Where will the top Derby horses go next?
Mystic Dan is not a definite for the Preakness and will possibly train up to the Belmont Stakes. Trainer Ken McPeek is also considering Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna for the Belmont but said he would not run both.
Sierra Leone will ship to Saratoga for the Belmont Stakes
Forever Young and TO Password will ship back to Japan
Catching Freedom has not been ruled out of the Preakness. Trainer Brad Cox will know more in a few days.
Resilience, who finished 6th, will skip both of the remaining TC races as Trainer Bill Mott says the distance is too far for him.
Stronghold will return to California and point towards 3 year old stakes races later in the year.
Honor Marie and Dornoch will likely train for the Belmont Stakes.
Endlessly, after finishing 10th in his first try on dirt, will likely return to the turf and target the Belmont Derby on July 6th at Aqueduct.
Fierceness is expected to ship to Saratoga and prepare for the Belmont Stakes. Trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race that he did not see anything physically amiss with Fierceness. Good, bad, good, bad, good, badā¦.if the pattern holds, Fierceness should run a good one his next race.
Looks like the Preakness will be an entirely different field with Catching Freedom the only real possibility to run from the Derby. Bafferts 2 horses will be tough to beat in the Preakness. Some possibles for the Preaknessā¦.Muth, Imagination, Copper Tax, Sieze the Grey, Informed Patriot, Uncle Heavy, Tuscan Gold.
Mystic Dan is not a definite for the Preakness and will possibly train up to the Belmont Stakes. Trainer Ken McPeek is also considering Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna for the Belmont but said he would not run both.
Sierra Leone will ship to Saratoga for the Belmont Stakes
Forever Young and TO Password will ship back to Japan
Catching Freedom has not been ruled out of the Preakness. Trainer Brad Cox will know more in a few days.
Resilience, who finished 6th, will skip both of the remaining TC races as Trainer Bill Mott says the distance is too far for him.
Stronghold will return to California and point towards 3 year old stakes races later in the year.
Honor Marie and Dornoch will likely train for the Belmont Stakes.
Endlessly, after finishing 10th in his first try on dirt, will likely return to the turf and target the Belmont Derby on July 6th at Aqueduct.
Fierceness is expected to ship to Saratoga and prepare for the Belmont Stakes. Trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race that he did not see anything physically amiss with Fierceness. Good, bad, good, bad, good, badā¦.if the pattern holds, Fierceness should run a good one his next race.
Looks like the Preakness will be an entirely different field with Catching Freedom the only real possibility to run from the Derby. Bafferts 2 horses will be tough to beat in the Preakness. Some possibles for the Preaknessā¦.Muth, Imagination, Copper Tax, Sieze the Grey, Informed Patriot, Uncle Heavy, Tuscan Gold.
Record $210.7M bet on 2024 Kentucky Derby.
The 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday featured a photo finish and record betting interest.According to Churchill Downs, $210.7 million was wagered on Mystik Dan's win of the Kentucky Derby, besting by $20 million the previous betting record set last year.
Mystik Dan went off as an 18-1 underdog and held off Sierra Leone and Forever Young in what was the closest finish in the Kentucky Derby since 1947, according to the track.
Overall betting on the Kentucky Derby Day card soared to a record $320.5 million, beating last year's record of $288.7 million. Additionally, TwinSpires, an online racebook and official betting partner of the Kentucky Derby, took a record $92.1 million in wagering on Saturday's races at Churchill Downs.
The 20-horse field included two entries from Japan: third-place-finisher Forever Young and T.O. Password running fifth. Churchill Downs reported $10.1 million was bet on the Kentucky Derby from Japan, eclipsing the previous record of $8.3 million in 2022.
Kentucky Derby champ Mystik Dan uncertain for Triple Crown try.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The second jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown could be missing 150th Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan and other co-stars, quashing hopes for a rematch after the thrilling three-way photo finish in the milestone race.Trainer Kenny McPeek and the horse's ownership wouldn't commit to whether the colt would race in the 149th Preakness on May 18 in Baltimore, which requires a quick two-week turnaround. Mystik Dan will travel to Saratoga, New York, before they decide whether to enter him in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness.
We're not committed to the Preakness, not yet," McPeek said Sunday morning outside his barn on Churchill Downs' back side. "I ran him back once in two weeks, and it completely backfired on me. ... So we'll just watch him over the next week. It'll be one of those [situations] where we'll probably take it up to the last minute.
We'll let him tell us."
