Pete Anderson

Pitts Beams Over Victory by Einstien in Clark Handicap; Delightful Kiss Delights Veteran Trainer Anderson

 

Pitts Ecstatic Over Einstein's Clark Performance - More than 12 hours after Einstein's tour de force victory in the $400,000 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade II), the smile had not left the face of trainer Helen Pitts.[asset|]

            "I am just so proud of him," Pitts said of Einstein's 1 ½-length victory over Delightful Kiss. "I have never had a horse that loves his job so much."

            Einstein, winner of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) on Kentucky Derby Day, tracked odds-on favorite Commentator until the top of the stretch when he powered by to give jockey Julien Leparoux his fifth winner of the day.

            The victory was the fourth of the year for Einstein to go with three seconds in an eight-race campaign. Pitts called it his best race of the year.

            "The Turf Classic on Derby Day here was phenomenal," Pitts said of that victory, "and his Stephen Foster (second to Curlin) was great. But yesterday was sensational, the top of the heap, the way he did it coming off the layoff."

            Einstein had not run since a troubled fifth in the Aug. 9 Arlington Million (GI) on the Arlington Park turf. The Clark victory closed out the year for Einstein.

            "He will leave in 10 days for Gulfstream Park," Pitts said. "Our next goal with him is the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (GI to be run Feb. 1)."

            Einstein is a two-time winner of the Gulfstream Park race.

            Is there any chance Einstein could return to the dirt?

            "Probably the only place I would run him on the dirt would be here," Pitts said of Einstein, who broke his maiden at Churchill Downs on the dirt on Nov. 6, 2005 and has a 2-1-0 record in three races over the local course. "He really loves the dirt here."               

SUNSHINE MILLIONS NEXT OBJECTIVE FOR DELIGHTFUL KISS - Hobeau Farm's Delightful Kiss, a hard-charging runner-up to Einstein in the Clark Handicap, was scheduled to leave Churchill Downs around noon on Saturday for a return to his home base at Calder Race Course in Miami.

            "He ran a big race yesterday; he was really running at the finish," trainer Pete Anderson said.

            The 1 1/8-mile Clark closed out a strong finish to 2008 for Delightful Kiss, who scored Grade III victories in the Turfway Park Fall Championship and the All American Stakes at Golden Gate before running fourth, beaten two lengths, in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Marathon at Oak Tree at Santa Anita.

            "My next goal for him will be the Sunshine Millions at the end of January (Jan. 24)," Anderson said. "I might run him on the grass prior to that."

            Anderson first brought Delightful Kiss to Churchill Downs in the spring of 2007 with hopes of getting in the Kentucky Derby. However, insufficient graded earnings kept Delightful Kiss out of the "Run for the Roses" won by Street Sense.

            Anderson was asked if he thought he would have had the same success with Delightful Kiss had he run in the Kentucky Derby.

            "It is hard to say because he won the Ohio Derby soon after that and he was very close to top form," Anderson said. "He had a quarter crack that we were fighting after the Arkansas Derby. I would have liked to have made the Kentucky Derby, because at my age (now 77), I don't think I am going to get many chances.

            "I am fortunate to have him, he is a true delight. He has added 10 years to my life and for that I don't mind him biting me and kicking me."

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED FOR LEPAROUX - Julien Leparoux started the 26-day Fall Meet on fire and never cooled to an ember.

He took the lead for keeps in the rider standings with a four-win day on Oct. 30, the third day of the meet, and never looked back.

Leparoux hit the 10-day mark with 23 victories and the early pace had him on a path to break Pat Day's 23-year-old Fall Meet record of 55 victories. The bulk of the wins came for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Mike Maker.

"Hopefully, everyone will break a record," Leparoux said three weeks ago of the record pace the Ramseys and Maker were on.

In Friday's third race, Leparoux made it mission accomplished on all counts when his victory aboard the Ramseys-owned and Maker-trained Just Like William gave him 56 winners.

Leparoux added three more winners on his five-win Friday and entered Saturday's card with 59 victories. Leparoux also had also posted 40 second-place finishes and 25 thirds for an in-the-money percentage of 62. He was named on nine mounts on Saturday's final racing program of the Fall Meet.

