The Road to the Kentucky Derby took a few major twists last weekend with upsets in the Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) and Southwest Stakes (gr. III), plus a brilliant debut from an exciting colt at Santa Anita. Suffice to say, my Kentucky Derby Top ...
Is Japan's Sumahama a Kentucky Derby Contender?

Tue Feb 20 2018J. Keeler Johnson

Sumahama’s success from a stalking position isn’t surprising given that the early pace was slow—:24.00, :48.80, and 1:14.20—but Sumahama’s acceleration in the homestretch was legitimate, as he ran the final 400 meters in a respectable :24.30, giving ...
Powell: Magnum Moon, Justify new stars of three-year-old class

Tue Feb 20 2018TwinSpires Staff

by DICK POWELL There were lots of stakes races run over the President's Day weekend, but the two stars of the week came in an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs and a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita.   On January 13, Todd Ple ...
Pace, Track Favored My Boy Jack in Southwest Stakes

Tue Feb 20 2018J. Keeler Johnson

Racing fans were treated to an eye-catching sight on Monday when My Boy Jack produced an explosive rally from off the pace to win the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (gr. III) at Oaklawn Park . From a visual perspective, My Boy Jack looked terrific ...

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Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Bravazo

Tue Feb 20 2018TwinSpires Staff

Bravazo (Hodges Photography) Risen Star Stakes Winner Bravazo by Alastair Bull Calumet Farm has been the most successful owner and breeder of Kentucky Derby winners, but it’s been a long time since it was last successful. In ...
Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Sumahama

Mon Feb 19 2018TwinSpires Staff

Sumahama (Tomoya Moriuchi/Horsephotos.com) Hyacinth Stakes Winner Sumahama by Alastair Bull The 1989 Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence became the ultimate breed-shaping stallion in Japanese Thoroughbred history, siring more t ...
Mucciolo's bookending singles for Oaklawn Late Pick 5

Mon Feb 19 2018TwinSpires Staff

by JOHN MUCCIOLO The lucrative, $500,000 Southwest S. (G3) is the Monday feature at Oaklawn Park, and I will take aim at the Late Pick 5: Race 6: Maiden special weight run for sophomores going a mile attracts a fairly well-matched cast. ...
How I'm playing the Southwest Day Late Pick 5 at Oaklawn

Mon Feb 19 2018Vance Hanson

Four races for three-year-olds -- the Southwest (G3), two allowances, and a maiden -- plus the Razorback H. (G3) for older horses comprise Monday's intriguing Late Pick 5 sequence at Oaklawn Park. Race 6 -- #3 LIONITE (5-2) placed twice at Sarat ...
Shapiro: How to Bet the Southwest at Oaklawn Park

Mon Feb 19 2018TwinSpires Staff

by SCOTT SHAPIRO The Southwest Stakes (G3) winner has not hit the wire first in the “Run for the Roses” since Smarty Jones did in 2004, but a strong group of three-year-olds in search of 10 qualifying points on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” br ...
Handicapping Southwest, Razorback at Oaklawn Park

Mon Feb 19 2018James Scully

A Kentucky Derby qualifier, the $500,000 Southwest (G3) highlights a 10-race Presidents’ Day card at Oaklawn Park and the 1 1/16-mile event appears to have attracted plenty of speed including Mourinho, who shipped in to post a wire-to-wire win in t ...
2018 Kentucky Derby workout report for February 18

Mon Feb 19 2018TwinSpires Staff

Bravazo just got the best of pacesetter Snapper Sinclair in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) on February 17 at Fair Grounds (c) Amanda Hodges Weir/Hodges Photography Bravazo jumped to the top of the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard thanks to a 21-1 upset wi ...