Horses Betting

Kentucky has a special and unique history of horse racing, all the way back to the 18th century when Lexington got its very first race course, when Churchill Downs was first officially opened and there were races held in different courses from that time in 1789 to 1875.

Col. M Lewis Clark in 1872 created a Louisville Jockey Club to hold racing meets. The development of the new Kentucky racetrack began which was to house the best horses in the breeding industry. The new track was named Churchill Downs by 1883. It was finally incorporated into the Churchill Downs name in 1937.

The first time in May of 1874 the track was publicly established. By selling membership subscriptions, Clark raised funds over $30,000 dollar. At $100 a pop, he sold the subscriptions and leased over 80 acres of land. The whole track after completion had a clubhouse, grandstand, porter’s lodge and a number of different stables which were completed before the opening race of the track.

Three different races were designed by Clark, the Clark Handicap, the Kentucky Oaks, and the Kentucky Derby. In 1875, ever since the Derby, Clark Handicap, and Kentucky Oaks debuted, they have continued to be held at the Churchill Downs.

Some of the best horses and jockeys over the course of the years have raced on the Churchill Downs and it has become one of the most prestigious racing venues in all of horse racing. There have been a lot of different renovations over the years with 2002 being the biggest and the most recent. The track underwent a $121 million renovation.

The Churchill Downs racetrack continues to be the best tracks in the horse racing circuit, which showcases some of the best horses in the world and will continue to do the same. With a long history of incredible races, it will continue to add to that history as time goes on.

On Saturday, March 20, the Swale Stakes Grade II, $150,000 commenced at Gulfstream Park with a variety of horses racing for the win.  Only one came out victorious, however, and he did so convincingly.  D’ Funnybone secured himself as one of the fastest 3 yr. olds in the country with a 1 1/4 length win over the other horses in the 7 Furlong race.

The race started off with a sharp break from D’ Funnybone that his rider, Edgar Prado, didn’t want to fight.  With this break, D’ Funnybone  cruised to the lead.  Hear Ye Hear Y, Privilaged, and Silver Craft all joined up with him down the stretch and the four horses came through the first quarter in about 22 seconds.

D’ Funnybone seemed relaxed as his rider decided to not fight him and just let him use his natural speed to stay ahead of the competitors.  Around the far turn, Hear Ye Hear Ye, Silver Craft, and Privilaged fell behind D’ Funnybone as the horses ran a half mile in 44.50.

At the six furlong point, D’ Funnybone was 2 1/2 lengths ahead of everyone else.  During the final stretch, however, Ibboyee made a dash for it and made the finish look somewhat close.

The final results had D’Funnybone as the winner and Ibboyee in second place.  Privilaged came in third place, about 2 1/4 lengths behind second place, and was followed by Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Dixie Band, Fearless Cowboy, City Trooper, Gary D, and finally Silver Craft.

Odysseus made his graded stakes debut on March 13 at the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby and was impressive in his debut.  He finished first by a nose over Schoolyard Dreams and favorite Super Saver.  It was his third consecutive first-place finish.

Odysseus was the second favorite going into the race behind Super Saver.  He had only completed four starts prior to the race.  His close finish caused track officials to look at the photo finish for several minutes before declaring him the winner.  The win put him in a good position to qualify for the Kentucky Derby.  However, his ninth place finish a month later at the Grade 1 Bluegrass Stakes jeopardized his Derby plans.

Super Saver, trained by Todd Pletcher, was making his three-year-old debut.  The debut was much-anticipated as he was coming off of a dominating Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) in his two-year-old season finale.

The following is the order of finishers of the seven horses (and jockeys) who participated in the race: Odysseus (Rajiv Maragh), Schoolyard Dreams (Jeremy Rose), Super Saver (Ramon Dominguez), Gleam of Hope (Willie Martinez), Uptowncharlybrown (Daniel Senteno), Slammy Boy (Victor Lebron), and Tuvia’s Force (Jose Lezcano).

The Tampa Bay Derby is an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby.  It is traditionally raced in mid-March every year and is open to three-year-olds.  The race takes place at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, Florida.  It has been a Grade 3 race since 2002 and currently offers a purse of $300,000.

On March 13, Lookin At Lucky made his debut race in the three-year-old division at the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes.  The two-year-old champion colt was also racing on dirt for the first time.  It wouldn’t end up being a problem for him, as he overcame being checked down the backside to win by a head over Noble’s Promise.

