The 147th Belmont Stakes

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York

Belmont Down To Eight Contenders

NEW YORK (AP) — The Belmont Stakes field is down to eight after two horses dropped out.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said Monday that Carpe Diem won’t run Saturday when American Pharoah goes for the Triple Crown. Also, trainer Ken McPeek withdrew The Truth or Else.

Carpe Diem was 10th in the Kentucky Derby and will point toward the Haskell Invitational or Jim Dandy Stakes this summer. The Truth or Else did not run in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness and has an ankle issue.

That leaves seven rivals to face Derby and Preakness winner American Pharoah in his bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

Pletcher still has two other Belmont runners: Materiality and Madefromlucky. John Velazquez will ride Materiality, who was sixth in the Derby, while Javier Castellano will be aboard Madefromlucky.

Entries will be taken and post positions drawn Wednesday.

Belmont Down To Eight Contenders

The 140th Preakness Stakes – May 16, 2015

Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland

American Pharaoh Tops Sloppy Preakness

BALTIMORE — American Pharaoh roared to a victory in the Preakness Stakes on a sloppy track Saturday afternoon, setting up a run for the Triple Crown on June 6 in the Belmont Stakes.

Torrential rain hit Pimlico Race Course minutes before the race was run and turned the dirt track into a muddy mess.

It didn’t seem to bother American Pharaoh, however. The 4-5 favorite topped the field of eight horses, running away down the stretch to win by seven lengths, with Tale of Verve second and Divining Rod third, another length back, before a record crowd of 131,680 at Pimlico, with a handle of more than $85 million.

The victory keeps alive the chance for horse racing’s first Triple Crown since 1978. The final leg is in three weeks at Belmont Park.

Dortmund was fourth, followed by Mr. Z, Danzig Moon, Firing Line and Bodhisattva, running The winner paid $3.80, $3.40 and $2.80. Tale of Verve returned $19 and $8.80, and Divining Rod paid $5.20.

The 146th Belmont Stakes

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York

Tonalist won the 146th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, spoiling California Chrome’s bid to become the 12th winner of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Affirmed remains the last Triple Crown winner, having turned the feat in 1978. California Chrome finished fifth. Tonalist left with 11-1 odds; Joel Rosario was the winning jockey, Christophe Clement was the trainer and Robert S. Evans was the winning owner.

Chrome, who went off as a 4-5 favorite, becomes the 13th horse to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown and fall short in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. A 3-year-old chestnut colt, California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby by 1 3/4 lengths before taking the Preakness by 1 1/2.

But just as Smarty Jones in 2004 and Funny Cide the year before — the last two horses to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown and finish the Belmont — horse racing’s ultimate prize eluded California Chrome. Big Brown won the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 2008 but broke down as Da’Tara won the Belmont. I’ll Have Another took the Derby and Preakness in 2012 but did not run in the Belmont due to injury.

The loss also hearkens back to Espinoza’s near-miss in 2002, when he rode War Emblem to wins in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, only to lose to 70-1 long-shot Sarava in the Belmont.

California Chrome rose from obscurity to gain a cult following and the moniker “America’s Horse.” Owners Steve Coburn and Perry Martin famously paid $8,000 for a mare named Love That Chase — a horse so hapless on the racetrack they were called “dumbasses” for the purchase, a name they later coopted for their stable, Dumb Ass Partners — and a bargain-basement $2,500 stud fee for a sire named Lucky Pulpit.

That investment paid off with a prized thoroughbred, but one ultimately unable to complete the trifecta. Even in defeat, California Chrome made history as the first horse bred in the Golden State to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

The 139th Preakness Stakes – May 17, 2014

Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland

The 140th Kentucky Derby – May 5, 2014

The 145th Belmont Stakes

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York

Three’s A Crowd, Who’s The Best?

NEW YORK (AP) — Once again, the ”Test of the Champion” proved otherwise.