Maker enters closing day with 29 winners, 28 of which have been ridden by Leparoux. Maker, who obliterated the previous Fall Meet record of 20 victories set by Dale Romans during the 27-day meet of 2003, has four horses entered today.

The Ramseys have 24 victories of which 22 have been ridden by Leparoux. With only two runners entered Saturday, there is one record that will elude the Ramseys' grasp: Most wins at a single meet.

During the 93-day Spring Meet in 1984, A.J. Foyt Jr. established that mark with 27 winners during the 93-day Spring Meet of 1984.  The previous Fall Meet record was 15 victories, set by T. Alie Grissom during the 23-day session in 1965.

WORK TAB (Track: FAST) - Magdalena Racing's Mrs. Revere (GII) runner-up My Baby Baby worked a bullet five furlongs in 1:01.60 for trainer Ken McPeek. Also working for McPeek were Koolmen Racing Stable's graded stakes-placed A to the Croft (1:02.60 for five-eighths, 10th best of 17) and Lansdon Robbins III's stylish 2-year-old debut winner Danger to Society (:48.40 for a half-mile, fourth best of 35).

 

Delightful Kiss, Anderson Look For Better Luck At Churchill; Clark Hopeful Wayzata Bay Improves With Age

DELIGHTFUL KISS, ANDERSON SEEK BETTER LUCK AT CHURCHILL IN 134TH CLARK HANDICAP - The big gray was back at his old Kentucky home: Tom Proctor's side of Barn 22 on the Churchill Downs backstretch. But this was his first late fall appearance and for horse and trainer, and a new experience for both.[asset|height=12|width=100]


            "We're not used to this, either one of us," said Pete Anderson as a steady rain fell on a chilly November Tuesday as he held the shank on Hobeau Farm's Delightful Kiss. "But, I'll tell you one thing. The whole key is to keep your horses happy and he is one happy dude right now. He likes the mud."

            Delightful Kiss got some mud to play in Tuesday morning when he breezed a half-mile in :50 over a track labeled "sloppy" with Calvin Borel up.

"I got him galloping out three-quarters in 1:14," Anderson said. "Calvin handled the work perfectly."

            Friday's forecast, however, calls for partly sunny skies with a high near 43 - ideal conditions for the 134th running of the $400,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade II).

            The Clark would mark the third Churchill Downs start for Delightful Kiss, who used Louisville as his base last spring before going on to victories in the Ohio Derby (GII) at Thistledown and Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows, and again this summer after he ran in the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) won by reigning Horse of the Year Curlin.

            Anderson first brought Delightful Kiss here in April 2007 after a fourth-place finish to Curlin in the Arkansas Derby (GII). Delightful Kiss had finished a length out of second and the added graded-stakes money from the runner-up spot would have earned the son of Kissin Kris a spot in the Kentucky Derby 133 (GI) starting gate.

            Delightful Kiss was entered in Derby 133, but was excluded from the field of 20 because of insufficient graded stakes money.  Instead, Anderson saddled Delightful Kiss on the eve of the Derby in the Crown Royal American Turf (GIII), where he finished ninth, before the colt launched his run of Midwest Derbies.

            The only horse in Anderson's care finished seventh in this spring's Stephen Foster, beaten 12 lengths by Curlin in a race that lacked a rapid pace.  But speed is an ingredient that should be present for the Clark with the presence of Tracy Farmer's speedy dual Grade I winner Commentator.

            For the Clark, Delightful Kiss returns to traditional dirt after three consecutive starts on synthetic surfaces that included two Grade III stakes wins and a fourth-place finish in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Marathon over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface.

            "He is doing great and I don't think he could be any better," Anderson said. "He has just gotten better as the year went on and I know he doesn't mind the Polytrack. I know he really likes the Tapeta at Golden Gate."

            The return to the dirt is the only worry Anderson has coming into the Clark in which Delightful Kiss will carry 116 pounds and be ridden by Calvin Borel.

            "That's my only concern. I just don't know how well horses do when they go to dirt from synthetic," Anderson said.

