ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association released its list of nominees for the Mike Venezia Memorial Award, which recognizes jockeys who display extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. Venezia died as the result of injuries he suffered in a spill at Belmont Park in 1988.

This year’s nominees include Joe Bravo, Javier Castellano, Manny Franco, Irad Ortiz Jr., and Jose Ortiz.

Fans may vote online at NYRA.com/Venezia beginning Friday through May 15. The winner will be announced May 16 with the award to be presented on May 28 (Memorial Day) at Belmont.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Pleased with his success during the winter and spring meets at Aqueduct, jockey Trevor McCarthy plans to stay in New York for the remainder of the year.

McCarthy, who missed seven months in 2017 due to injury, won 42 races at Aqueduct between the winter and spring meets. He won six stakes, including one each this past Saturday and Sunday.

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Wednesday, April 25
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 55
Track: Muddy

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The weather remains the main story this week at Churchill Downs, where rain has put a damper on training hours since Sunday. The main track was listed as sloppy on Tuesday and muddy on Wednesday for the special Oaks/Derby training sessions, with no workers either morning.

ELMONT, N.Y. – While there has been a lot of talk about the future of Belmont Park, horsemen, horseplayers, and fans will be unable to distinguish the present from the past when the track opens its 54-day spring-summer meeting on Friday.

The Kentucky Derby will be run for the 144th time on May 5, yet in the prior 143 runnings, only once have the same jockey, trainer, and owner teamed to score consecutive victories.

WHO’S HOT

Combatant and Instilled Regard moved into the Derby Watch top 20 owing to defections that vaulted them up the points list. Both are 30-1 on the Kentucky Derby line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper.

WHO’S NOT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After getting short fields for its first three runnings, which came at six furlongs over dirt, the $100,000 William Walker Stakes should be a far more attractive race for bettors when it helps open the Churchill spring meet Saturday night. The Walker now goes at five furlongs on turf.

Masked, in off a pair of wins down the hillside turf course at Santa Anita for Bob Baffert, figures among the favorites, along with Salmanazar, who was a two-back winner of the Texas Glitter at Gulfstream Park for Todd Pletcher. A field of 10 3-year-olds has been entered.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – If Always Dreaming and Abel Tasman both race as scheduled next Friday, it will mark the first time in recent history that a Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks winner have both run back at Churchill the following year on Derby weekend.

Always Dreaming is slated to go in the Grade 2 Alysheba and Abel Tasman in the Grade 1 La Troienne. Churchill archives do not date back far enough to determine the last time for such a double reprise, if in fact it has ever happened.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With entries due Monday, the final couple of spots in the Kentucky Oaks starting gate are still undecided, with the statuses of Amy’s Challenge and Red Ruby being key dominoes in how things will eventually fall into place.

Amy’s Challenge, most recently third in the April 13 Fantasy at Oaklawn Park for Novogratz Racing Stables, was scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs no later than Friday after breezing an easy half-mile in about 50 seconds Tuesday at Oaklawn, trainer Mac Robertson said Wednesday by phone.

Two-time Grade 1 winner Divisidero is on the verge of beginning his 6-year-old season, but trainer Kelly Rubley and owner Tom Keithly are still discussing whether he will attempt to keep his Kentucky Derby Day win streak at Churchill Downs intact.

Divisidero has won the last two runnings of the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on Derby Day at Churchill. As a 3-year-old, Divisidero won the Grade 2 American Turf on the Kentucky Derby card.