Epicenter the 7-5 favorite for the Travers Stakes

Associated PressAug 24, 2022, 8:58 PM EDT

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Epicenter has been installed as the morning-line favorite for the $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course as he prepares to face the rivals who beat him in the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Winner of the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes just over three weeks ago at Saratoga and runnerup to Rich Strike in the Kentucky Derby and Early Voting in the Preakness, Epicenter is the 7-5 choice for the Grade 1 Travers at 1 1/4 miles and will go from the sixth post position with jockey Joel Rosario aboard.

Rich Strike, who won the Derby by three-quarters of a length, will go from the No. 2 position with jockey Sonny Leon aboard at 10-1 odds.

Early Voting is an 8-1 choice with jockey Jose Ortiz and will go off from post seven.

Cyberknife, winner of the $1 million Grade I Haskell Invitational, will be ridden by Florent Geroux and is the third choice at 7-2.

From the rail out, the field will be Cyberknife, Rich Strike, Ain’t Life Grand (20-1) with Tyler Gaffalione, Gilded Age (30-1) with Jorge Alvarado, Artorius (9-2) with Irad Ortiz, Epicenter, Early Voting, and Zandon (5-1) with Flavien Pratt.

Chad Brown, who leads the meeting with 31 wins, will saddle three of the eight entries – Artorius, Early Voting and Zandon.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT

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NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:36 PM EDT

Abbey Cutrer/USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.