WAYZATA BAY GETTING BETTER WITH AGE FOR HICKLIN - Wayzata Bay has occupied a spot in trainer Judi Hicklin's barn for four years, racing 36 times at eight tracks. On Friday in the Clark Handicap, Wayzata Bay will add Churchill Downs to his travel dossier.

            "We have traveled a lot of miles together," Hicklin said after she cooled out Wayzata Bay after his morning exercise. "On this trip, I'm the van driver and groom."

            The trips in 2008 have been profitable for Hicklin as Wayzata Bay, a 6-year-old son of Roar, has compiled a record of 3-3-1 in eight races with earnings of $341,950. The highlight of the year was a victory in the Grade II Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows at the Clark distance of 1 1/8 miles.

            "There are not many horses that get good at 6 and not many that get their first graded stakes win at 6," Hicklin said. "And there aren't a lot of owners that would wait that long."

            Wayzata Bay is owned by Isaac Phelps' World Thoroughbreds Racing Inc.

            Wayzata Bay enters the Clark off his worst performance of the year in the Fayette (GIII) at Keeneland on Oct. 25.  He was beaten more than 40 lengths in that 10th-place finish behind Ball Four.  But the poor effort over Polytrack was par for the synthetic track course for Wayzata Bay, who has never been better than fourth in six starts on Polytrack.

            "I don't think he would have been a $5,000 claimer on Polytrack," Hicklin said.

            Since the Fayette, Wayzata Bay has had one work at Hawthorne, but Hicklin thinks he is ready for a good effort under jockey Israel Ocampo, who has ridden the horse in his past six starts.

            "He has been doing two-minute licks at Hawthorne and he gets a lot out of his gallops," Hicklin said. "He will come with his run."

            Wayzata Bay will mark Hicklin's second starter at Churchill Downs. Let It Rock, who ran third in a Nov. 12 allowance race and is set to run back Friday on the Clark card, was her first.

            "It got to me walking over with him and seeing the Twin Spires," Hicklin said. "I was thinking ‘Wow, what's a girl from Iowa doing here?'"

McPEEK RIDES BONANZA OF 2-YEAR-OLDS - When Gessler Racing's Redreamit romped in her debut by 3 ¾ lengths on Sunday, she gave trainer Ken McPeek his meet-leading eighth 2-year-old winner of the meet.

            "We've got a great group of horses," McPeek said. "The stars are starting to align."

            That success has occurred before the appearance of Dream Empress, who is arguably the most talented youngster in McPeek's barn.  That talented filly will not run until Saturday's "Stars of Tomorrow II" card that offers 12 races filled with 2-year-olds.

            "I've got her and Striking Dancer for the Golden Rod," McPeek said.

            Dream Empress, owned by Livin the Dream Racing, won the Darley Alcibiades (GI) at Keeneland before a runner-up effort to Stardom Bound in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI). Dream Empress had her third Churchill Downs work since the Breeders' Cup on Monday, going a half-mile in :50.80 over a sloppy track.

            McPeek is confident that his barn will reach double figures for juvenile winners by the time the curtain drops on the meet Saturday.

"I've got 14 I'm going to enter for Saturday alone," said McPeek, who won the training title in the 2002 Fall Meet.

As for Redreamit, who joined Silver Wing Stable's Free Country and Lansdon Robbins III's Danger to Society as a debut winner, she is headed to Florida with the Grade III Old Hat at six furlongs on Jan. 4 as her immediate target according to McPeek.

