Latest news with #Keeneland
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Keeneland Race Course to host Breeders' Cup World Championships for 4th time. What to know
Keeneland Race Course in Lexington has been named the host site for the 2026 Breeders' Cup World Championships. Breeders' Cup announced Wednesday the host sites for the 2026 and 2027 races. Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., will host the 2027 event. Advertisement 'Keeneland exemplifies an unwavering dedication to excellence in thoroughbred racing and is currently making a significant investment to benefit our great sport, making it an ideal venue to host the 2026 Breeders' Cup World Championships,' said Drew Fleming, President & CEO of Breeders' Cup Limited. 'We look forward to welcoming fans back to the Horse Capital of the World, celebrating the rich history of the Bluegrass and highlighting the tremendous farms that make the area so special as we celebrate the pinnacle of thoroughbred racing.' Anchoring the Keeneland development plan is the three-level Paddock Building, which extends the entire length of the Saddling Paddock and Walking Ring and is scheduled to open this fall. The Paddock Building will provide new ticketed experiences for more than 1,000 fans during race meets, including traditional sit-down dining, new bar concepts and access to a Paddock Lawn on the north side of the Saddling Paddock. 'Keeneland is honored to host the Breeders' Cup World Championships in 2026, and we're thrilled to share this global racing celebration with fans from all over the world and with the Lexington community,' Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. 'We are especially excited to host guests in our new Paddock Building with further enhanced hospitality experiences.' Keeneland will host the Breeders' Cup for the fourth time, also hosting in 2015, 2020 and 2022. Race dates — pending approval by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation — in 2026 are set for Oct. 30-31. Advertisement This year's Breeders' Cup is set for Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar in California. Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@ Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ. More horse racing: Check out the list of contenders for the 2025 Belmont This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky to host Breeders' Cup 2026
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Belmont Park to host Breeders' Cup in 2027 after $455M renovation. Keeneland gets 2026 event
The Breeders' Cup world championships are returning to New York in 2027 at the rebuilt Belmont Park, following a massive renovation project to revitalize one of the most important horse racing tracks in the country. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, along with officials from the Breeders' Cup and the New York Racing Association, announced Wednesday that the track on the edge of Queens and Nassau County on Long Island will stage the event in the fall two years from now. Keeneland in Lexington was revealed as the 2026 host. Belmont Park was last home to the Breeders' Cup in 2005, the fourth time in two decades after also being there in 1990, '95 and 2001. A goal of the $455 million teardown and reconstruction was to attract the major event and eventually get back into the rotation that has involved a Kentucky or a California track every year since 2008. Del Mar outside San Diego has the Breeders' Cup later this year as a back-to-back host and for the fourth time since 2017. Santa Anita outside Los Angeles, Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Louisville — home of the Kentucky Derby — have become the regular sites for the two-day festival featuring the best thoroughbreds in the world and tens of millions of dollars' worth of races. The Belmont Stakes also is set to return to its old home in either 2026 or '27, after a multiyear stint at historic Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York during renovations. ___ AP horse racing:
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'I Expect Him To Be Tough': Nutella Fella Looks To Make Amends In True North
Bell Gable Stable's Nutella Fella will return to the scene of two of his best career efforts when he contests the Grade 3, $400,000 True North, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for older horses on the June 7 Belmont Stakes Day card at Saratoga Race Course. Trained by Gary Contessa, the now 4-year-old Runhappy bay rose to prominence with a 54-1 upset in the 2023 Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga when rallying from last-of-10 and 6 1/4-lengths off the pace to notch a 1 1/2-length score over next-out Grade 1 Champagne-winner Timberlake. Advertisement Nutella Fella made his next outing on last year's Belmont Stakes card when overcoming a troubled start to finish a deep-closing 1 3/4-length third in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun won by Book'em Danno. Nutella Fella earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure for his Woody Stephens effort. The $12,000 purchase from the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale has made three starts this year, including a gritty neck score over next out optional-claiming winner Caramel Chip in the six-furlong Pelican (L) in February at Tampa Bay Downs. In that event, with regular rider Junior Alvarado up, Nutella Fella needed every bit of the stretch run to squeeze up the rail to the inside of the Irad Ortiz Jr.