After the death of a horse at Churchill Downs last week raised questions about the future of horse racing, the table capped off a nerve-racking day with two more horse deaths ahead of the 149th with a stunning win at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday . , Most famous race in the world.
With a 15-1 shot, Madge scored only one win in his career and showed little sign of victory against his 17 rivals in a race that didn’t bode well for the inexperienced.
Nevertheless, he overtook Two Peel on the inside and made a bold stretch to win by a narrow margin. Dana, who had not raced since she was two years old, covered the 1 1/4 mile distance in 2:01.57.
Madge joined Justify (2018), Big Brown (2008) and Regret (2015) as Derby winners, having made only three previous starts.
“He proved today that it doesn’t matter.” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant coach and co-owner.
The colt was in the skillful hands of Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who hasn’t been in much demand lately. Castellano, 45, went 0-for-15 for the derby.
“Never give up,” Castellano said. “I always work hard to do the right thing. It took me a while to get there. I finally did it.”
Castellano and trainer Gustavo Delgado are from Venezuela. Dana joined Cannaro II as tied Derby winners with Venezuela. Canonero II won the 1971 Derby and the Preakness.
Going into the backstretch, Madge was only ahead of three horses. Castellano and Madge began to clear the competition and began running into the far turn.
“When he got home, he had a lot of heart,” Castellano said. “He’s a little horse with a big heart.”
Both Phillies took the lead in overtime. Dana came out and aimed at the leader. Madge passed him on the eighth pole to claim the victory.
“Everything went according to plan,” Delgado Jr. said. “It’s my dream. I wrote a memo a year and a half ago. ‘We’ll win the Derby next year.'”
An early favourite, Forte was scratched in the morning with a bruised leg, one of five horses dropped out before the race.
Madge paid $32.42, $14.58 and $9.08. The colt earned $1,860,000 for the biggest win of his short career.
The two fills produced returns of $10.44 and $6.52.
“Gee, he worked really hard and his heart was racing,” said Larry Rivelli, who trains Two Phils.
The 4-1 favorite Angel of Empire finished third in front of a crowd of 150,335 on a warm and partly cloudy day at Churchill Downs. He paid $4.70 to show up.
Earlier in the day, 3-year-old Chloe’s Dream and 3-year-old colt Freezing Point were euthanized after suffering injuries in a race.
“It’s a very difficult subject to deal with,” said Ramiro Restrepo, part of Madge’s posse and bloodline agent. “I’m sure there will be an investigation into why this is and hopefully it will provide some more answers.”
A series of horse deaths were on the minds of some Derby participants.
Michael Freese, dressed as a jockey with a friend, said: “It is concerning and I hope they do their best quickly to rectify what is happening.” “He has to give his best for the horse and for the sport in general.”
Chloe’s Dream injured her right front knee, trainer Jeff Hills told The Associated Press.
“He just made a bad move,” Heels said. “They were able to do the same thing on the field that they could on the track. So it’s very unfortunate. We’re dealing with it.”
Trainer Joe Lazerowicz told the AP that Freezing Point had suffered a left ankle injury in Pat de Mile.
“He got bogged down on the backstretch,” Lazerowicz said. “He never made a bad move or fumbled. He had a big heart.”
The new anti-doping and drug rules implemented by the central governing body for the sport will come into effect from May 22.
Restrepo said, “All I can say is that we do our best to take care of our horses. We treat them better than children, and we have complete confidence in the health of our horses.” “We’ve been training here for two weeks and he’s really flourishing on this racetrack.”
The deaths included Derby contender Wild on Ice. The two horses were trained by Saifi Joseph Jr. He was suspended from the track indefinitely, although investigators have yet to determine the horse’s cause of death.
“The most important thing is that the words come out well,” said Tim Yaktin, who trained Reincarnate until 13th.
Two-time Triple Crown Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is nearing the end of his two-year ban from Churchill Downs Inc. One of his horses, Medina Spirit, failed to cross the finish line first in the 2021 Derby. Post-Race Drug Test. The horse was disqualified and Baffert was penalised.
In 2019, the death of more than 30 horses at California’s Santa Anita Racetrack shook the industry and led to safety reforms. kentucky dub