BARN TALK - Julien Leparoux, who entered Wednesday's card with 50 victories this meet and six away from breaking Pat Day's 23-year-old Fall Meet record, will be riding this winter at Gulfstream Park. "The bulk of our clients are going to Florida, but a lot are going to the Fair Grounds, too," Leparoux's agent Steve Bass said. "It was a hard decision, but it worked out better with his schedule. Fair Grounds is already running and Julien is going to take a couple of weeks off after the meet ends Saturday." ... Da' Tara, winner of this year's Belmont Stakes (GI), is entered in Friday's ninth race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance optional claiming event. Owned by Robert LaPenta and trained by Nick Zito, Da' Tara ran fifth in this spring's Derby Trial. Da' Tara has not run since finishing sixth in the Grade II Jerome Handicap at Belmont Park on Oct. 5. Da' Tara will face seven rivals in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up.  He will be the first Belmont Stakes winner to run at Churchill Downs since 1999 winner Lemon Drop Kid finished fifth to Tiznow in the 2000 Breeders' Cup Classic (GI).  Victory Gallop, the 1998 Belmont Stakes winner, won the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs the following year.... The victory in the first race Sunday by Choctaw Racing Stable's Jump Enuf gave trainer Lynn Whiting his 297th win at Churchill Downs. Whiting, who saddled Lil E. Tee to win the 1992 Kentucky Derby, notched his first Churchill Downs victory in the Spring Meet of 1979. ... A happy 50th birthday today to trainer Rob O'Connor.

WORK TAB - There was only one recorded work Wednesday morning over a frozen track. ... The juveniles spiced up Tuesday's work tab over a sloppy track. Prepping for possible runs in Saturday's Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), were Winchell Thoroughbreds' Zion (half-mile in :50) and Zayat Stables' Star of David (:52.20), both for trainer Steve Asmussen. Working toward Saturday's Golden Rod (GII) were the 1-2 finishers in the Grade III Iroquois: Eldon Farm's Sara Louise (five furlongs in 1:03.40 for trainer Dale Romans) and Dolphus Morrison's Rachel Alexandra (a best-of-34 half-mile in :48 for trainer Hal Wiggins). Asmussen also worked Ron Winchell's War Echo, a half-sister to Pyro, a half-mile in :51 for the Golden Rod. ... Among the works Monday on a sloppy track was West Point Thoroughbreds' Jim Dandy (GII) winner Macho Again (1:02.60 for five furlongs) for trainer Dallas Stewart, Domino Stud of Lexington, Inc.'s Miss Isella (:50 for a half-mile) prepping for Thursday's Falls City (GII) for trainer Ian Wilkes and Dogwood Stable's Coal Baron (:48.40) prepping for a probable start in the Kentucky Jockey Club for trainer David Carroll

DERBY TICKET DRAWINGS CONTINUE - Over the final four days of the 2008 Fall Meet, Churchill Downs will continue its public daily drawings for guests to purchase two seats to the 135th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on Saturday, May 2. More than 400 names (100 each day) will be drawn between Wednesday and Saturday. Guests age 18 and up may enter each drawing by filling out an entry form at Guest Services stations located inside Gate 17 or outside of Gate 10 in the clubhouse before 1:35 p.m. ET. A new drawing will be held each day. Winners need not be present to win and payment for invoiced tickets will be due Jan. 30. The drawings began Saturday and, all told, 500 pairs of tickets, or 1,000 in total, will be made available. The seats available include a variety of clubhouse and grandstand seats, ranging from grandstand bleacher seats to clubhouse boxes. The ticket prices per seat range from $88 to $207 ($176 to $414 per pair).

CURLIN TO BE PARADED ON CLOSING DAY - Curlin, North America's reigning Horse of the Year and the continent's richest racehorse of all time with earnings of $10,501,800, will be paraded one final time at Churchill Downs on Saturday. The brilliant winner of seven Grade I events including Churchill Downs' $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap in June, is scheduled to be paraded on the main track between the fifth and sixth races. A special salute in the paddock and/or winner's circle will follow. The fifth race is scheduled for 1:28 p.m. (all times Eastern), and the first of 12 races will be at 11:30 a.m.

THIS WEEK'S GUEST ANNOUNCER: MARK JOHNSON - England's Mark Johnson will describe the closing week's racing action (Wednesday, Nov. 26 through Saturday, Nov. 29) as Churchill Downs concludes its search to replace the late Luke Kruytbosch as the next "Voice of the Kentucky Derby". There was a different track announcer each week during the five-week Fall Meet. Calder's Bobby Neuman, Louisiana Downs' Travis Stone, Golden Gate's Michael Wrona and Gulfstream Park and Monmouth Park's Larry Collmus already made their guest appearances. Churchill Downs officials are seeking input from customers and encouraging comment via email at announcer@kyderby.com.