A day after Palace Malice pulled off an upset in the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, the race for a championship is wide open now that each of the classics has been won by a different 3-year-old.

”Everyone goes into the rest of the summer and fall with similar resumes,” trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday morning, declaring that his Belmont winner is ”feeling very good.

”I don’t think there’s a clear-cut leader.”

In a Belmont featuring a rematch between Kentucky Derby winner Orb and Preakness winner Oxbow, it was one of Pletcher’s record five entries that handled the 1 1/2-mile marathon the best.

The son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin took the lead from Oxbow on the far turn and barreled down the stretch for a 3 1/4-length victory Saturday. Orb made a run at the leaders from way back in the field of 14, but didn’t come close and finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Oxbow.

”To try to make up that much ground is almost impossible because it’s so tiring,” Orb’s trainer Shug McGaughey said. ”Those horses shook loose and we couldn’t catch them.”

The Belmont has been a heartbreaker for decades. This one prevented Orb or Oxbow from rising to the top of the 3-year-old class. Other Belmonts, though, have done in 11 horses who tried and failed to become a Triple Crown champion, leaving the sport without one for 35 years.

The 138th Preakness Stakes – May 18, 2013

Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland

Oxbow Blows Away Orb In Baltimore

For most sports fans, the Preakness exists for one reason: to serve as a to-do list item for any potential Triple Crown winner. But on Saturday, Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner and potential Triple Crown challenger, couldn’t break free. Oxbow won, and there will be no Triple Crown in horse racing in 2013.

Eight times in the last sixteen years, a horse has won the first two races of the Triple Crown, and eight times has fallen short.

This year, Orb appeared primed for a near-certain victory, with a powerful Derby finish and steady hand Joel Rosario atop the saddle. Orb started on the rail, a difficult position to begin, and hit the quarter pole in mid-pack. Oxbow led at the first turn by two lengths. Orb broke to the outside in the back stretch, and had difficulty making headway through a thick pack. Oxbow retained the lead through virtually the entire race, and won the race going away in a time of 1:57.54.

Shortly before post time, Orb was at 3/5 odds, meaning a dollar bet would only return 60 cents. Well afterward, Itsmyluckyday came in at 8-1, Goldencents and Governor Carlie at 9-1, and Departing and Mylute at 10-1. Oxbow, ridden by Gary Stevens, was at 15-1 at the start of the race.

Oxbow was the fifth-longest shot to win in Preakness history, and paid $32.80 on a $2 bet. The exacta of Oxbow and second-place finisher Itsmyluckyday paid just over $300, the trifecta including third-place Mylute paid just over $1,000, and the superfecta with fourth-place Orb paid $1,817.80. Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports

The 139th Kentucky Derby – May 4, 2013

(Reuters) – The connections of Kentucky Derby winner Orb have already set their sights on trying to complete the Triple Crown after their colt pulled up well from his victory in the first leg.

Shug McGaughey, the Kentucky-based trainer of Orb, wasted no time declaring his intentions to run the three-year-old in the remaining two legs.

Speaking to reporters outside the winner’s barn at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, McGaughey said he was already thinking about the next two races, the Preakness Stakes on May 18 and the Belmont Stakes on June 8.

“I’m looking forward to getting the process going again and seeing what happens and go from there,” McGaughey said.
“I said last week that I wished it had happened to me earlier so I didn’t have to worry about it anymore, but I’m not sure I believe that now.

“Yesterday was quite a day and today’s been quite a day so far. It’s been quite, quite a thrill.”

McGaughey said Orb was being flown to New York on Sunday and would remain there before being moved to Baltimore next week to finish off his preparations for the Preakness.

AGONISING WAIT

It has been 35 years since a horse last completed the Triple Crown. That was Affirmed in 1978 and the wait for another horse to win the three races has been agonizing.

Last year, I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness to renew hopes, but was scratched on the eve of the Belmont and never raced again.

What makes the Triple Crown so difficult to win is the makeup and timing of the three races.

