Latest news with #151stDerby
The Star
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Big heart, big lungs, powerful legs: What makes a champion racing horse
On a crisp, clear morning, a chestnut thoroughbred thundered down the dirt strip at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, his exercise rider leaning forward above the saddle. Other horse-and-rider pairs followed. Dr Will Farmer looked down from a viewing point, admiring the speed and agility of the 450kg animals. The Kentucky Derby took place here recently, shining a global spotlight on equine athleticism. It's the subject of a growing body of research that cites a constellation of characteristics: big hearts, immense lung capacity, robust musculoskeletal systems and long, thin legs – all of which helped horses survive in the wild. 'It goes back to the roots: They are an animal of prey,' said Farmer, a veterinarian and equine medical director at Churchill Downs. 'That's how they got away from being eaten.' Horses honed skills such as running, jumping and pulling as humans bred and trained them for various purposes over millennia. And the 151st Derby – horse racing's most-watched event – will draw attention not only to the animals' skills, but also to concerns about their treatment and health. Advocates have long raised concerns about deaths and injuries – calls that were amplified two years ago, when 12 horses died at Churchill Downs. The thoroughbred horse Sovereignty crossing the finish line to win the 151st Kentucky Derby recently. —/AFP Big, strong heart There's no doubt that war, agriculture and societies have been transformed by the human-horse relationship. 'Horses allowed us to circumvent our own biological limitations as a species,' said Timothy Winegard, a historian at Colorado Mesa University and author of a recent book, The Horse. 'We combined our brains with the horses' size, strength, stamina and speed to form the most unstoppable animal coalition.' A horse's heart and lungs are the source of its extraordinary power. The heart averages 4.5kg-5.4kg, or about 1% of the animal's body weight, compared with 0.5% for the typical human heart. Secretariat, the storied horse that won the Triple Crown in 1973, was found after his death to have a heart weighing more than 9kg. Horse hearts are built for exertion. The average horse can go from a resting heart rate of about 34 beats per minute to 220 or 240 while racing – faster than a human heart during maximum exertion. 'One thing that's really unique about horses is that they have an incredible capacity to move blood around their bodies – their heart rate can go really high and still be safe,' said University of Connecticut researcher Sarah Reed, editor-in-chief of the journal, Animal Frontiers. They also have a lung capacity of 60 litres – 10 times that of humans. 'That massive lung field allows for oxygen to transfer from the air into their blood, which is vitally important for sustaining aerobic energy,' Farmer said. The average horse has a lung capacity that is 10 times that of a human. — AP It's biology Recent research in the journal Science found that a genetic mutation enables horses to avoid negative side effects of super high energy production. 'Horses are great athletes because they can deliver a lot of oxygen to their muscles – way more than an elite human can – and by elite human, I mean Olympic athlete,' said Gianni Castiglione, the study's co-author. 'They have a bigger tank of gas and they have a more efficient engine ... and this mutation is contributing to both of those things.' Other aspects of a horse's biology enhance its abilities. Horses store extra red blood cells in their spleens. These cells are released to carry even more oxygen around the body during intense exertion. 'Adrenaline when exercising causes the spleen to release extra red blood cells into circulation,' veterinarian Hilary Clayton said. 'What horses are doing is essentially 'blood doping' themselves.' Meanwhile, horses' brains allow them to process sensory information and react quickly. That's despite having frontal lobes, parts of the brain used for thought and planning that are proportionally smaller than those in humans. 'Brainwise, they're designed with a real desire to play and run independent of any fear,' said Dr. Scott Bailey, a veterinarian at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. The place is a thoroughbred breeding farm where Secretariat is buried. Horses are also able to focus intently, which 'is really important for an athlete'. Bone structure and musculature also help. The ligaments and tendons in their hind legs act like springs, Farmer said, helping propel them forward. Like other large prey animals, he added, they have 'long, thin legs that are meant to run'. Legs for days The adaptations that make horses faster also predispose them to injury, Reed said. Their skinny legs absorb the impact of each stride, she said, and over time the repetitive stress of racing and training can lead to deformation of tendons and ligaments. In 2023, deaths occurred not only at Churchill Downs, but other major racing venues, affecting public perceptions of the sport and sparking changes. Reviews found no single cause for the deaths. But for 2024, Churchill Downs upgraded equipment used on its dirt surface and added an equine safety and integrity veterinarian. In its annual report, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority noted the steps being taken to reduce injuries and fatalities – expanded veterinary protocols, pre-race inspections and uniform medication oversight. And, it said, the rate of deaths at authority-accredited tracks dropped in 2024, by 27%. Experts say a healthy, safe environment brings out the best in a horse – but they still don't know what makes certain horses standouts at the race track. 'That's the million-dollar question,' Bailey said. 'Every thoroughbred owner is trying to match the genetics of the parents in order to make the horse with the greatest chance of winning.' Breeding is only part of the equation, experts said; nurture, training and the horse-rider relationship also factor in. Each time a horse emerges seemingly out of nowhere to win the Kentucky Derby, Farmer is reminded of this. 'You don't have to be this star-studded bred horse that cost a million dollars at sale to come and win and be a great runner,' he said, raising his voice slightly above the din of galloping hooves. 'There are a lot of great horses.' – AP
