LOUISVILLE, Ky. —Good Cheer merged from a field of 13 3-year-old fillies to win the 151st edition of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks on Friday evening at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Louisville native Brad Cox and ridden by Luis Saez, Good Cheer covered 1 1/8 miles on a sloppy main track at Churchill in a winning time of 1:50.15.

Good...Read more

Journalism will be tough to beat. Sandman has legitimate star power. Sovereignty could very well be wearing the roses by the end of the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Saturday night.

But recent history indicates a major long shot might be the horse getting all of the attention after the 151st edition of the race is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville,...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two sons of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah will be in the starting gate for Saturday’s 151st running of the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby.

The path to one of them being set to contest this year’s Run for the Roses has been anything but ordinary.

The horse in question is Luxor Cafe, who will start Saturday...Read more

The post positions are set for this year’s 151st running of the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby on Saturday night at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Now, it’s time to analyze which horses got a good draw, and who got a bad one, ahead of this year’s Run for the Roses.

Journalism — the 3-1 morning line favorite for this year’s ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Between exacta bets, superfectas and boxing, there’s a dizzying array of Kentucky Derby terms to wrap your head around.

Whether you’re headed to a racetrack or just want to place a bet from your home watch party, here’s a quick primer on key betting terms to get you started ahead of the 151st Kentucky Derby Saturday, ...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mike Repole’s Grande has scratched from Kentucky Derby 151 because of a foot bruise, trainer Todd Pletcher announced Friday morning.

Wood Memorial winner Rodriguez scratched Thursday evening, allowing Baeza to enter the field from his “also-eligible” spot. The scratch of Grande, who finished second in the Wood Memorial...Read more

Nearly every year since 2010, I have written a story about how all the horses in the Kentucky Derby get their names, and you can probably guess which one will lead my lineup in 2025.

That’s right ... Journalism. In a landscape of shrinking newsrooms, misinformation, threats and lawsuits, it’s a thrill to see a horse named by someone who ...Read more

Several of the horses in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field have famous sires.

Among the contenders are the sons of two Triple Crown winners, one other Derby victor and the most prolific sire of the last decade. Stellar bloodlines alone are not a guarantee of Derby success, but they certainly are a point in the favor of a horse when making your bets...Read more

The roster of jockeys slated to ride in the 151st Kentucky Derby represents both extremes on the experience scale.

Five jockeys — Javier Castellano, Brian Hernandez Jr., Flavien Prat, Joel Rosario and John Velazquez — who have already won the Run for the Roses will seek to do so again Saturday.

Meanwhile, ranging in age from 25 (Joseph ...Read more

As is always the case, this Kentucky Derby won’t lack for storylines.

The biggest will obviously be the return of trainer Bob Baffert, who has six Derby victories, still tied for the most all time after his seventh was stripped in 2021 following the disqualification of Medina Spirit due to a medical violation. That led to a Churchill Downs ...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There is a bullseye on the back of the impressive-looking 3-year-old colt named Journalism, but the favorite for Kentucky Derby 151 is paying it no mind.

Outside of trainer Michael McCarthy’s Barn 35 at Churchill Downs on Thursday, the mood was a mix of clam and confidence.

“Smooth as silk,” said Aron Wellman of the ...Read more

The only also-eligible horse for this year’s Kentucky Derby has moved into the 20-horse field for Saturday’s showcase race.

Baeza — trained by John Shirreffs and to be ridden by Flavien Prat — now has a spot in the starting gate for the 151st running of the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby. Post time is 6:57 p.m. EDT Saturday for the ...Read more

The jockey who wins the Kentucky Derby earns 10% of the victor’s purse. Last year, Brian Hernandez Jr. made $310,000 for booting Mystik Dan home first in a scintillating three-horse photo finish.

Yet the cash may not be the most-appreciated perk for a Derby-winning rider.

On Kentucky Derby night, the Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Louisville ...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — If, as weather forecasts suggest, the track turns muddy or sloppy for Kentucky Derby 151 on Saturday at Churchill Downs, it will be a new experience for the majority of the colts making a run for the roses.

Only six of the 20 horses entered in the 2025 running have experience running on a muddy or sloppy track. And two of ...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The backstretch at Churchill Downs is a magical place during Kentucky Derby week. Big-name trainers talking to well-heeled owners, media haplessly standing around hoping to grab a quote or a quick stand-up interview. Yet the most important part of this annual carnival of horsedom is that one of the occupants will be the next ...Read more

It’s been seven years since the post-time favorite won the Kentucky Derby.

Justify — who went on to become horse racing’s 13th, and most recent, Triple Crown champion — was the last race-time favorite to win the Derby when he did so in 2018 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Since then, six post-time favorites have entered the starting ...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lonnie Briley had been a thoroughbred trainer for over three decades before he finally entered a horse in a graded stakes race.

Three months later, the 72-year-old Louisianan is in his first Kentucky Derby.

“There’s a lot of people from Louisiana that’s calling and leaving text messages and things of that nature. They...Read more

Getting a horse into the Kentucky Derby requires big dreams, and often big bank accounts. But that’s not always the case as syndicates, or groups of owners, band together to make a chase at the “Run for the Roses.”

There are 47 owners listed among the 20 horses in this year’s field. A pair of Derby hopefuls — Citizen Bull and ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The 2025 Kentucky Derby is Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, and the Lexington Herald-Leader has asked horse racing experts around the country for their top handicapping picks going into the big race.

Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism is the favorite, with Florida Derby runner-up Sovereignty and Arkansas Derby ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Keeneland’s top Kentucky Derby prep race is in a drought when it comes to producing winners of horse racing’s signature event.

It has been more than 30 years since the winner of the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland — the showcase race during the Lexington track’s annual Spring Meet — has gone on to win the Kentucky ...Read more