ARCADIA , Calif. (May 7, 2012)—I’ll Have Another, who parlayed victory in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 7 to victory in America’s most famous race, the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, not only brought home a winning purse of $1.2 million, he made 32-year-old Pasadena resident Greg Politano $16,300 as a result of a $1,000 win wager made by Santa Anita on his behalf.
Author: admin
ELMONT , N.Y. – After an eventful 24 hours, jockey Rosie Napravnik returned to Belmont Park Saturday afternoon with her first Grade 1 victory and a bit of racing history in tow. On Friday, the 24-year-old piloted Believe You Can to win the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, becoming the first female jockey to win the prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies.
The five grade 1 prep races for the 138th Kentucky Derby were won by five different horses—Dullahan in the Toyota Bluegrass, Take Charge Indy in the Florida Derby, I’ll Have Another in the Santa Anita Derby, Gemologist in the Wood Memorial and Bodemeister in the Arkansas Derby. But there is one common thread for that group—all five were sold at Keeneland.
Dullahan, Bodemeister, Take Charge Indy and I’ll Have Another all were offered at the September sale while Gemologist was purchased at the 2009 November Breeding Stock Sale as a weanling.
Walt Robertson, Keeneland’s vice president of sales, proudly notes that 20 of the 28 graded stakes races on the Derby prep trail were won by graduates of the sales ring here.
Marks Sixth Consecutive Spring Meeting Without a Fatality on All-Weather Track
LEXINGTON, KY (April 30, 2012) – Keeneland’s 2012 spring race meeting proved to be an enormously successful finale for President Nick Nicholson, posting several records for attendance and wagering and boasting field sizes that are among the largest in the country. More importantly, it also marked the sixth consecutive spring meeting in which there were no catastrophic breakdowns during racing on Keeneland’s all-weather main track.
It began with a simple, “something just doesn’t feel right,” from active, healthy, 14-year-old Steven Henry over Christmas vacation. By New Year’s Day 2010, he was referred to a pediatric cardiologist and fitted with a heart monitor, followed by a shocking diagnosis on Valentine’s Day. By St. Patrick’s Day, he had undergone a five-hour cardiac procedure to save his life.
O’Connors go Reining
It’s not just Gold Medal Reiners competing in the Alltech Arena this year – some of the world’s best Eventers are headed down the road to try their hand at Reining! Don’t miss our very own celebrity slide featuring Olympic Eventing riders David and Karen O’Connor, and Gina Miles alongside two-time Eclipse Award winning Jockey Chris McCarron on Saturday night at the World Freestyle Championship!
NYSS QUOTES
John Parisella, winning trainer of Sunny Desert (No. 5): “It was all [jockey Ramon] Dominguez. The ride was scary; he saw that hole, [Eddie] Castro [on Sweet Moon] was going in and out, but he went for it. He and I are magic together. It’s unbelievable. It’s all him. Everybody said, ‘You’re going to be on the lead.’ We went with the strategy of making one run, and we didn’t get caught up in [the speed duel]. Ramon was the right guy for it.”
Sporting artist Alfred Munnings loved horses, the English countryside and a good stiff drink. What he didn’t like was modern art.