They are each held in different states, over different distances, during a span of five weeks. And the winner invariably faces different opposition each time.

It is not uncommon for the horses which finish close behind the winner in the Preakness (1 3/16 mile) to save themselves for the 1 1/2 mile Belmont, the longest and most grueling of the three races. The Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 miles.

The 137th Preakness Stakes – May 19, 2012

Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland

I’ll Have Another Does It Again

BALTIMORE (AP) I’ll Have Another had Bodemeister in his sights again, a shot at the Triple Crown hanging in the balance.

Two weeks ago, he ran down his rival and won the Kentucky Derby. This time, the chestnut colt needed to be even more relentless to win the Preakness.

Jockey Mario Gutierrez asked for more at the top of the stretch, and I’ll Have Another closed the gap with each stride, finally surging past Bodemeister a few yards from the wire.

Next up: New York and the Belmont Stakes in three weeks and a chance to join the company of Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, who was the last to win thoroughbred racing’s most coveted prize in 1978.

That’s heady company for a colt who has yet to be favored in any of his seven races. That should change in the Belmont.

”We’re thinking Triple Crown, baby,” elated winning trainer Doug O’Neill said. ”He’s a special horse. We’ll see how he comes out of it, and if he comes out of it in good shape, we’re heading to New York, baby.”

I’ll Have Another won by 1 1/2 lengths in the Derby and by a neck in the Preakness – the same margins Affirmed posted in wins over rival Alydar in those two races 34 years ago.

But there’s one big storyline difference this time: Bodemeister is skipping the Belmont. ”He’s getting off the bus here,” trainer Bob Baffert said.

The 1 3-16-mile Preakness unfolded the same way as the 1 1/4-mile Derby, with the speedy Bodemeister moving to the lead under Mike Smith and I’ll Have Another hanging back in fourth in the 11-horse field. The early fractions were slower than the Derby, but when it came time for Bodemeister to dig in, it was I’ll Have Another who found another gear under Gutierrez and reeled in the tiring pacesetter in the shadow of the wire.

Since Affirmed became the 11th Triple Crown winner, 11 horses have won the first two legs only to come up short in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, the longest of the races also known as the ”Test of the Champion.” The most recent try came in 2008, when Big Brown was pulled up around the turn for home and did not finish. Before that, Smarty Jones was run down in the final 70 yards by Birdstone in the 2004 Belmont.

The 138th Kentucky Derby – May 5th, 2012

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Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky

‘I’ll Have Another’ Sprints Past ‘Bodemeister’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) I’ll Have Another looked like just another horse at the Kentucky Derby.

Until the final furlong, that is.

That’s when the chestnut colt – sold for a paltry $11,000, ridden by a rookie jockey hardly anyone knew and stuck in an outside post – blazed past highly regarded Bodemeister to win by 1 1-2 lengths on Saturday, beating one of the deepest fields in years.
I’ll Have Another stormed out of post No. 19 – the first winner from there in 138 runnings of the Derby – and bided his time back in mid-pack while Bodemeister set a blistering pace on a muggy, 85-degree afternoon at Churchill Downs.

”He’s an amazing horse. I kept telling everybody, from the first time I met him, I knew he was the one. I knew he was good,” jockey Mario Gutierrez said. ”I said in an interview, even if they allowed me to pick from the whole rest of the field, I would have stayed with him, 100 percent, no doubt about it.”

Making his Derby debut at 25, Gutierrez got his chance to ride I’ll Have Another after trainer Doug O’Neill and owner J. Paul Reddam happened to see him at Santa Anita in Southern California.

”I don’t know if he won or not, but he really looked good in the irons to me,” said Reddam, who owns CashCall, a lending company in Anaheim, Calif. ”I said, ‘We need to try some new blood.”