-piloted Caramel Chip. 'He made three different moves, and it was the third one that got him the win,' Contessa said. 'You see a lot of horses that cut to the inside, and they hang. They just don't like being in there. He's a horse that really likes to win. Advertisement 'He made a move to the outside at the top of the stretch - the hole closed, and he went back behind horses and at the eighth pole he went to the outside again and the hole closed,' Contessa continued. 'So, he ducked down to the rail and came through and won. He made three absolute moves that day. It was a great ride and also a great show of how much heart this horse has.' Last out, Nutella Fella endured a difficult outing when fractious at the gate en route to an off-the-board effort in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Commonwealth on April 8 at Keeneland. 'He threw an absolute fit at Keeneland. Even though we schooled him at Keeneland he knows the difference between morning and afternoon and the afternoon is always going to be his Achilles heel,' Contessa said. 'He caught his bridle on the back of the gate and ripped the bridle off his head. They had to get a completely different bit and bridle that they keep on hand and get the bridle back on his head while he held up the whole field. He did everything wrong at Keeneland, but he still tried. Nothing went right for him that day. 'If things go right for him, I expect him to be tough in the True North,' Contessa added. 'The New York gate crew knows him, and they know how to handle him and what his shenanigans are.' Advertisement Nutella Fella returned to Florida and worked once at Tampa Bay Downs on April 27 before shipping up to Saratoga where he breezed five-eighths in 1:01.60 Wednesday over the Oklahoma Training Track with Katie Davis up. 'He's doing great. The best thing we did for him was wintering in Florida. He looks like a million dollars,' Contessa said. 'We shipped him up and that was his first work here and it was amazing - he went the first three-eighths in 38 and went 1:01 and change. He seems to love Saratoga.' Bred in Kentucky by Ashview Farm, Nutella Fella is out of the Candy Ride mare Krissy's Candy, who is a half-sister to the graded stakes-placed duo Danny Boy and Meal Penalty. He has banked $318,875 via a 6-3-1-1 ledger.
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rodriguez trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2025 Kentucky Derby horse
Rodriguez trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2025 Kentucky Derby horse Show Caption Hide Caption Kentucky Derby 2025 contender Rodriguez works out at Churchill Downs Trainer Bob Baffert's Kentucky Derby contender Rodriguez trained at Churchill Downs ahead of the 2025 race. Rodriguez is 2-2-1 in five starts. Rodriguez will enter the Kentucky Derby off a front-running victory in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Trainer Bob Baffert is looking for his record seventh Kentucky Derby victory Rodriguez is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2025 Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs. Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September. The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 26. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 3. Rodriguez will enter the Kentucky Derby off a victory in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 5 at Aqueduct. He currently ranks fourth on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 121.25. Color: Dark bay. Bred in: Kentucky. Sire: Authentic. Dam: Cayala, by Cherokee Run. Price tag: $485,000 at 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Owners: SF Racing (Gavin Murphy); Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf); Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin); Stonestreet Stables (Barbara Banke); Dianne Bashor; Determined Stables (Matt Dorman); Robert Masterson; Tom Ryan; Waves Edge Capital (Gregg Slager); Catherine Donovan. Madaket and Starlight were co-owners of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The majority of this group teamed on Messier (15th in 2022) and Reincarnate (13th in 2023). Kumin and Wolf were co-owners of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Trainer: Bob Baffert. He's 6 for 34 in the Derby, tied with Ben Jones for the most victories by any trainer. His last win came with Authentic — Rodriguez's sire — in 2020. Jockey: Mike Smith. He's 2 for 28 in the Derby, winning with Giacomo (2005) and Justify (2018). Record: 2-2-1 in five starts. Career earnings: $522,800. Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 121.25 (No. 4). Last race: Won Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 5 at Aqueduct by 3 ½ lengths over Grande. Running style: Front-runner. Notes: Baffert is set to return to the Kentucky Derby for the first time since 2021. He was suspended three years following the disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 Kentucky Derby. … Both of Rodriguez's victories have come in wire-to-wire fashion, and he figures to be at or near the front early in the Kentucky Derby. … The horse is named for Sixto Rodriguez, an American musician who gained fame in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and was the subject of the 2012 documentary 'Searching for Sugar Man.' What they're saying: 'He's a May baby that is really starting to come into himself at the right time, not widely different from his father,' co-owner Tom Ryan said. 