Derby Trail, Eastern Tracks Banning Shippers
by Pete Cataldo
GulfStream Park open!
The Derby trail is open! Saturday at Gulfstream Park there were two important races that will go a long way to see who makes it to Kentucky that first Saturday in May.
In the 7-½ furlong $100,000 Hutcheson Stakes, one of last year’s top two-year olds, First Samurai, got beat again; he was beaten in the Breeders Cup Juvenile last fall by Stevie Wonderboy.
Saturday the Hutcheson went to the Todd Pletcher-trained Keyed Entry, who led almost all the way. First Samurai chased into the stretch but Keyed Entry, ridden by JR Velazquez, held on to win by 1-¼ lengths. The winner paid $7.40, First Samurai, off at 3/5, paid 2.10 to place and show.
So some real questions will now arise about First Samurai’s ability to challenge at the classic distances of the Triple Crown races ahead.
In the mile and one eighth $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes, the favorite Barbaro, trained by Mike Matz and ridden by Edgar Prado, held on to win by ¾ of a length over a horse who may be the real story of the day, Great Point.
Great Point ridden by Jeremy Rose came from 12th at 25/1 and battled through traffic and was flying at the finish to get second. Trained by Nick Zito, Great Point caught my eye as a closer who had plenty left at the top of the stretch; watch out for him. The time for the 1 1/8 miles was 149.1.
Charles Town Race, Slots in West Virginia and Penn National Racecourse in Pennsylvania have banned all shippers from anywhere outside the track grounds. Any horses leaving the grounds or coming from any other track will not be allowed to enter the track.
Danny Wright (Charles Town) and Fred Lipkin (Penn National) have made their decision based on various outbreaks of equine herpes virus. I received a press release this week from the NYRA saying that Aqueduct and Philadelphia Park were also barring all shippers from Maryland and Penn National.
Last weekend, a horse who had run his last race in Maryland based at Penn National, tested positive for the virus, a contagious disease, causing coughing, nasal discharge and neurological distress. Lipkin said that horse was removed from the track and no other horses tested positive. The horse was trained by Todd Beattie.
Charles Town and Penn National are the only tracks to have an outright ban for now. The press release said this would continue “until further notice”.
It has finally happened, the last of all the truly untouched sporting events has a sponsor. The Run For The Roses, yes the Kentucky Derby, has now gone corporate. The new sponsor is Louisville based YUM Brands. YUM Brands includes Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. The several million dollar sponsor fee will allow YUM to hang a Logo underneath the famous twin spires of historic Churchill Downs, and get them some free airtime on NBC and ESPN on Derby day May 6th.
Pete Cataldo can be reached at jrclemente@hotmail.com. He appears on BetUSradio.com every Wednesday at 3:30pm EST for horse racing and baseball talk.