It was another chapter in Gutierrez’s unusual route to the Derby winner’s circle. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a jockey, getting on quarterhorses in Veracruz, Mexico, at 14. After a stint in Canada, he eventually started getting noticed on the West Coast, especially after winning the Santa Anita Derby last month.

”Top trainers, top owners, of course, they’re not going to know anything about me,” he said.

Still, Gutierrez was largely a mystery to the record crowd of 165,307, who didn’t know 15-1 shot I’ll Have Another or the jockey had the right stuff until the 20-horse field turned for home. That’s when Gutierrez, who moved up between horses around the final turn, positioned his colt not far from the rail and set him down to run.

”I know my horse was reaching every single step of the way, but I wasn’t going to stop riding until I was passing the wire,” he said. ”That is when the horse race is finished.”

I’ll Have Another overhauled a tiring Bodemeister to win by 1 1-2 lengths. He paid $32.60, $13.80 and $9. He ran 1 1-4 miles in 2:01.83.

Bodemeister, trained by three-time Derby winner Bob Baffert, was second and returned $6.20 and $5.60 as the 4-1 favorite. Dullahan was a neck back in third and paid $7.20 to show.

O’Neill didn’t waste any time vowing that I’ll Have Another will go on to the Preakness in two weeks.

”Maryland, here we come, baby!” he said.

The 141st Belmont Stakes – June 11, 2011

Belmont Park, Elmont, New York

Sloppy Track = Long Shot Winner At Belmont

NEW YORK (AP)—Ruler On Ice posted a huge upset in the Belmont Stakes, taking the lead from Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford in the straight and winning the final leg of the Triple Crown.

Shackleford led from the start on Saturday, but when the field of 12 turned for home in the 1 1/2 -mile (2,400-meter) Belmont, 24-1 long shot Ruler on Ice took over under Jose Valdivia Jr., and splashed home first, three-quarters of a length ahead of Stay Thirsty.

The much-hyped rubber match between Shackleford and Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom never materialized. Shackleford finished fifth, while Animal Kingdom got off to a terrible start, never got into contention and finished sixth.

Jockey John Velazquez nearly fell off when Animal Kingdom collided with Monzon just after the start. He somehow managed to get his left foot back into the stirrup, but by then it was too late. Animal Kingdom fell more than 12 lengths behind Shackleford, and did well to finish in the middle of the pack.

An elated Valdivia, riding in his first Belmont, described the final seconds before crossing the finish line.

“I’m a couple of yards from the wire and I’m thinking, `Oh my god, oh my god, I’m going to win the Belmont,”’ he said.

Ruler On Ice’s victory makes it three years in a row a different horse has won each of the Triple Crown races, and next year it will be a 33-year gap since Affirmed swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1978.

Ruler On Ice, trained by New Jersey-based Kelly Breen, did not run in the first two legs of the Triple Crown. The 3-year-old gelding didn’t have enough graded stakes earnings to qualify for the Derby, but vindicated his trainer’s faith by defeating a field that included the first seven finishers in the Run for the Roses.

The winning time for the oldest and longest race in the Triple Crown was a slow 2:30.88.

“The Greatest Horse Race Of All Time”

See the greatest horse race of all time as Secretariat versus the field at the Belmont Stakes run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, June 9, 1973.

The 136th Preakness Stakes – May 21, 2011

Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland

Shackleford Wins Preakness, AK Second

BALTIMORE (AP)—Soaked with sweat, Shackleford bucked and kicked until crewmen finally shoved him into the No. 5 gate at the Preakness.

One ton of horseflesh all but screamed, “Get me out of here.”

Less than two minutes after the gate sprang open, the nervous colt was a cool classic winner.

Shackleford held off a late charge by the 2-1 favorite Animal Kingdom, spoiling yet another Triple Crown try and beating the Kentucky Derby winner by a half-length Saturday at Pimlico

The chestnut colt, who led into the stretch in the Derby two weeks ago, finished the job at 12-1 odds, covering the 1 3-16 miles in 1:56.47.

