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With a suspension from Churchill Downs lifted, trainer Bob Baffert has two chances for a record-breaking seventh win in the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1). The disqualification of Medina Spirit in 2021 for a medication infraction leaves Baffert with six.

Opening day at Finger Lakes, a rite of spring in the Finger Lakes region since 1962, is set for April 28. The 64th season of Thoroughbred action at "The Thumb" features 91 racing days through Nov. 26.

Tappan Street (Into Mischief), the winner of the Mar. 29 GI Florida Derby, will miss the Kentucky Derby after suffering a condylar fracture to his right front leg, according to trainer Brad Cox. The colt is owned by WinStar Farm LLC, CHC, Inc. and Cold Press Racing.

Tappan Street worked five furlongs in :59.60 on Saturday morning, and Cox told the Louisville Courier Journal that jockey Luis Saez felt something was off after the work. The colt had X-rays back at the barn.

“It's nothing major I don't believe at all,” Cox told the Courier Journal's Jason Frakes. “But he does require surgery and obviously he is out of the Derby. I don't think it's career-ending or anything.”

The defection means that last year's Derby-winning trainer, Kenny McPeek, will see his horse, Render Judgment (Blame), fifth last out in the GI Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, draw into the field. Render Judgment's only win comes in a Churchill maiden race last October.

Tappan Street has made three lifetime starts, breaking his maiden in his debut on Dec. 28 at Gulfstream, before finishing third in the GII Holy Bull S., and winning the Florida Derby.

The post Tappan Street out of Kentucky Derby with Condylar Fracture appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

The lightly raced Clever Again (American Pharoah), a sharp, front-running winner of the Hot Springs Stakes going a mile at Oaklawn Mar. 30, is pointing to the GI Preakness Stakes May 17 at Pimlico.

Clever Again, a $500,000 Keeneland September Yearling, has won two of three career starts for Winchell Thoroughbreds, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

“He's a talented horse,” Asmussen said. “Obviously, the measurements or rulers that we're using, the company that he's kept, which is Tiztastic (Tiz the Law), Publisher (American Pharoah), Magnitude (Not This Time), they've all been good company for a long time, so you're very confident in what level they belong.”

The post Asmussen Pointing Clever Again to Preakness appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

As a fan of horse racing and someone that holds the Hall of Fame in esteem as the highest honor in our sport, I would like to implore the Hall and their Board of Trustees to take a hard look at both the nominating process for applicants to the Hall of Fame, and at the system through which the horses and people are elected.

For the past few years, we have had a number of very good nominees on the equine and human side, and to not even know how close or how far they are from being actually put into the Hall of Fame is one mystery that would be nice to know. In the Eclipse Awards, for example, they tell us at the end of the day how many votes each nominee received. In the Hall of Fame, those numbers are not released. Contrast this to the baseball Hall of Fame, where I can tell you how many writers voted, how many votes players needed to get in, how many votes each player received, and which players got so few votes that they will drop off future ballots.

The second part that I think requires some review is who is voting for these people and horses to get into the Hall of Fame?

We work in a very tight-knit industry. If you go to the website for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, you will see that the voting procedures describer the voting panel as “active and former racing writers, editors, broadcasters, historians, and commentators on the sport of thorough racing.” But even in this relatively small, close industry, I have spoken to a number of very prominent current racing writers who don't have a vote. I know people I consider to be great historians of the game who don't have a vote. I've spoken to people that I respect as commentators who don't have a vote. The people who have a voice in this process should have extreme knowledge of the sport, and maybe they do, but we don't even know who the voters are. We need to improve this process, and make it more transparent.

One suggestion I would make for the Trustees to consider is that any living person in the Hall of Fame gets a vote. Let's face it; if you're good enough to make it into the Hall of Fame, you're good enough to get to vote on your contemporaries.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but for some reason, people are afraid to speak up about it. I implore the Trustees of the Racing Hall of Fame to take a hard look at the system and look for ways to improve it before next year's ballot comes out.

