LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In what’s shaping up to be an extremely competitive renewal of the Kentucky Oaks next Friday at Churchill Downs, jockey Florent Geroux is hoping Travel Column’s versatility can make the difference in the marquee race for 3-year-old fillies.

Knicks Go breezed a half-mile in 48.20 seconds Friday morning at Churchill Downs, his third work since returning to the U.S. following a fourth-place finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 20.

Trainer Brad Cox said he is pointing Knicks Go to the Grade 3, $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park on May 31.

“It’s a two-turn mile,” Cox said. “It makes sense as far as bringing him back.”

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson acknowledged Friday that a COVID-19 outbreak among workers in Barn 33 at Woodbine has led to the horses being shipped out of that barn temporarily. 

“We closed one barn, and all of the personnel in that barn are now quarantining,” Lawson said. “There are other barns that have had positive ‘Covids’ in them. We’re stepping up and taking measures as it relates to those barns.”

As recently as last weekend, Cathkin Peak was considered a candidate for Saturday’s $100,000 Singletary Stakes at Santa Anita. A training setback ended those plans and has led trainer Phil D’Amato to point Cathkin Peak to the Del Mar summer meeting.

“He has a minor issue,” D’Amato said Friday, without elaboration.

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Santa Anita officials expect an ontrack crowd of approximately 8,000 for the Kentucky Derby simulcast on May 1 and are urging customers to book tickets in advance.

The track resumed hosting limited audiences on April 2 for the first time since early March 2020 as part of revamped policies for outdoor sporting events in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Dodgers had 15,167 in attendance on Thursday evening at a stadium with capacity for 56,000.

Dream Shake, third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 3, will start in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on May 1 at Churchill Downs and not the Kentucky Derby on the same day, trainer Peter Eurton said Friday.

The decision was made after conversations through the week between Eurton and the partnership that owns the colt – Exline-Border Racing, Philip Hausman, and SAF Racing. The Pat Day Mile distance compared to the Kentucky Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles was the difference.

ARCADIA, Calif. – At 6 o’clock every morning here at Santa Anita, Ron McAnally arrives to watch his handful of horses train. He’s kept the same routine for decades, back when he was the nation’s champion trainer three times, before he got into the Hall of Fame. He craves the stability, the familiarity, and, most of all, the horses. They have given him everything. And he came from nothing.

Jockeys Junior Alvarado, Pablo Fragoso, and Manny Franco, as well as their mounts, all appeared to have avoided serious injuries in a spill in Thursday’s eighth race at Belmont Park. 

The $40,000 maiden-claiming race for fillies and mares bred in New York was run at six furlongs on the turf. 

Alvarado and Fragoso were alert following the spill and were transported to a local hospital, according to a social media post by a New York Racing Association representative. The post also stated that Franco walked off and was cleared by first aid at Belmont. 

Fairmount Park – or what used to be Fairmount Park -- opens a 53-day 2021 race meet on Tuesday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following the recent defections of California fillies Soothsay and Beautiful Gift, a full field has firmed up for the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks, with the Brad Cox-trained Coach being the latest to secure a spot in the 14-horse lineup. Entries for the Friday race will be drawn Monday.