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An inside look at how the 149th Kentucky Derby will shape up:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky Derby week is off to a grim start at Churchill Downs. Three horses have died in the first two racing days of a meet that already began on a tragic note with the death of a Kentucky Derby qualifier, Wild on Ice, who was euthanized following an injury sustained in training last Thursday. Parents Pride, a 4-year-old filly trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and owned by Ken Ramsey, collapsed and died after Race No. 8 on the Churchill Downs turf course on Opening Night. Another horse trained by Joseph and owned by Ramsey, Chasing Artie,...

Eric Reed, the trainer of Rich Strike, the horse who improbably won the Kentucky Derby as an 80-1 long shot, was asked about a derogatory tweet he was alleged to have sent about Vice President Kamala Harris. In January, Sebastian Gorka, a former advisor to President Trump, asked, “So what exactly are Kamala’s qualifications?” An account whose handle is @daddyrabbit1964 and went by the name of Eric Reed responded, “Heard she’s good on her knees!!” Reed appeared on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” on Wednesday, and John Barr asked him if he sent that tweet. “I haven’t seen anything about it,”...

The controversy behind Kentucky’s state song is again brought to light, this time from a member of one of the most prominent families in Louisville history. Emily Bingham picked the lunch spot for our interview, and the choice of restaurant was smart and shrewd on her part. We slid into a booth at Wagner’s Pharmacy, a century-old place in Louisville’s South End that has transitioned over the years into a no-frills diner and gift shop. It is located across the street from Churchill Downs, feeding horsemen and racing fans soup and sandwiches and eggs and bacon. The place is a...

Longshot Rich Strike won the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville in upset fashion. The horse had 80-1 odds entering the race. It was jockey Sonny Leon’s first time winning the Derby. The No. 21 horse wasn’t expected to run the race. He was the first alternate after Ethereal Road was scratched Friday morning.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday that his barn has been told Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test, the latest doping scandal for horse racing and arguably the sport’s premier trainer. Flanked by his attorney Craig Robertson in a morning news conference at Churchill Downs on Sunday, Baffert said Medina Spirit was found to have 21 picograms of the steroid betamethasone, double the legal threshold in Kentucky racing, in a postrace sample.

The Freeper Canteen Presents....~ It's Kentucky Derby Time!! ~ Barbershop Quartet ~ Star Spangled BannerCall To The Post KENTUCKY DERBY TROPHY Since the 50th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1924, Churchill Downs has annually presented a gold trophy to the winning owner of the famed "Run for the Roses." History is unclear if a trophy was presented in 1875 to the winner of the first Kentucky Derby, and trophy presentations were sporadically made in following years. Finally, in 1924, legendary Churchill Downs President Matt Winn commissioned that a standard design be developed for the "Golden Anniversary" of the...

**SNIP** This year, though, Churchill Downs has installed a new 20-spot gate in place of the previously separate 14- and six-spot gates. Hopefully for horses like Known Agenda and Like The King, inside positioning won't be as much of a hindrance in the race. Full positioning for the 20-horse lineup is as follows: 2021 Kentucky Derby Gate Draw 1. Known Agenda 6-1 2. Like The King 50-1 3. Brooklyn Strong 50-1 4. Keepmeinmind 50-1 5. Sainthood 50-1 6. O Besos 20-1 7. Mandaloun 15-1 8. Medina Spirit 15-1 9. Hot Rod Charlie 8-1 10. Midnight Bourbon 20-1 11. Dynamic One...

Derby is a week from Saturday. Contender PPs are at: https://www.kentuckyderby.com/uploads/wysiwyg/assets/uploads/PPs_20210417_Derby.pdf. ML/NJ

A vocal section of Millwall fans have been branded an "absolute disgrace" for booing as players took the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Millwall's match with Derby on Saturday was the first time their supporters were able to watch from the stands since the coronavirus pandemic halted games in March. About 2,000 fans attended the game at The Den but it was overshadowed as loud booing could be heard when players from both teams took the knee before kick off, with at least one supporter heard shouting "get up!".