 

The post Letter to the Editor: `Hall’ Needs More Transparency appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

5th-Keeneland, $123,056, Alw, 4-25, (NW2$X), 4yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:38.58, yl, neck.
SWEET REBECCA (f, 4, American Pharoah–Sweet N Discreet {SW & GSP, $366,447}, by Discreet Cat), a latest fifth to the commonly owned Pounce (Lookin At Lucky) in the GIII Lake George Stakes at Saratoga last July, led home a 1-2 finish for her Coolmore-based stallion in a salty allowance on closing day of the spring stand at Keeneland. Off at a penny shy of 4-1, the $250,000 Keeneland September yearling was given a positive ride by Flavien Prat and was content to track the pace into and around the second turn. Asked to come after front-running She's A Tempest (Connect) in upper stretch, Sweet Rebecca opened a bit of daylight with a good turn of foot and got home a long neck to the good of favored Deep Satin. The latter, last seen winning the Listed Virginia Oaks last Sept. 7, enjoyed the run of the race and slipstreamed the eventual winner down the backstretch. She went on the attack entering the final furlong and was getting there but the wire came a couple of strides too soon. Named a 'TDN Rising Star' for Mike Ryan and Mt. Brilliant and trainer Brendan Walsh off an eventful trip at Gulfstream in March 2024, Sweet Rebecca was acquired by John Stewart's operation and promptly delivered in the Apr. 28 Memories of Silver Stakes, her first run for this conditioner. Fifth of six after bobbling in the final quarter mile of the GII Wonder Again Stakes May 27, the chestnut was in the thick of it into the final furlong of the Lake George before weakening out of contention. Mt. Brilliant acquired the winner's SW & GSP dam for $1.6 million in foal to Liam's Map at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November Sale a short time after her daughter Sweet Melania (American Pharoah), MGSW & GISP, $576,210, won this track's GII Jessamine Stakes ahead of a third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. A full-sister to GSW & GISP Discreet Dancer and a half to GSW Travelin Man (Trippi), Sweet N Discreet is the dam of a 3-year-old Tapit colt–also named Discreet Dancer–a 2-year-old Constitution filly that sold to Tracy Farmer for $400,000 at KEESEP last fall and a newly born colt by Munnings. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 5-3-0-0, $213,048. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Resolute Racing; B-Mt Brilliant Farm & Ranch LLC (KY); T-Chad C Brown.

 

#8 SWEET REBECCA ($9.98) got a nice stalking trip under Flavien Prat to win race 5 at @keenelandracing. The daughter of American Pharoah (@coolmoreamerica) is trained by Chad Brown and owned by @resracingky.

The last pick 5 of the meet is up next! https://t.co/9KTJWl3WMw pic.twitter.com/2m7ZzLeSUu

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) April 25, 2025

The post ‘Rising Star’ Sweet Rebecca Leads Home American Pharoah 1-2 at Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Several Kentucky Derby (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1) contenders hit the work tab across Kentucky April 25 for their final breezes ahead of the May 2-3 races, including Grande and Chunk of Gold.

Equibase has enhanced the foreign past performance data with internal points of call information and short comments for the expected Japanese runners in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners president and founder Aron Wellman confirmed April 25 that Built will enter the May 3 Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) instead of the Kentucky Derby (G1), moving Neoequos into the Derby field.

Profiles compiled by America's Best Racing of 19 of the riders expected to compete in this year's classic.

The Road, sponsored by Gainesway and Darby Dan Farm

Owner/breeder Tracy Farmer and trainer Mark Casse have won 12 stakes together, including the 2019 Belmont Stakes (G1) with Sir Winston and this year's Ashland Stakes (G1) with La Cara—both bred and raced by Farmer.

The Jockey Club of Canada hosted the 50th Sovereign Awards ceremony through a live presentation on the evening of April 24. Frank Di Giulio Jr.'s Patches O'Houlihan was crowned 2024 Canadian Horse of the Year and champion male sprinter.

The Honor Code colt has struggled since his last visit to the Louisville, Ky., track when he was among the bettors' darlings for the 150th Kentucky Derby (G1).

A day after the company announced a pause on some planned improvements to the Churchill Downs facility, Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen expressed confidence in this year's Kentucky Derby week performance.

Klein Racing's homebred son of Noble Mission loves a mile on the grass and is 3-for-3 at Churchill Downs. These are the conditions for $350,000 Opening Verse Stakes at Churchill Downs for the Thurby program May 1.

Yoshito Yahagi, trainer of defeated Dubai World Cup (G1) favorite Forever Young, has suggested his colt was compromised by a prerace visit to the receiving barn at Meydan Racecourse for a random urine test and has called for changes.

Officials from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority as well as its enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, conducted a virtual town hall meeting April 24 to address financial processes.

The Royal Ascot heroine has never won over the 1,200-meter distance, but trainer Henry Dwyer believes if Asfoora were to win a group 1 at the trip, it would be in the April 26 Robert Sangster Stakes (G1).

Record prices were like London buses at Goffs April 24 as the previous high mark at the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze Up Sale was smashed not once but twice. Both lots were colts by Mehmas acquired by Godolphin.