With jockey Jesus Castanon aboard, Shackleford battled Flashpoint for the lead through a quick opening quarter-mile of 22.69 seconds, just a fifth of a second off the Preakness record.

They continued their duel until midway on the final turn, when Shackleford dug in to hold off the onrushing Animal Kingdom before 107,398 fans.

“He was a little hot in the beginning, but he was able to calm down,” Castanon said. “He’s a good horse and able to handle it.”

It was the first victory in a Triple Crown race for Castanon and trainer Dale Romans, a Louisville, Ky., native, who watched Shackleford finish fourth in the Derby.

Shackleford’s pre-race antics weren’t unusual. He often gets nervous and sweats excessively, not normally a good thing on a day when temperatures hit the 80s in sunny Baltimore.

“He wasn’t acting that bad. It’s a hot day, so that wasn’t worrying me too much. I was more concerned at the quarter-pole if he was going to hold on,” said Romans, who had one Breeders’ Cup victory and a win in the $6 million Dubai World Cup to his credit in his long career.

“I’ve won some big races, but none as exciting as that one,” he said, meaning the Preakness, where he finished second last year with First Dude.

“For as hard as he ran in the Derby and to come back, Dale did a fantastic job with him,” said trainer Bob Baffert, a five-time Preakness winner. “I’m happy for Dale because the poor guy ran second last year with First Dude and it looked like he had it won. He did a great training job.”

Shackleford paid $27.20, $10.20 and $6.80.

Animal Kingdom returned $4.20 and $3.60. Astrology paid $8 to show.

Dialed In was fourth after finishing eighth in the Derby as the beaten favorite.

“They went fast enough early, but then they slowed out,” trainer Nick Zito said. “It didn’t work out.”

Dance City was fifth, followed by Mucho Macho Man, King Congie and Mr. Commons. Isn’t He Perfect was ninth, then came Concealed Identity, Norman Asbjornson, Sway Away, the Baffert-trained Midnight Interlude and Flashpoint.

Once again, fans’ hopes to see a Triple Crown winner at long last will have to wait until next year.

The last horse to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes was Affirmed in 1978. Big Brown was the last to attempt a Triple, in 2008.

Trainer Graham Motion, full of hope and expectation at the start of the race, looked on glumly as Animal Kingdom couldn’t catch Shackleford in time.

“He ran huge. I was hoping he was going to get there,” said Motion, who had kept the Derby winner at his stable 60 miles away in the Maryland countryside until race morning.

Shaking off his jitters, Shackleford broke alertly, as did another speedy horse, Flashpoint.

“It was fast, but he kind of pulled everyone else out of the race,” Romans said.

As they sped along, Animal Kingdom and Dialed In, the second favorite, were running at the back of the 14-horse field.

“I kind of had to hustle him out of there,” said John Velazquez, riding Animal Kingdom. “We lost a lot of ground in the first turn.”

Velazquez tore through multiple sets of goggles as the dirt kicked back into Animal Kingdom’s face, which he clearly didn’t like.

“He broke so far back the dirt started hitting him,” the jockey said. “He had to make up too much ground.”

Castanon was able to get Shackleford to relax into a comfortable rhythm as the pace slowed going down the backstretch. That proved to be a key moment.

“That kind of hurt us,” Motion said. “That middle quarter really affected the outcome of the race.”

Midway through the final turn, Flashpoint gave up, leaving Shackleford as the lone target for the closers. Animal Kingdom started to pick up the pace entering the final turn. Unlike in the Derby, he couldn’t find a clear path and Velazquez had to pick his way around traffic to get to the outside.

“I can’t believe what Johnny weaved through the last three-eighths of a mile,” Motion said. “But he was coming and coming. I’m not sure what is better, if we were that close or to be beaten further.”

At the top of the stretch, Animal Kingdom emerged as the main threat to Shackleford. He passed horses in pursuit of the leader while Astrology made a strong run along the rail.