USA Today
04-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Sovereignty is trainer Bill Mott's second Kentucky Derby winner, but this win is sweeter
Sovereignty is trainer Bill Mott's second Kentucky Derby winner, but this win is sweeter In 2019, trainer Bill Mott's Country House was named Derby winner after a disqualification. But watching Sovereignty cross the wire first this year was better. Show Caption Hide Caption Sovereignty Captures 2025 Kentucky Derby Sovereignty triumphed in a rain-soaked 2025 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, overcoming tough conditions and a competitive field. LOUISVILLE, Ky. — He was 14 years old, sitting in the front seat of his GMC pickup truck, listening to the radio call of Bobby Ussery ride Proud Clarion to a 30-to-1 upset in the Kentucky Derby. It would be a nice, tidy story if Bill Mott could tell people now that when he started training horses, he would eventually do it for men who build airplanes and rule countries and that he'd get some who could bring him into the winner's circle of the biggest race in the world. But that wouldn't be true. Because from his tiny town in South Dakota, just across the Missouri River from the state capital Pierre, even bringing a horse to Churchill Downs — much less running in the Derby — would have felt much too big. 'I never even imagined that I would ever be here,' he said. "It was just a dream that was too far away. And to be up here thinking back at that, it's like going to outer space.' But to blast off into the atmosphere, you need a rocket ship. And on Saturday, Sovereignty turned on the afterburners in the stretch of the 151st Derby, passing race favorite Journalism and bending Mott's time-space continuum in more than one way. Because even though it wasn't the first Derby win for a trainer who has been among the best in the sport for four decades, it almost felt like it. In 2019, the Mott trainee Country House was named the Derby winner when the Kentucky racing stewards disqualified Maximum Security for drifting out at the top of the stretch and interfering with two other horses. Mott was, of course, happy to finally be a Derby winner. They lifted the trophy, got the garland of roses and celebrated into the night. But it was, admittedly, awkward if not downright bittersweet to get there that way. This? Watching Sovereignty settle into 16th early in the race, circle the field on the outside coming around the second turn and then outduel Journalism in the stretch? Much, much better. 'You have the joy of being here,' said Riley Mott, his 33-year-old son who is now a trainer with his own string of 40 horses. 'But crossing the wire first is a different animal.' So is Sovereignty — and so is Mott. In a sport where the characters on the backstretch are famously good at overhype, misdirection and sometimes a little bit of chicanery, Mott is one trainer you'll never hear a bad word about. For more than 30 years in the national spotlight, beginning when he trained the great Cigar to a remarkable 16-race winning streak back in 1995 and 1996, Mott has been regarded as a consummate gentleman and a patient, old school horseman who never pushes them beyond their capabilities. It is, perhaps, why Mott actually hadn't run many horses in the Derby — just eight prior to Country House — relative to the success he had in other big races. He might have been a little too patient, knowing just how little time you have to develop a horse to get them ready to run 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May of their 3-year-old year. He wasn't going to enter a horse just to be at the party. 'To win these types of races, you can't have many hiccups in your training schedule or the way the horse is doing,' Mott said. To underline that point, consider that Sovereignty is the first Derby winner for Godolphin, the international racing and breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the head of the ruling family of Dubai. The Maktoums have almost certainly spent more money on horses than any human beings in the history of the world, and they have won pretty much every race around the world worth winning, from the Epsom Derby in England to the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe in France to the Japan Cup to the Melbourne Cup to the Breeders' Cup Classic. But none of them had ever won the Kentucky Derby until Saturday, and it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. That's horse racing, though. Everything has to go right — not just on Saturday but for months leading up to the race. That's why the little guys, relatively speaking, always have a chance on Derby Day. But this year, the biggest fish in the sport just happened to swallow them all. 'It's been a long time coming,' Michael Banahan, the director of American bloodstock for Godolphin, said. 