Federal authorities are investigating after a car drove across the U.S.— Canada border illegally, by crashing through a Vermont man's yard. Alain De La Bruere's home security cameras captured the incident Saturday morning as the car drove across the border from Stanstead, Quebec, and right into his yard. "I just couldn't believe it. It's like it doesn't — I always look for wild game, it's always kinda neat to see the deer, different wild game crossing over but I never expected right at 10:30 in the morning, somebody trying to break through the border," De La Bruere said. The Derby,...

Churchill Downs announced Friday afternoon that it will continue the tradition of playing “My Old Kentucky Home” — the state’s official song that some have criticized for romanticizing the antebellum south — in the moments before the Kentucky Derby. A spokesman for the track told The Washington Post that the song will be played ahead of Saturday’s race by bugler Steve Buttleman instead of by the University of Louisville marching band, as in normal years, and will be preceded by a moment of silence.

The most unusual Triple Crown horse racing season in history will finally continue Saturday, Sept. 5 (7:01 p.m. ET post time, NBC) with the 2020 Kentucky Derby. The first jewel was postponed from the first Saturday in May, which now makes it the second jewel. Tiz The Law, which cruised to victory at the Belmont Stakes on June 20 and followed that up with another big win at the Travers Stakes on Aug. 8, will be looking to keep his Triple Crown hopes alive and well ahead of the Preakness (Oct. 3), trading his home-state tracks in New York for...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Tuesday, May 12, 2020) - Churchill Downs Racetrack today released a preliminary list of races that could be used for the extension of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve,” pending agreeable race placement by the host tracks. Additionally, the first race in the extended series, the $150,000 Matt Winn (Grade III) on May 23 at Churchill Downs, will have Top 4 points raised from the previously announced 10-4-2-1 to 50-20-10-5. “Based on measured interest from horsemen and limited racing opportunities for 3-year-olds across the country, the Matt Winn at the home of the Kentucky...

The coronavirus pandemic has altered the horse racing schedule in a big way. The Kentucky Derby has been postponed until Sept. 5, but horse racing does return for live action this weekend in the form of the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Arkansas Derby is usually a prep race for the Kentucky Derby, but was moved to the first Saturday in May after the Run for the Roses was moved to Saturday, Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The race offers 170 total Kentucky Derby qualifying points for each division. The winner...

The two divisions of the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park continue to lose starters. Originally drawn with 11 horses apiece, they have nine-horse fields as of April 30. The connections of four horses - Shooters Shoot and Wrecking Crew (first division) and Saratogian and Fast Enough (second division) - have informed the Oaklawn racing department they will be scratched. According to a news release issued by Oaklawn Park publicity, official scratch cards for Shooters Shoot and Wrecking Crew had already been submitted. Cards for Saratogian and Fast Enough are expected to be submitted Friday. **SNIP** If the...

May the fastest out of the gate and muddy horse win.

Check out the latest Kentucky Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling's early picks for the Kentucky Derby. Omaha Beach 7-2 Roadster 7-2 Improbable 5-1 Maximum Security 6-1 Game Winner 7-1 Tacitus 14-1 By My Standards 14-1 War of Will 16-1 Code of Honor 18-1 Vekoma 20-1 Spinoff 25-1 Win Win Win 25-1 Anothertwistafate 40-1 Haikal 50-1 Long Range Toddy 50-1 Cutting Humor 60-1 Tax 60-1 Bodeexpress 100-1 Country House 100-1 Gray Magician 100-1 Master Fencer 100-1 Plus Que Parfait 100-1 Signalman 200-1 Sueno 300-1

An inside look at how the 143rd Kentucky Derby will shape up:

2018 Kentucky Derby Odds The 2018 Kentucky Derby takes place on Saturday May 5 from Churchill Downs, Kentucky. The first leg of the Triple Crown is known as “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” and certain horses are already receiving interest at the betting counter. Sportsbook.ag is offering up Fixed Odds for the 2018 event and listed below are the early entries that are expected to be part of the 20-horse field. Odds to win 2018 Kentucky Derby (5/5/18) - per Sportsbook.ag Justify 5/2 Bolt D'oro 7/2 Magnum Moon 4/1 Mendelssohn 11/2 Audible 6/1 My Boy Jack 6/1 Good Magic...