Saratoga Race Course, the picturesque track in upstate New York, will host the Triple Crown's final jewel for the next three years while Belmont Park is being reconstructed. The Belmont has also been shortened to 1Ā¼ miles, matching the distance in the Derby that Mystik Dan won by a nose over Sierra Leone and Japan-bred Forever Young in the closest three-way finish since 1947.
The five-week gap follows a more normal race schedule for many thoroughbreds, and some trainers might opt to head to Saratoga to acclimate horses sooner.
Trainer Chad Brown said Sierra Leone will skip the Preakness and leave Monday to train at Saratoga and run the Belmont. Considering how much it took for Sierra Leone to navigate other horses and chase down Mystik Dan before falling a nose short at the wire, rest sounds necessary.
"He's a real laid-back horse but, when we brought him out, was a little more tired than he normally is after his races," Brown said. "I think giving him the five weeks to the Belmont is definitely the right thing to do."
Louisville-born trainer Brad Cox is watching Catching Freedom (fourth) and Just A Touch (20th) before deciding their next steps. Forever Young and fellow Japan-bred T O Password (fifth) will head home Tuesday.
That could leave the Preakness without some Derby star power at first glance, though it won't lack for plotlines with a number of well-rested horses expected to compete at Pimlico Race Course.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert could have two entrants as he seeks to follow up National Treasure's victory there last spring. He trains Santa Anita Derby runner-up Imagination and Arkansas Derby winner Muth, who missed the Derby after failed legal attempts by owner Amr Zedan to get him in despite Baffert's suspension by Churchill Downs through the end of 2024.
As McPeek and Mystik Dan's owners ponder a decision, he and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. basked in a wash of congratulations for a Derby victory that put them in exclusive company.
Saturday's win helped both claim rare weekend sweeps of the Derby and the Kentucky Oaks for fillies. McPeek is just the third trainer to do that and the first since Ben Jones (who did it twice) in 1952, while Hernandez is the eighth rider to achieve the feat and the first since Hall of Famer and fellow Louisiana native Calvin Borel in 2009.
Mystik Dan stood unfazed as a cluster of onlookers took photos and selfies while workers bathed him outside the barn. He was then draped with the winner's blanket before being led back to his stall with a WWE-style title belt lying on an outer wall. Oaks-winning filly Thorpedo Anna also made a brief appearance and soaked in the attention.
Hernandez is preparing for his own life-changing spotlight after claiming the sport's marquee race. He dined with his family after the Derby but didn't sleep much, a routine that figures to go on for the next few days amid a flood of interview requests. At some point he hopes to get his mind around all that has happened, but he already has a response ready.
"When somebody asks what my profession is, I'm able to tell them I'm a professional jockey," he said. "And then the first question they normally ask is, 'Have you ever won the Kentucky Derby?' I can say that now."
Even if it was unintentional itās a DQ? I played 17/3-6-7-11 Tri-key and thought about 3-6-7-11 ex.bx but didnāt doā¦..
after observing the replays I feel now more than ever 11 wins the race as the 3 was tiring. the herding or bumping for 200 yds from the 2 , certainly takes a toll on horse and would give him the half neck he needed to win race. at minimum I should of cashed a $2 exacta with DQ of 2 with whip touch. Iām bitter, canāt let it go sorry horsemen.
Jockey Could Face Disciplinary Action After Video Review.
Tyler Gaffalione will do a film review of controversial Kentucky Derby finish.The 2024 Kentucky Derby was as thrilling as it gets. The 150th Run for the Roses finished in breathtaking fashion in a three-way photo finish in the closes race the event has seen since 1996. Many are still buzzing about the result, including some controversy involving jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who was riding runner-up Sierra Leone.
Gaffalione has been ordered to do a film review of the race with stewards on Thursday. Gaffalione could face discipline after the review.
The incident in question came on the final straightaway as Sierra Leone and Forever Young closed on eventual winner Mystik Dan. Gaffalione and Sierra Leone were positioned on the outside, with Forever Young to their left and Mystik Dan on the inside. As the horses neared the finish, Gaffalione reached out with his left arm and appeared to grab Forever Young, ridden by jockey Ryusei Sakai. He maintained contact for a few seconds as the horses appeared to be jostling for position.
Here is the statement from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission issued on Monday:
"The Stewards review every race in Kentucky live and by video replay before posting it official and they followed the same procedure for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. After conducting their standard review of the race, determining no further review or investigation was necessary to conclude there were no incidents that altered the finish of the race, and seeing there were no objections filed, the Stewards posted the Kentucky Derby official. Following the race, the Stewards ordered Tyler Gaffalione, jockey aboard Sierra Leone, to film review on May 9, 2024. The Stewards conduct film reviews routinely to review the conduct of jockeys during a race. The Stewards, in their discretion, can take disciplinary action against a jockey following the review."