'Authentic took a while to mature, not necessarily physically, but the mental aspect needed to come together. Mike (Smith) got along well with Rodriguez (in the Wood), and that's the key to it — understanding the horse's mentality. He ran the way he likes to (in the Wood), and he sure as hell showed up.' Last May, NBC Sports announced a partnership with Churchill Downs to present the Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock through 2032. The extension includes multiplatform rights to the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Derby and Oaks Day programming, which will be presented on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and additional NBCU platforms. You can stream the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Fubo and Peacock. Post time for the 151st Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 3. Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@ Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ. More horse racing: Which horses are in or on bubble for May 3 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs? This story was updated to add a gallery.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Having stake in the race: How to bet on the Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — Whether this is your first time or you are continuing a longtime tradition, the Kentucky Derby excitement stems from having a stake in the race. If you're looking to put money down but have no idea where to start, you're in the right place. Countdown begins for Kentucky Derby 151: What to know before race day Welcome to Wagering 101, according to Churchill Downs. There are 10 types of bets to wager either online or at the teller window: Win: You win if your horse comes in first. Place: You win if your horse comes in first or second. Show: You win if your horse comes in first, second, or third. Exacta: You win if you select the two horses to finish in first and second in the exact order. Daily double: You win if you pick the winning horse in two races. Trifecta: You win if you pick the three horses to come in first, second, and third in the exact order. Superfecta: You win if you pick the four horses to come in first, second, third, and fourth in the exact order. Pick three: You win if you pick the winning horses in three races. Pick six: You win if you pick the winning horses in six races. Box: A box bet allows you to pick multiple horses you believe will finish in the top positions, in any order. The most common and simplest bet placed is a 'win,' according to the racetrack. All you have to do is pick a horse, and if it comes out on top, you collect winnings determined by the horse's odds. Ian Wilkes has helped train 2 Kentucky Derby winners, seeks first on his own with Burnham Square Having stake in the race: How to bet on the Kentucky Derby Ian Wilkes has helped train 2 Kentucky Derby winners, seeks first on his own with Burnham Square According to Churchill Downs, 14 races are scheduled to run on Derby Day. The Kentucky Derby is race 12, and the post time is at 6:57 p.m. on Saturday. There are multiple ways to place your bet on or before raceday. If you're at the racetrack, bets can be placed at the teller window or kiosks. 'Wagering windows is the most common way to place your bet, but also the most crowded. All throughout race day, crowds will pack the wagering windows in an attempt to get their bets in before the gates open for certain races,' Churchill Downs wrote. Beginning Thursday, May 1, bets can be placed in person at Red Mile. Keeneland will also provide drive-thru wagering on Kentucky Oaks and Derby Day beginning at 8 a.m. through post time. Bets can also be placed online through Churchill Downs' official platform, TwinSpires. For a horse to run in the Kentucky Derby, it must qualify by competing in the Road to the Kentucky Derby races. According to Derby officials, points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race, and the 20 horses with the most points earn their spot in the starting gate to 'Run for the Roses.' Read more of the latest Kentucky Derby news Burhnam Square's last-to-first win in the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland secured a top spot on the leaderboard with 130 points. Here's a look at the odds and post positions as announced on April 26. Odds are subject to change. Short odds refer to the odds that are closer to 'even money,' according to Twin Spires, such as 4-5. Long odds refer to odds that move further away from even money, such as 30-1. 'The shorter the horse's odds, the better the horse can be perceived to be compared among racing peers. The longer the horse's odds, the less talent a horse could have among the Derby starters,' Twin Spires wrote. The longer a horse's odds are, the more money you're to win. For a look at live odds, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