SPECIAL CLOSING WEEK POST TIMES - Churchill Downs will run its usual 10-race program at 12:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday (admission gates open at 11 a.m. ET), but the final three days of the meet will have special start times. Twelve-race holiday cards on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), Friday (Clark Handicap Day) and Saturday (Closing Day/Stars of Tomorrow II) will begin early at 11:30 a.m. ET and grandstand admission gates will open at 10 a.m. ET.

SPECIAL Z-5 (SUPER HI-5) SCHEDULE FOR CLOSING WEEK - The Z-5 (Super Hi-5), which requires bettors to correctly select the top five finishers in a race in exact order, will have a new schedule for the final three days of Churchill Downs' 2008 Fall Meet. From Thursday to Saturday, the payout-pumping wager that zigzags between Churchill and its sister racetrack Calder Race Course will involve Race 5 at Churchill Downs (1:27 p.m.), Race 10 at Calder (4:35 p.m.) and Race 12 at Churchill Downs (4:53 p.m.). If no one picks all five winners, the pool would carryover to the next available Z-5 (Super Hi-5) race - the first interstate jackpot of its kind in horse racing. The pool for the final race at Churchill Downs on Saturday must be paid.

ADDITIONAL PICK 4s ON FINAL THREE DAYS - Churchill Downs will offer additional Pick 4s on Thursday, Friday and Saturday's special 12-race programs. Pick 4s, which require bettors to pick the winners of four consecutive races, will link Races 1-4, 5-8 and 9-12 over the final three days of the meet.

JUNIOR JOCKEY CLUB WEEKEND ACTIVITIES - Christmas crafts, a Friday puppet show and a special tour of the paddock on Saturday highlight the closing week activities at Churchill Downs' Junior Jockey Club located near the Guest Services Booth inside Gate. 10. Coloring books, crayons, individual games and reading material are available as well, and Churchill Downs' mascot Churchill Charlie will be on hand both Friday and Saturday for photographs between 1-1:30 p.m. Also, Santa Claus will make a special appearance at Gate 17 on both days at approximately 2 p.m.

FRIDAY & SATURDAY SPECIALS AT THE DOWNS - Packages to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast at Churchill Downs are nearly sold out, but specials on Friday and Saturday's closing day card can still be had. For $50, customers can dine and watch the races from a reserved seat in the Triple Crown room, the largest and most opulent of the Jockey Club Suites facilities. Entrees on the menu include a giant Reuben sandwich, cheeseburger station, chicken tenders, chicken wings, hot dogs and bratwurst. Plus, a Bloody Mar bar will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch and an official program is included in the admission price. To reserve a spot, call (502) 636-4400.

STARK'S THE CHAMP - Todd Stark of Hazard, Ky. and Rudy Hardin Jr. of Louisville finished one-two in Sunday's "Who's the Champ?" Handicapping Contest for the 2008 Fall Meet at Churchill Downs. The two banked $1,400 and $800, respectively, and will represent Churchill Downs at the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship X in Las Vegas on Jan. 23-24. A total of 134 contestants earned berths to compete in Churchill Downs' qualifier last Sunday (only 125 actually participated). Participants were required to place mythical $2 Win and Place wagers on two different horses in Races 3-8. Stark finished first with a $57.20 final bankroll. Hardin was second with $48.00.

Grade I Winners Commentator, Einstein,Dominican,Millionaire Magna Graduate Head Field for 134th Clark Handicap

Tracy Farmer's Commentator, Elisabeth Alexander's Magna Graduate and Midnight Cry Stable's Einstein (BRZ), who have combined to earn $5,769,604 in their stellar careers, headline a field of eight for Friday's 134th running of the $400,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) at Churchill Downs.

            The Clark Handicap, named for the family of Churchill Downs founder Meriwether Lewis Clark, was first run at the track's inaugural meet in 1875 and, like the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and the Kentucky Oaks (GI), has been run annually without interruption since.  The 1 1/8-mile race over the main track will be the 11th race on the 12-race card with an approximate post time of 4:29 p.m. (all times Eastern). Post time for the first race is 11:30 a.m. and admission gates open at 10 a.m.

