CHURCHILL DOWNS

Churchill Downs Racetrack will continue its tradition of playing “My Old Kentucky Home” at the start of the Kentucky Derby despite criticism of the song about American slavery.

Churchill Downs says the rescheduled Kentucky Derby and Oaks will run this fall with spectators under strict guidelines to limit crowd density for the race that annually attracts more than 150,000

Secretariat won a virtual Kentucky Derby against 12 fellow Triple Crown winners, 47 years after the chestnut colt won the real race at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/4-mile race featuring computer-generated imagery was held Saturday, the same day the 146th Derby had been scheduled until it was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Derby has been re-set for Sept. 5….

Secretariat is the early 7-2 favorite for this weekend’s virtual Kentucky Derby, an animated race between all 13 Triple Crown winners on the day the Derby would have been held before the coronavirus pandemic postponed it.

Churchill Downs will recognize the first Saturday in May with a “Kentucky Derby at Home” online party, highlighted by a virtual Derby featuring 13 former Triple Crown winners in an effort to raise $2 million for COVID-19 relief.

Justify won the Preakness Stakes and is now just one win away from becoming the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown.

Owner Gary Barber called trainer Mark Casse for the fourth time in 11 hours since War of Will won the Preakness. Only this time, Casse was in the middle of holding court with reporters the morning after his first Triple Crown victory. “All’s good and we’re going to the Belmont?” Casse said to Barber with a Cheshire cat grin. “I...

The 1,100-pound animals, taking 20-foot-plus strides, gallop on ankles which have been likened to glass. Suddenly, the entire sport of thoroughbred racing stands on fragile legs.

The owner of Maximum Security, the horse that was disqualified for a race infraction after winning Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, said on TODAY that he will be filing an appeal on Monday with Kentucky’s state racing commission over the decision. “I think this is something that’s big enough that the entire racing world is looking at this and I think they...

The mint julep is a Kentucky Derby staple. Each year, nearly 120,000 of them are served during the two-day event at the Churchill Downs Racetrack. The beverages will go for about $10 a pop at the track but, for the 14th year in a row, Kentucky bourbon distillery Woodford Reserve is offering a limited number of $1,000 mint juleps for...

Even after the scratching of Omaha Beach, there is an absolute truth about this year’s Kentucky Derby. It is a fantastic betting race. Victory will not come easily on Saturday at Churchill Downs, but those who wind up cashing tickets will likely be stuffing large wads of cash into their pockets. There’s a simple reason for that: There are many...

Omaha Beach is the 4-1 early favorite for the Kentucky Derby after drawing the No. 12 post position on Tuesday. Bob Baffert-trained Game Winner is the 5-1 second choice from the No. 16 post in the 20-horse field for Saturday’s first leg of the Triple Crown. Game Winner will start inside stablemate Roadster, the 6-1 co-third choice with Improbable, another...

There’s bourbon-tasting and hot air balloons, fashion shows and fireworks, a belle and a ball, and the event that started it all, the Pegasus Parade. From the time the Kentucky Derby Festival starts in mid-April, the party doesn’t stop — not until the horses run for the roses on the first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby lasts only two...

Twenty of the top thoroughbreds will sprint out of the starting gates at Churchill Downs for the 144th Kentucky Derby on May 5, but one horse might not stand a chance. In the days before the “fastest two minutes in sports,” trainers and jockeys eagerly await the post position draw. Positions are assigned randomly, but a horse’s position might have...

Justify’s victory silenced the skeptics who believed the colt was due for a loss.

Justify endured the most difficult race of his career and came away a step closer to becoming trainer Bob Baffert’s second Triple Crown champion in four years. The heavy 2-5 favorite jumped out to the lead, surrendered it briefly to Good Magic and roared back, holding off several hard-charging challengers to win the Preakness through a cloud of fog on...

Forget the Belmont Stakes. It’s already been a remarkable week for trainer Dale Romans.

Forget the Belmont Stakes. It’s already been a remarkable week for trainer Dale Romans.

Bob Baffert misses the simple pleasure of watching American Pharoah breeze.