Kentucky Derby News

In the course of the horse racing season, late winter early spring is a tough time to make a case for the importance of races that have nothing to do with the word derby.

He won the Sam F. Davis Stakes by a nose. One heady performance Saturday could put him into the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs is using a tiered points system based on 34 races to determine how horses earn their way into the May 3 Kentucky Derby if more than 20 are entered.

Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, his trainer Steve Asmussen and Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys Chris Antley and Craig Perret are among the 10 finalists for election to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame.

Art Sherman may be New York-bred and Kentucky-bound, but his heart is lodged squarely in California.

He's the regular rider for Derby hopefuls Candy Boy and Bayern and it's no accident he's well positioned for May 3. “The day after the Breeders' Cup, and probably before that, I started looking for my 3-year-olds for the Derby and I'm pretty loaded right now,” he said.

The expectations were affixed to Conquest Titan before the substance. He had that $475,000 price tag from the 2013 OBS March 2-year-old sale, after all, inspired by a pedigree and stride that had trainer Mark Casse thinking May in capital letters.

When Breeders' Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man and 3-year-old champion Will Take Charge square off in Saturday's $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap, it will mark only the second time that the Classic's top two Your Take contributions have not been reviewed for accuracy by USA TODAY.

The two return for the first time in 2014 March 8 as part of an eight-horse field set to go in the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap at was third in the BC Dirt Mile and third in the Feb. 8 Gulfstream Park Sprint Stakes for trainer Rick Mettee.

He was shelved for the year, having already captured the Met, San Carlos, and Palos Verdes Stakes , and was a fast-closing second in the grade I Carter Handicap.

Oldsmar, FL - Sam F. Davis Stakes longshot winner Vinceremos heads a field of 10 3-year-olds in Saturday's $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.

Feature simulcast races: Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap; Grade 2 , $250,000 San Carlos Stakes; Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes - all Saturday at Santa Anita Update: Cast in Silver, whose 5 1/2-length victory in her 6-furlong debut Feb. 16 was so impressive that she was one of 23 3-year-old fillies listed individually in the Kentucky ... (more)

This candy-apple red "Pucker" hat, $250, is by Sarah Havens, the first milliner to participate in Kentucky Crafted: The Market.

Versailles-based Woodford Reserve Distillery has unveiled a new commemorative Kentucky Derby bottle, featuring art by Louisville artist David O. Schuster .

The 2009 longshot will return to the museum for about three weeks in promotion of the upcoming film "50 to 1," which is based on the eight-year-old gelding's shocking upset victory in the Derby five years ago.

In Trouble finishes a close third behind Samraat and Uncle Sigh in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes last Saturday, his first start since September.

It's that time of year again! with some eight weeks remaining before Horse Racing's single biggest race in the country, if not the world, the 2014 Kentucky Derby, it's time to start taking a more serious look at which horses will be among the vanguard come the first Saturday in May. If you have read this in years past, thanks for coming back.

Pennsylvania's vast gambling enterprise was launched a decade ago under the guise of saving the state's horse-racing industry.

A son of Giant's Causeway who breezed a furlong in :09 4/5 topped the Barretts March 2-year-old sale at $1,150,000.

Bond Holder, a leading early contender for the Kentucky Derby, will not make an expected start in the March 8 Tampa Bay Derby and his next race is undetermined, according to trainer Doug O'Neill.