Lookin At Lucky settled in near the back early in the Rebel after breaking from post 2. He moved out down the backside and heading into the final turn was forced to check after bumping with Noble’s Promise. Lookin At Lucky was undeterred, however, and began to pass horses.  In the end, it was Lookin At Lucky with his sixth win in seven races.

The race marked the third consecutive time Noble’s Promise would finish immediately behind Lookin at Lucky.  He finished third to Lookin At Lucky’s second at the Grade 1 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile and second to Lookin At Lucky’s first at both the Grade 1 CachCall Futurity Stakes and Grade 2 Rebel Stakes.

The following is the order of finishers of the seven horses (and jockeys) who participated in the race: Lookin At Lucky (Garrett Gomez), Noble’s Promise (Robby Albarado), Dublin (Corey Nakatani), Uh Oh Bango (Glenn Corbett), Cardiff Giant (Christian Santiago-reyes), Pleasant Storm (Jon Kenton Court), and Royal Express (Perry Compton).

The Rebel is held annually in March at Oaklawn Park racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is open to three-year-olds and is raced on a dirt track that is 1 1/16 miles.  The purse is $300,000.  It is the second leg of the Oaklawn three-year-old stakes program, with the first being the Southwest Stakes and the third being the Arkansas Derby.

The Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes is one of the major Kentucky Derby prep races, run at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky.
On Saturday, the race resulted in one of the biggest upsets in years as Stately Victor, a 40-1 longshot, won the $750,000 event.
The race featured a batch of nine thoroughbreds. Mike Battaglia, Keeneland’s linemaker, said before the race he considered the field very evenly matched and struggled to pick a favorite, finally settling with Pleasant Prince as a 3-1 choice.
Odysseus entered the race coming off of a victory at the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. The win was his third straight after finishing second in his debut. He is one of 5 horses who are potential starters in the Kentucky Derby, with Make Music for Me, Pleasant Prince, Aikenite, and Interactif as the others.
Aikenite and Interactif are both trained by Todd Pletcher. Aikenite was coming off of a third-place finish at the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. Interactif was second this year in both the Hallandale Beach and Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes.
Pleasant Prince, with graded stakes earnings of $197,620 in seven starts, was going after his second career win. He was fourth in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and second in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. He is considered a horse right on the bubble of potential starters in the Kentucky Derby.
Here is the complete field (horse and jockey) for the Blue Grass in post position order: Odysseus, Rajiv Maragh, 7-2; First Dude, Ramon Dominguez, 8-1; Stately Victor, Alan Garcia, 30-1; Make Music for Me, Mike Smith, 6-1; Codoy, John Velazquez, 30-1; Pleasant Prince, Julien Leparoux, 3-1; Paddy O’Prado, Kent Desormeaux, 10-1; Aikenite, Garrett Gomez, 4-1 and Interactif, Rafael Bejarano, 4-1.

John Sadler finished sixth (Corby in 1993), the last and only time he started a horse in the Kentucy Derby.  This year, the trainer of Sidney’s Candy, who has become one of the top contenders to win the Run for the Roses on May 1 is Sadler.

The son of Candy Ride is the 3-year-old chestnut colt.  Jenny Craig owned and bred him.  She named it after her late husband, Sidney Craig.

He has established himself as a horse betting favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, after generating relatively little buzz heading into this year.  The winner of three consecutive graded stakes races is him and most horse racing experts mention him as a top 3 horse.

A disappointing fourth place finish in a field of five was followed up by Sidney’s Candy at an allowance race at Santa Anita with a dominating victory at the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes.  February 15 was the day the race was held.  He won the race by 4 ¼ lengths.

About a month later his next graded stakes race came at the San Felipe Stakes (Grade 2).  The 7-5 favorite was Caracortado, winner of five consecutive races.  The betting on horse race would be started by Sidney’s Candy at a moderate pace before roaring to a first place finish with Caracortado finishing third.  Sidney’s Candy ran the final fourth of the race in a blazing 23 seconds.

At the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, he solidified himself as a contender for the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday.  A controversial bumping incident early in the race involving race favorite Lookin At Lucky was possibly avoided by him.  He won by a commanding 4 ½ lengths.  Sadler opined that it was Sidney’s Candy’s strongest race.