'Do we expect to win these type of races? No, you don't. You just expect to have some nice horses that you can give them the opportunity, give them great trainers like we have. And if we get one good enough to win the Derby, fantastic. We certainly don't think that just because we have some nice horses that we're going to be able to get a seat at this table and be the winner of the race.' But there were some clues that maybe Sovereignty was different. Despite starting his career 0-for-2 at shorter distances last summer, it said a lot about what kind of talent Mott thought he had in his barn when he entered Sovereignty in the Street Sense, an important 2-year-old stakes race at Churchill last October. Sovereignty won that race easily, coming from last place, showing that he enjoyed the Churchill surface and that he would thrive in longer races. Suddenly, the Derby was the obvious goal. But for the next four months, Sovereignty disappeared to the anonymity of Payson Park, a training center in Florida. He didn't surface again until March 1 at the Fountain of Youth Stakes, when he once again made a sweeping wide move to win by a neck and establish himself as a legitimate contender. But it was such a big effort coming off a long layoff that Mott did not push the colt too hard to get ready for the Florida Derby four weeks later, knowing the more important goal was still ahead. Still, Sovereignty finished a good second to Tappan Street, who had to scratch from the Kentucky Derby due to an injury. Mott still felt as if his horse was on track and improving. But the betting public wasn't as enamored with that effort as Mott was and allowed Sovereignty to go off at 7-1 by post time, a bit higher than the 5-1 he was assigned on the morning line. And as jockey Junior Alvarado guided Sovereignty from the No. 18 post to a ground-saving position on the rail around the first turn, Mott felt good — especially when he saw fast early fractions on the front end that would favor horses coming from behind. But still, even though he would always be a Derby winner — and certainly didn't need another to validate one of the greatest careers in the history of the sport — he didn't quite know what it would feel like to watch his horse cross the finish line first. Until it happened, much to the delight and surprise of that young man who started training horses in South Dakota at 14 and listened to the Derby on the radio of an old truck. 'They're all special, and I don't want to take anything away from Country House's effort because he actually ran a very good race on that day,' Mott said. 'The stewards did the right thing. It was a no-brainer that they put us up. "But this is better.'
Japan Today
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Today
Sovereignty reigns in 151st Kentucky Derby, outdueling favorite Journalism in the slop
Sovereignty, ridden by Junior Alvarado, left, crosses the finish line to win the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) horse racing By BETH HARRIS Sovereignty gave trainer Bill Mott a second Kentucky Derby victory. This time there was no doubt about it and no asterisk. The 3-year-old colt outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch to win the 151st Derby in the slop on Saturday, snapping an 0 for 13 skid by owner Godolphin. Mott won his first Derby in 2019, also run on a sloppy track, when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first and was disqualified during a 22-minute delay. It took a few minutes for Saturday's results to be made official while the stewards sorted out a photo for second and reviewed a traffic-choked start. Mott knew all the while who earned the garland of red roses. 'This one got there the right way,' the Hall of Fame trainer said. 'I mean, he's done well, he's a great horse, he comes from a great organization and I can't say enough about the horse and the organization that started him out and made this happen.' Godolphin is the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court — a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify — won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain. 'I've had quite a long relationship with the Godolphin team and the man behind the Godolphin operation, Sheikh Mohammed,' Mott said. 'I'm just honored.' Sovereignty, also bred by the sheikh, splashed through 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds. He's the record 20th horse with a name starting with 'S' to win. The victory was worth $3.1 million from the $5 million purse. 'It's great,' Mott said. 'I think it will take a little while to sink in.' Journalism didn't have the cleanest of trips in the 19-horse field, but rallied to stay in the fight. He found trouble early before jockey Umberto Rispoli swung him outside to get him in the clear. They made a move at the leaders with Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado right behind them. 'He was saying to me, 'Listen, I'm ready,' so from there I started picking up,' Alvarado said. The two colts hooked up for a sixteenth of a mile for a thrilling battle against the backdrop of 147,406 roaring and rain-soaked fans before Sovereignty surged ahead inside the eighth pole and drew clear. 'I saw the blue silks (of Godolphin) coming at us and I knew that was the one we were going to have to be concerned about,' said Michael McCarthy, Journalism's trainer. 'The winner ran a better race.' Alvarado won his first Derby in six tries. He and Sovereignty were reunited after Alvarado had missed the colt's last start in the Florida Derby because he was injured. 'It's more than a dream come true,' the 38-year-old Venezuelan said. 