            The 7-year-old Commentator has won 13 of 20 careers starts for earnings of $1,841,936 while racing for five years under the care of trainer Nick Zito. Ridden by John Velazquez in all five of his starts this year, Commentator has won four times, highlighted by a second victory in the Grade I Whitney at Saratoga, and enters the Clark off a 14-length victory in the Massachusetts Handicap on Sept. 20 at Suffolk Downs.

            The New York-bred gelding by Distorted Humor is enjoying the finest year of his career with four victories in five races and earnings of $1,025,700.  His only loss came in a runner-up finish to Divine Park in the Metropolitan Handicap (GI) at Belmont Park.  Commentator will carry top weight of 124 pounds and break from post position four under Velazquez.  He easily won his only previous start at Churchill Downs in 2004.

            Now trained by Steve Asmussen, the 6-year-old Magna Graduate has won 10 of 34 career starts with six seconds and six thirds for earnings of $2,561,237. Two of those victories have come at Churchill Downs, one in the 2005 Clark Handicap for former trainer Todd Pletcher and the other in this year's Grade III Ack Ack Handicap on Oct. 26.  Shaun Bridgmohan, who rode Magna Graduate in the Ack Ack, will be aboard Friday.  Magna Graduate will break from post position two and carry 120 pounds.

            The 6-year-old Einstein, trained by Helen Pitts, is a two-time Grade I winner on the grass this year and has built a career resume of eight wins in 21 starts for earnings of $1,366,431. Idle since finishing a troubled fifth in the Grade I Arlington Million on Aug. 9, Einstein last started on the dirt in the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) at Churchill Downs on June 14 when he ran second to 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin.

            Julien Leparoux, who rode Einstein in the Stephen Foster, will ride Friday and break from post position three. Einstein will carry 119 pounds.

            Bidding for a return to form in the Clark will be Silverton Hill LLC's Dominican, winner of the 2007 Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland.  The Darrin Miller-trained son of El Corredor defeated Street Sense by a nose over the Polytrack course that day, but finished 11th to that rival on the dirt in the Kentucky Derby.  Dominican snapped a six-race losing streak in an allowance win over the synthetic Tapeta surface in July at Pennsylvania's Presque Isle Downs, and has since finished third to Delightful Kiss in the Turfway Fall Championship (GIII) and was runner-up to longshot Ball Four in the Fayette (GIII) at Keeneland.  Robby Albarado will ride.

            Three other graded-stakes winners on dirt in 2008 are in the Clark field: Four Roses Thoroughbreds' Anak Nakal, winner of the Grade II Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 1 at Philadelphia Park, World Thoroughbreds Racing's Wayzata Bay, winner of the Grade II Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows on June 28, and Hobeau Farm's Delightful Kiss, winner of the Turfway Park Fall Championship on Sept. 6 and the All American Stakes at Golden Gate on Sept. 27.  Delightful Kiss most recently finished fifth to Albertus Maximus in the $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon over the Pro-Ride course at Santa Anita.

            The field for the Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare, from the rail out, is as follows: Delightful Kiss (Calvin Borel, 116 pounds), Magna Graduate (John Velazquez, 120), Einstein (Julian Leparoux, 119), Commentator (John Velazquez, 124), Anak Nakal (Jesus Castanon, 118), Timber Reserve (Kent Desormeaux, 116), Wayzata Bay (Israel Ocampo, 117) and Dominican (Robby Albarado, 115).

            Appearing on the Clark Handicap undercard on Friday will be Robert LaPenta's Da' Tara, the upset winner of the Belmont Stakes (GI) who derailed Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown's bid for a Triple Crown.  The Nick Zito-trained son of Tiznow has lost three consecutive races since then, with the most recent setback coming in a sixth-place finish to Tale of Ekati in the Jerome Handicap (GII) at Belmont Park. 

Da' Tara will face seven rivals in the 1 1/16-mile allowance optional claiming race for 3-year-olds and up.  He will be the first Belmont Stakes winner to run at Churchill Downs since 1999 winner Lemon Drop Kid finished fifth to Tiznow in the 2000 Breeders' Cup Classic (GI).  Victory Gallop, the 1999 Belmont Stakes winner, won the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs the following year.