It's unclear what will happen as a result of the review, but SI's Pat Forde speculated a short suspension would likely be the most that would come of it. And it could result in no punishment at all.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has fined but not suspended jockey Tyler Gaffalione $2,500 for his ride on Sierra Leone in the Kentucky Derby last Saturday, according to a ruling dated May 10.
Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown, was part of a three-way photo finish in the 150th Kentucky Derby. Sierra Leone crossed the wire in second, just a nose behind the winner, Mystik Dan. It was another nose back to Forever Young in third.
IF THE STEWARDS ON RACE DAY SAY ITS CLEAN NO INQUIRY AND MISS THE FUCKING HAND OR WHIP TOUCH WHICH IS AUTOMATICALLY A DQ WHY FINE HIM MAKES THE HORSEPLAYERS FEEL SO MUCH BETTER GTFOOH, WHAT ABOUT THE HORSE PLAYERS WHO GOT HOSED, ITS LIKE THE REFS ON REPLAYS THATS YOUR JOB ,THE EVIDENCE IS ON SCREEN AND 3 STEWARDS say no change. HEY ITS NOT LIKE I DIDNT CHASE AND PLAY EVERDAY FROM WILL RODGERS TO PARX TO FINGER BANG TO GULF BALL TO AQUAFUCK AND BACK TO CD FOR MORE TORTURE. LAST 3-4 DERBYS Ben real shady or controversial
Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown, was part of a three-way photo finish in the 150th Kentucky Derby. Sierra Leone crossed the wire in second, just a nose behind the winner, Mystik Dan. It was another nose back to Forever Young in third.
IF THE STEWARDS ON RACE DAY SAY ITS CLEAN NO INQUIRY AND MISS THE FUCKING HAND OR WHIP TOUCH WHICH IS AUTOMATICALLY A DQ WHY FINE HIM MAKES THE HORSEPLAYERS FEEL SO MUCH BETTER GTFOOH, WHAT ABOUT THE HORSE PLAYERS WHO GOT HOSED, ITS LIKE THE REFS ON REPLAYS THATS YOUR JOB ,THE EVIDENCE IS ON SCREEN AND 3 STEWARDS say no change. HEY ITS NOT LIKE I DIDNT CHASE AND PLAY EVERDAY FROM WILL RODGERS TO PARX TO FINGER BANG TO GULF BALL TO AQUAFUCK AND BACK TO CD FOR MORE TORTURE. LAST 3-4 DERBYS Ben real shady or controversial
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan heading to Preakness.
Mystik Dan, the horse who won the Kentucky Derby by a nose in the race's closest finish in more than a half-century, is heading to the Preakness next weekend after all, keeping alive the chance of another Triple Crown winner.Trainer Kenny McPeek announced the decision Saturday after speaking with owners and weighing the pros and cons of racing his horse again on a short, two-week turnaround. He initially expressed concern about that timeframe after Mystik Dan ran poorly under the same circumstances in November.
But he liked enough of what he saw in training to take a chance.
"All systems go," McPeek said Saturday. "The horse is doing fantastic."
The possibility of Mystik Dan, who finished just ahead of Sierra Leone and Forever Young in the 1Ā¼-mile race at Churchill Downs last weekend thanks to a perfect, rail-skimming ride by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., not going to the Preakness next Saturday raised questions about the status of the prestigious race. Twice in the previous four years, the Derby winner did not run -- a product of various circumstances.
But the lure of going to Baltimore was too much to pass up for McPeek, who won the pandemic-delayed 2020 Preakness with filly Swiss Skydiver, who beat Derby champion Authentic.
No one has won both the Derby and Preakness since the last Triple Crown champion, Justify in 2018 for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Mystik Dan doing so would set up a first: a Triple Crown on the line at Saratoga Race Course, where the Belmont is being held for the next two years while the race's longtime home on Long Island is being torn down and rebuilt as part of a massive, $455 million reconstruction project.
But Mystik Dan might not be the Preakness favorite. That distinction likely belongs to Muth, one of two horses being brought by Baffert, who was again not allowed to enter horses in the Derby because of a ban on him by Churchill Downs caused by Medina Spirit failing a drug test after finishing first in the race in 2021.
The only other horse from the Derby expected to run in the Preakness is 17th-place finisher Just Steel, trained by 88-year-old Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas.