“I felt somebody coming at the sixteenth-pole,” Castanon said. “I knew that Animal Kingdom was the only horse who was able to come get me.”

He and Astrology had Shackleford in their sights, but the winner refused to give up through the long run to the finish line.

Shackleford’s victory, along with his participation in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and a top-three finish in the Florida Derby, netted bonuses for the owners and trainer.

Michael Lauffer and W.D. Cubbedge walked away with $1.1 million, including the $600,000 Preakness winner’s purse and a $500,000 bonus. Romans earned $50,000 in bonus money.

The biggest bonus went unpaid. Dialed In could have won $5.1 million if he had finished first, including $5 million for running in the Holy Bull Stakes and winning the Florida Derby.

The 137th Kentucky Derby – May 7, 2011

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Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky

Animal Kingdom Shocking Winner Of Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom will be heading back to his home turf to await a likely run in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

He became the first horse in the 137-year history of the Derby to win in his debut on dirt, having run three times on synthetic surfaces and once on the turf in his four previous races.

Animal Kingdom will return to Maryland on Tuesday to begin preparations for the 1 3-16-mile Preakness on May 21 at Pimlico, about 60 miles from his home base at Fair Hill Training Center.

Trainer Graham Motion wants to keep jockey John Velazquez on his colt for the Preakness, and it seems likely that will happen.

Animal Kingdom’s regular rider, Robby Albarado, broke his nose and had facial cuts and abrasions after a spill Wednesday. He took himself off his mounts Thursday and Friday. That influenced the decision of Barry Irwin, who oversees the Team Valor partnership that owns Animal Kingdom.

Irwin and Motion agreed to go with Velazquez, who was available after Uncle Mo was scratched Friday. Albarado said he took the days off to prepare for the Derby, a decision he said “backfired.”

Uncle Mo’s trainer, Todd Pletcher, said Sunday the colt wouldn’t run in either of the final two Triple Crown races while the lingering ailment that is bothering him is diagnosed. That leaves Velazquez free to continue riding Animal Kingdom.

“It would be a very hard decision from me to get off this horse to go to another one,” the jockey said after winning his first Derby in 13 tries. “That’s just the way it is.”

Irwin said it’s likely but not yet certain Animal Kingdom will continue on the Triple Crown trail.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to do it, but I want to talk about it,” he said Sunday. “I’m a careful guy, so let’s see how he’s doing. If you’ve got a horse that’s amazing, you can go for the Preakness. But your regular, average Derby winner has a real tough time coming back.”

Animal Kingdom proved his pedigree as a turf horse wrong in the Derby.

“Some of the best horses were ones who were able to handle both (turf and dirt),” Motion said. “He appears to be one of those great horses that can handle both.”

There are 20 people in the Team Valor partnership that owns Animal Kingdom. Irwin said he sold a small interest in the colt two weeks before the Derby based on an estimated value of $2 million.

“In order for him to really be worth a lot of money, he’s got to go on and do something more than just winning the Derby. I mean the Derby’s big. It’s the biggest race there is,” Irwin said.

“But breeders are very picky, skeptical people and he doesn’t have a fashionable pedigree. So he’s got to become a phenomenal racehorse in order to become worth a whole lot of money. If he won the Triple Crown, then there’d be no question. But if he wins just the Preakness, would that make him an automatic hit as a stallion? I don’t know.”

While Irwin mulls the Preakness, the 1 1/2 -mile Belmont Stakes is a strong option.

“The Belmont is the kind of race that this horse is bred to win, let’s face it,” Irwin said.

Derby runner-up Nehro is under consideration for the Preakness, but owner Ahmed Zayat said the Belmont Stakes on June 11 is a more likely spot for the colt’s next race.

Mucho Macho Man, who finished third, will run in the Preakness “as long as everything is good,” trainer Kathy Ritvo said.

Fourth-place Shackleford is likely to challenge Animal Kingdom in the Preakness, too.

