HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - They are mere teases, these two preliminary Kentucky Derby prep races that will be run on opposite coasts Saturday. Although it is certainly possible that viable Derby prospects could emerge from the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park or the Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita, the prep races of considerably greater importance are still a few weeks down the Derby trail.
Skip to main content
Create Your DRF Account
New to DRF?
Everything you could possibly
need in one place
need in one place
Register
Don't have an account?
Register Here
DRF Past Performances
ARCADIA, Calif. - Seven of the last 10 winners of the Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita have gone on to start in the Kentucky Derby. It is not just the winners who have merited attention. In 1999, Charismatic finished last of five in the Santa Catalina, but later won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Getting to such races is the goal of the people behind the nine 3-year-olds entered in Saturday's running of the $150,000 .
Run over 1 1/16 miles on dirt, the Grade 2 Santa Catalina includes four colts and geldings who have placed in graded stakes around two turns.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Nothing to Lose risks his unbeaten record on turf when he makes his California debut and first start for trainer Bobby Frankel in Monday's $150,000 San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita.
He may need a performance superior to his wins in the Palm Beach Stakes and Tropical Park Derby last winter in Florida to beat a field expected to include fellow 4-year-olds Californian, Fairly Ransom, and Sweet Return, as well as the older horses Puerto Banus, Runaway Dancer, and Sharbayan.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - El Prado Rob is considered the fourth- or perhaps even fifth-best 3-year-old in trainer Nick Zito's barn. The scary thought is that he still may be good enough to win Saturday's wide-open Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
The $100,000 is the first major East Coast prep on the road to the Kentucky Derby. The 1 1/16-mile stakes is also a major stepping-stone to this meet's marquee event, the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 14.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The young man nicknamed Kuch was several time zones away in Hawaii when his namesake raced to his first career victory Wednesday at Gulfstream Park.
Kuch (pronounced "kooch"), a 4-year-old Unbridled colt, is named for professional golfer Matt Kuchar, a 25-year-old former U.S. Amateur champion who is competing in the Sony Open in Honolulu this weekend.
NEW YORK - Magna Entertainment Corp., the beleaguered racing giant whose policies have come under fire recently from horseplayers, has negotiated new deals with at least three rebate shops in the hopes of reviving flagging business at its marquee tracks, racing officials said Thursday.
The agreements will effectively lower the rates that the rebate shops pay for the signals from two Magna tracks, Santa Anita and Gulfstream, according to officials of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, which approved the Santa Anita deal. The new rates were expected to take effect Thursday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - They may be leading him over there kicking and screaming, but the connections of Evening Attire ultimately decided to enter him in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Aqueduct Handicap.
Earlier in the week, trainer Pat Kelly said , a multiple graded-stakes-winning gelding, was unlikely to run because Kelly was unhappy with the 122-pound weight assignment from racing secretary Mike Lakow. Although Evening Attire's six stakes victories include the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Kelly notes that Evening Attire has not won a stakes in 14 months.
There appears to be little pace in Saturday night's $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup Handicap at Sam Houston Race Park, and that could impact the running styles of leading contenders Sir Cherokee and Freefourinternet.
Both are closers, but could find themselves in contention early if the fractions are slow. And if the pace does dawdle, Parrott Bay, who appears to be the lone speed, is a threat to go a long way on the lead.
When the Fair Grounds meet began on Thanksgiving, Walk This Way was a maiden. Seven weeks and two wins later, he is the favorite for Saturday's $75,000 Crescent City Derby.
In a short time, Walk This Way has come a long way, but the question now is how far he really wants to run.
The Crescent City Derby, restricted to Louisiana-breds, will be contested at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, but of the 11 horses entered, seven, including Walk This Way, have no experience at a mile or beyond.