'I thought I had a great chance. I was confident the whole week.' Fast-closing Baeza — who got into the race on Thursday after another horse was scratched — was a neck back in third. Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth. Citizen Bull, the lone entry for six-time Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert, set the pace. Baffert was back on the first Saturday in May having serving a three-year suspension by Churchill Downs after his Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in 2021 and failed a postrace drug test. D. Wayne Lukas, the 89-year-old four-time Derby winner, saw his colt American Promise finish right behind Baffert in 15th. Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos. Burnham Square was sixth, followed by Sandman, East Avenue, Chunk of Gold, Tiztastic, Coal Battle, Neoequos, Publisher, Citizen Bull, American Promise, Render Judgment, Flying Mohawk and Admire Daytona. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Fox Sports
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Sovereignty reigns in 151st Kentucky Derby, outdueling favorite Journalism in the slop
Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Sovereignty gave trainer Bill Mott a second Kentucky Derby victory. This time there was no doubt about it and no asterisk. The 3-year-old colt outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch to win the 151st Derby in the slop on Saturday, snapping an 0 for 13 skid by owner Godolphin. Mott won his first Derby in 2019, also run on a sloppy track, when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first and was disqualified during a 22-minute delay. It took a few minutes for Saturday's results to be made official while the stewards sorted out a photo for second and reviewed a traffic-choked start. Mott knew all the while who earned the garland of red roses. 'This one got there the right way,' the Hall of Fame trainer said. 'I mean, he's done well, he's a great horse, he comes from a great organization and I can't say enough about the horse and the organization that started him out and made this happen.' Godolphin is the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court — a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify — won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain. 'I've had quite a long relationship with the Godolphin team and the man behind the Godolphin operation, Sheikh Mohammed,' Mott said. 'I'm just honored.' Sovereignty, also bred by the sheikh, splashed through 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds. He's the record 20th horse with a name starting with 'S' to win. The victory was worth $3.1 million from the $5 million purse. 'It's great,' Mott said. 'I think it will take a little while to sink in.' Journalism didn't have the cleanest of trips in the 19-horse field, but rallied to stay in the fight. He found trouble early before jockey Umberto Rispoli swung him outside to get him in the clear. They made a move at the leaders with Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado right behind them. 'He was saying to me, 'Listen, I'm ready,' so from there I started picking up,' Alvarado said. The two colts hooked up for a sixteenth of a mile for a thrilling battle against the backdrop of 147,406 roaring and rain-soaked fans before Sovereignty surged ahead inside the eighth pole and drew clear. 'I saw the blue silks (of Godolphin) coming at us and I knew that was the one we were going to have to be concerned about,' said Michael McCarthy, Journalism's trainer. 'The winner ran a better race.' Alvarado won his first Derby in six tries. He and Sovereignty were reunited after Alvarado had missed the colt's last start in the Florida Derby because he was injured. 'It's more than a dream come true,' the 38-year-old Venezuelan said. 'I thought I had a great chance. I was confident the whole week.' Fast-closing Baeza — who got into the race on Thursday after another horse was scratched — was a neck back in third. Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth. Citizen Bull, the lone entry for six-time Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert, set the pace. Baffert was back on the first Saturday in May having serving a three-year suspension by Churchill Downs after his Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in 2021 and failed a postrace drug test. D. Wayne Lukas, the 89-year-old four-time Derby winner, saw his colt American Promise finish right behind Baffert in 15th. Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos. Burnham Square was sixth, followed by Sandman, East Avenue, Chunk of Gold, Tiztastic, Coal Battle, Neoequos, Publisher, Citizen Bull, American Promise, Render Judgment, Flying Mohawk and Admire Daytona. ___ AP horse racing: recommended in this topic
NBC Sports
30-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
