Legends of the Track: 2024 Kentucky Derby Best Bets with Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss, Seattle Slew. - The Heart that Waters the Crown + 2,000 Guineas Runner-by-Runner Guide!
Legends of the Track: 2024 Kentucky Derby Best Bets with Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss, Seattle Slew. - The Heart that Waters the Crown + 2,000 Guineas Runner-by-Runner Guide!
Wednesday Edition - May 1st, 2024 (Edition 73)
IN TODAY’S EMAIL
The Greatest Kentucky Derby Winners: The Heart that Waters the Crown - Seattle Slew (USA)
The World’s Greatest Racetracks: Tour Churchill Downs Via Drone (USA)
The Kentucky Derby: Making a Good Surface Better at Churchill Downs (USA)
The Guineas: 2,000 Guineas Runner-by-Runner Guide: O'Brien's City of Troy will stand tall (GB)
Podcast of the Day: 2024 Kentucky Derby Best Bets with Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss
THE GREATEST KENTUCKY DERBY WINNERS
The Heart that Waters the Crown - Seattle Slew (USA)
Seattle Slew wins the 1977 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. (Courtesy of the Kentucky Derby/Churchill Downs)
The 1970s was a decade rivaled only by the 1940s in the depth of great horses and great performances. Secretariat ended the 25-year Triple Crown drought, his dazzling turns around the classics hinting at what was to come. Two more would follow in his footsteps, adding their names to the short list of immortals and leaving their own marks on the sport.
He was born in a plain brown package, but Seattle Slew was anything but plain. The 10th Triple Crown winner’s humble beginnings belied the deep talent inside this champion, a horse with strength and speed to spare and a heart that loved to run.
BABY HUEY
Ben Castleman needed a sire for his stakes-winning mare’s first cover. My Charmer, a granddaughter of Hall of Famer Round Table, was supposed to visit Jacinto, a son of the late Bold Ruler, at Claiborne Farm, but the stallion’s book was full and Castleman asked Seth Hancock for an alternative in his price range. Hancock suggested Bold Reasoning, a grandson of Bold Ruler whose damsire was leading sire Hail to Reason, whose $5,000 stud fee happened to be right in Castleman’s range. Eleven months later, My Charmer’s brief meeting with Bold Reasoning yielded a plain brown colt with floppy ears, a colt whose “head seemed coarse and large, out of proportion, and the legs looked awkwardly long even by the leggy standards of newborn foals.”
Read the full article at twinspires.com
*The content and images featured in this article were originally produced and sourced from the twinspires.com
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THE WORLD’S GREATEST RACECOURSES
Churchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, is a premier horse racing venue best known for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. Established in 1875 and named after Samuel Churchill, a notable figure in Kentucky's history, the complex has been a pivotal site for horse racing. In its inaugural year, it hosted the first Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, essential components of the Triple Crown series. Additionally, Churchill Downs has been the chosen venue for the Breeders' Cup nine times, with the latest event occurring on November 2 and 3, 2018.
Take a drone trip around Churchill Downs on YouTube
THE KENTUCKY DERBY
Making a Good Surface Better at Churchill Downs (USA)
New harrows are being used on the Churchill Downs main track this year
Horsemen, HISA see improvements in Churchill Downs' dirt surface.
Ahead of the landmark 150th Kentucky Derby (G1), Churchill Downs and others say a host of changes have been made to improve safety at the Louisville racetrack after a dozen fatalities last spring led its 2023 spring meeting to be concluded at Ellis Parkin western Kentucky.
The most visible changes may be the new controlled-cut harrows that condition the racing surface and—to some extent—the racing surface itself.
Although Churchill Downs' official statement outlining its safety efforts didn't mention changes to the makeup of the racing surface, a number of trainers and a Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority official said the surface has been changed.
"You can tell the surface is different," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "It's a different color. It's got a little different texture to it, different depth to it. We've only been here a short period of time, just kind of having our first round of breezes, but it appears to be in good condition."
Track superintendent Jamie Richardson said what Pletcher is likely seeing is the result of new controlled-cut harrows and a greater-than-normal amount of cushion material added to the track this year than in a typical year.
Read the full article at bloodhorse.com
THE GUINEAS
2,000 Guineas Runner-by-Runner Guide: O'Brien's City of Troy will stand tall (GB)
City Of Troy 4/6
The first classic of the British Flat season, the English 2,000 Guineas, takes centre stage at Newmarket on Saturday, and Daryl Carter offers a runner-by-runner guide...
Trainer Aidan O'Brien bids to win his fifth 2,000 Guineas in the last ten years, and in the unbeaten City Of Troy, he has a potential superstar in waiting if picking up where he left off last season. The son of Justify won all three outings as a juvenile, including the Group 2 Superlative Stakes on Newmarket's July course before a noteworthy trial for today's race when demolishing a strong field of rivals in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes over seven furlongs on the Rowley Mile.
Described by O'Brien as the "best two-year-old I've ever trained" and by owner Michael Tabor as "Our Frankel" may not be wide of the mark.
Read the full article at betting.betfair.com
PODCAST OF THE DAY
2024 Kentucky Derby Best Bets with Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss
PTF sits down with Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss of NBC to preview the award-winning NBC coverage of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby this weekend. Hear thoughts, tips, and analysis from the famed friends as they talk about all aspects of the Derby, from the likely favorites to the pace to historical trends to the effect of post positions. Can Forever Young be the first Japanese horse to win the Derby? Will the good or the bad Fierceness show up? Is Sierra Leone going to get buried down inside? Who are the vulnerable favorites? Who are some live longshots? Watch to find out the answers to these questions and many more. As a reminder, you can sign up for the FREE Players' Newsletter at https://www.inthemoneypodcast.com/email - This weekly newsletter, sent on Friday, is a hub for horse racing content from the ITM Team and our partners.
Classic Horse
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Riders Up!
Best, Steve