Derby favorite Dialed In was never a factor in finishing eighth. Trainer Nick Zito said the colt would try again in the Preakness, where, as the winner of the Holy Bull Stakes and Florida Derby, he’s eligible for a $5.5 million bonus if he wins at Pimlico.

The newcomers who could challenge Animal Kingdom are: Concealed Identity, Dance City, Flashpoint, King Congie, Mr. Commons, Norman Asbjornson, Prime Cut, Saratoga Red and Sway Away, who was excluded from the Derby field for a lack of stakes earnings.

Midnight Interlude, who finished 16th for trainer Bob Baffert, will remain at Churchill Downs. Baffert said that if the colt continues training well, he could run in the Preakness.

The Derby runners not moving on to Baltimore are: Brilliant Speed, Pants On Fire, Twice the Appeal, Soldat, Stay Thirsty, Watch Me Go, and Comma to the Top.

Pants On Fire bled significantly after the race from the exertion of finishing ninth, and trainer Kelly Breen said the colt would be given some rest.

Archarcharch was scheduled to have surgery at a clinic in Lexington after fracturing his left front leg while finishing 15th. He was bumped coming out of the starting gate, jockey Jon Court’s saddle slipped and then the colt got bumped again.

Trainer Jinks Fires said he wouldn’t know if Archarcharch could race again until after the surgery.

“It feels like a knife to the gut,” said Court, son-in-law of the 70-year-old trainer who saddled his first Derby horse.

History Of The Kentucky Derby

Tagged the Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby is called the fastest two minutes in sports. Here’s the Derby run-down in a hoof beat or two.

Founded in 1875 by Colonel Meriweather Lewis Clark, Jr., the Kentucky Derby is one of the most prestigious American sporting events. Big spenders and small potato bettors toss their money through wagering windows each year, hoping to pick the Kentucky Derby winner.

The first Kentucky Derby took place on May 17, 1875. African-American jockey Oliver Lewis galloped Aristides to finish first for owner Hal Price McGrath. Aristides beat 14 other racers at the brand-new Louisville track, which later became Churchill Downs. A life-sized bronze statue of Aristides stands in the racetrack’s Clubhouse Gardens today.

The purse was $2,850 in the 1875 Derby, patterned after fancy European horse races like the Epsom Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris. By 1902, Colonel Matt J. Winn courted owners from New York tracks to enter the regional race. Soon, the Kentucky Derby attracted top contenders nationwide.

Initially a 1.5-mile race, the Kentucky Derby now runs 1.25 miles on dirt track. Held annually at Churchill Downs, it is regarded as the longest consecutive American sporting event.

Kentucky Derby highlights abound.

Annually, three-year-old Thoroughbreds line up in the starting gate for the first jewel in racing’s coveted Triple Crown. The Belmont Stakes and Preakness Stakes make up the other two gems in American horse racing’s top title.

Triple Crown winners to date have included Affirmed (1978), Seattle Slew (1977), Secretariat (1973), Citation (1948) Assault (1946), Count Fleet (1943), Whirlaway (1941), War Admiral (1937), Omaha (1935), Gallant Fox (1930), and Sir Barton (1919).

In 1973, super-horse Secretariat set a Kentucky Derby record, winning the Run for the Roses in 1:59 2/5. Big Red’s record still stands.

Jockeys Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack top the record books with five Derby wins apiece, and trainer Ben A. Jones conditioned six mounts to victory. Calumet Farm sent eight horses through the starting gate to finish first for the fancy rose garland.

The purse grew to $1 million for 1996 and doubled to $2 million in 2005.

In 2010, Calvin Borel became the first Kentucky Derby jockey to win three out of four consecutive times.

Today, approximately 150,000 racing fans trot out to Churchill Downs each year for the first Saturday in May, with millions more tuning in on television and radio or at off-track betting facilities. Kentucky Derby guests perennially include celebrities, royalty, business moguls and regular folks.