What makes a Kentucky Derby champion? Big hearts, immense lungs and powerful legs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On a crisp, clear morning, a chestnut thoroughbred thundered down the dirt strip at Churchill Downs, his exercise rider leaning forward above the saddle. Other horse-and-rider pairs followed. Dr. Will Farmer looked down from a viewing point, admiring the speed and agility of the 1,000-pound animals. The whole world will have the chance to see horses in action here Saturday, when the Kentucky Derby shines a global spotlight on equine athleticism. It's the subject of a growing body of research that cites a constellation of characteristics: big hearts, immense lung capacity, robust musculoskeletal systems and long, thin legs – all of which helped horses survive in the wild. 'It goes back to the roots: They are an animal of prey,' said Farmer, a veterinarian and equine medical director at Churchill Downs Inc. 'That's how they got away from being eaten.' Horses honed skills such as running, jumping and pulling as humans bred and trained them for various purposes over millennia. And the 151st Derby — horse racing's most-watched event — will draw attention not only to the animals' skills, but also to concerns about their treatment and health. Advocates have long raised concerns about deaths and injuries — calls that were amplified two years ago, when 12 horses died at Churchill Downs. There's no doubt that war, agriculture and societies have been transformed by the human-horse relationship. 'Horses allowed us to circumvent our own biological limitations as a species,' said Timothy Winegard, a historian at Colorado Mesa University and author of a recent book, 'The Horse.' 'We combined our brains with the horses' size, strength, stamina and speed to form the most unstoppable animal coalition.' What makes horses so powerful? A horse's heart and lungs are the source of its extraordinary power. The heart averages 10 to 12 pounds (4.5-5.4 kg), or about 1% of the animal's body weight, compared with half a percent for the typical human heart. Secretariat, the storied horse that won the Triple Crown in 1973, was found after his death to have a heart weighing more than 20 pounds (9.1 kg). Horse hearts are built for exertion. The average horse can go from a resting heart rate of about 34 beats per minute to 220 or 240 while racing – faster than a human heart during maximum exertion. 'One thing that's really unique about horses is that they have an incredible capacity to move blood around their bodies -- their heart rate can go really high and still be safe,' said University of Connecticut researcher Sarah Reed, editor in chief of the journal Animal Frontiers. They also have a lung capacity of 60 liters – 10 times that of humans. 'That massive lung field allows for oxygen to transfer from the air into their blood, which is vitally important for sustaining aerobic energy,' Farmer said. Recent research in the journal Science found that a genetic mutation enables horses to avoid negative side effects of super high energy production. 'Horses are great athletes because they can deliver a lot of oxygen to their muscles – way more than an elite human can —and by elite human, I mean Olympic athlete,' said Gianni Castiglione, the study's co-author. 'They have a bigger tank of gas and they have a more efficient engine … and this mutation is contributing to both of those things.' What is behind horses' speed and other skills? Other aspects of a horse's biology enhance its abilities. Horses store extra red blood cells in their spleens. These cells are released to carry even more oxygen around the body during intense exertion. 'Adrenaline when exercising causes the spleen to release extra red blood cells into circulation,' veterinarian Hilary Clayton said. 'What horses are doing is essentially 'blood doping' themselves.' Meanwhile, horses' brains allow them to process sensory information and react quickly. That's despite having frontal lobes, parts of the brain used for thought and planning that are proportionally smaller than those in humans. 'Brainwise, they're designed with a real desire to play and run independent of any fear,' said Dr. Scott Bailey, a veterinarian at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, a thoroughbred breeding farm where Secretariat is buried. Horses are also able to focus intently, which 'is really important for an athlete.' Bone structure and musculature also help. The ligaments and tendons in their hind legs act like springs, Farmer said, helping propel them forward. Like other large prey animals, he added, they have 'long, thin legs that are meant to run.' What about the risks for horses? The adaptations that make horses faster also predispose them to injury, Reed said. Their skinny legs absorb the impact of each stride, she said, and over time the repetitive stress of racing and training can lead to deformation of tendons and ligaments. In 2023, deaths occurred not only at Churchill Downs, but other major racing venues, affecting public perceptions of the sport and sparking changes. Reviews found no single cause for the deaths. But for 2024, Churchill Downs upgraded equipment used on its dirt surface and added an equine safety and integrity veterinarian. In its annual report, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority noted the steps being taken to reduce injuries and fatalities — expanded veterinary protocols, pre-race inspections and uniform medication oversight. And, it said, the rate of deaths at authority-accredited tracks dropped in 2024, by 27%. What makes a champion? Experts say a healthy, safe environment brings out the best in a horse — but they still don't know what makes certain horses standouts at the race track. 'That's the million-dollar question,' Bailey said. 'Every thoroughbred owner is trying to match the genetics of the parents in order to make the horse with the greatest chance of winning.' Breeding is only part of the equation, experts said; nurture, training and the horse-rider relationship also factor in. Each time a horse emerges seemingly out of nowhere to win the Kentucky Derby, Farmer is reminded of this. 'You don't have to be this star-studded bred horse that cost a million dollars at sale to come and win and be a great runner,' he said, raising his voice slightly above the din of galloping hooves. 'There are a lot of great horses.'
