Proud Spell

The 137th running of the Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) at Churchill Downs will be the richest in history as the purse for America’s most prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies has been raised to $1 million guaranteed, which doubles the purse offered in 2010.

The record-setting Kentucky Oaks, scheduled for Friday, May 6, and the $2 million guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), the nation’s greatest race and one of America’s top entertainment events, head a schedule of 25 stakes races with total purses of $7.325 million set for Churchill Downs 2011 Spring Meet.  The 39-day meet opens with the first Kentucky Derby Week night racing event on Saturday, April 30 and will conclude with an Independence Day racing program on Monday, July 4.

The record purse for the Kentucky Oaks will make the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies the richest American race in that division. The increase will help boost the value of purses for six stakes races scheduled on the Oaks Day program to a record $2 million.  That total is second at Churchill Downs only to Kentucky Derby Day, which also features six graded stakes races – three of which are Grade I events – with total purses of $3.4 million.

“There is no weekend in American racing like Kentucky Oaks and Derby Weekend, and it is exciting to raise the purse for the Oaks to a level that reflects its status and importance as a sports and entertainment event,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack.  “The Oaks has enjoyed spectacular growth in recent years and the 2010 running won by Blind Luck was one of its greatest renewals.  The 2010 attracted a record crowd of 116,046 and all sources wagering set records with $10.6 million bet on the Oaks race, and $30.6 million was wagered on the entire Oaks card, a jump of 20 percent from the previous record.  The Oaks ranked eighth in the U.S. in betting on a single race in 2010, and wagering on the entire Oaks card ranked sixth.  Along with its wagering success, the Oaks clearly stands on its own as a spectacular entertainment event, and the fundraising partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and national television coverage on Bravo have opened doors to new fans of America’s greatest race for 3-year-old fillies.

“While some stakes races have gone on hiatus and others have had slight adjustments in purse levels, our overall stakes schedule is strong and attractive, and our ‘big event days’ – the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Stephen Foster Handicap – head a roster of stakes races that offers wonderful opportunities for horsemen in nearly every division.”

he 2011 Churchill Downs Spring Meet kicks off with a spectacular racing and entertainment program under the track’s permanent lights that features the $200,000-added The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial.  The Grade III Derby Trial is the final major prep for the Kentucky Derby, which will be run a week later.  The opening night celebration that kicks off the Spring Meet will be the first Derby Week racing session conducted under the lights in Churchill Downs history.

The last purse increase for the Kentucky Oaks came in 1996, when the purse was raised to $500,000-added for the race won by Pike Place Dancer.

Three straight Kentucky Oaks winners – Rachel Alexandra (2009), Proud Spell (2008) and Rags to Riches (2007) – went on earn Eclipse Awards as champion 3-year-old filly.  Two of those – Rachel Alexandra and Rags to Riches – defeated males in Triple Crown events in their next start as Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness (GI) on her way to Horse of the Year honors, and Rags to Riches defeated eventual Horse of the Year Curlin in the Belmont Stakes (GI).  Blind Luck, the 2010 winner, is a finalist to become the fourth consecutive filly to pull off that double when the 2010 Eclipse Award winners are revealed on Monday, Jan. 17, in Miami.

Other recent stars who won the Kentucky Oaks on their way to 3-year-old championship honors include Ashado (2004), Bird Town (’03), Farda Amiga (’02), Silverbulletday (’99), Open Mind (’89), and Tiffany Lass (’86).  Fillies that failed to win the Oaks but went on to earn Eclipse Award championship honors at the conclusion of their 3-year-old seasons include Wait A While (3rd in 2006), Banshee Breeze (2nd in ’98), and Go for Wand (2nd in 1990).

Along with the doubling of the Kentucky Oaks purse, other changes from last year in the 2011 Spring Meet stakes program include:

• Purses have been increased for the Churchill Downs Presented by Navistar (GII), which will grow by $50,000 to $300,000-added; the Alysheba Presented by Besilu Stables (GIII), which increases from $150,000-added to $300,000-added; and the American Turf (GII), which jumps by $25,000 to $200,000-added;
•  Purses will be lower for the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI), which carries a purse of $500,000-added, a reduction of $100,000; and the La Troienne (GII), which drops by $100,000 to $300,000-added.  The La Troienne decrease reflects a loss of $100,000 in Breeders’ Cup Stakes Program funding;
• The race previously known as the Northern Dancer is now named the Matt Winn, in honor of the legendary president of Churchill Downs who became known as “Mr. Derby” for his work in transforming the Kentucky Derby and its home track into international sports and entertainment icons during his 1902-1949 tenure at the track;
• Four races – the Fleur De Lis (GII), Kentucky Juvenile (GIII), the Locust Grove Handicap (GIII) and the race previously known as the Matt Winn – will go on hiatus for this year;
• The Edgewood Presented by Forcht Bank, a $100,000-added turf race for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, returns after a one-year hiatus and will be run on Kentucky Oaks Day;
•  The $100,000-added Eight Belles Presented by ACS, A Xerox Company (GIII) will move from Kentucky Derby Day to Kentucky Oaks Day, and its distance has been changed to seven furlongs from its recent 7 ½ furlongs, and
• The five-furlong, Grade III Turf Sprint run in recent years on Kentucky Oaks Day has been moved to Kentucky Derby Day and is now named the Twin Spires Turf Sprint.

“It was difficult to place four quality stakes events on hiatus for this year, but our racing team
looked very closely at our events and stakes schedules at other tracks in our region and around the United States and that allowed us to put together the strongest possible stakes schedule for 2011,”  Flanery said.  “Of the 25 races on our 2011 stakes schedule, 16 are scheduled on those ‘big event days’ surrounding the Derby, Oaks and Stephen Foster.  These big days have proven extremely popular with fans and horsemen, as are our ‘Downs After Dark’ night racing programs.  The record $1 million purse should make the Kentucky Oaks even more attractive to fans, owners and trainers, and we are very excited about our Spring Meet kickoff under the lights and this year’s running of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial, an important prep that could have an impact on the field for the Kentucky Derby.”

The stakes schedule for Churchill Downs 21-day Fall Meet, which runs from Oct. 30-Nov. 2 and will include the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships on for the second consecutive year on Nov. 4-5, will be announced later this year.

JONES GOES AROUND THE TRACK ON LAST TIME – It was business as usual Saturday morning at Barn 43 at Churchill Downs with trainer Larry Jones in the saddle and galloping his horses during training hours.

But the game, and Jones’ life, will change on Sunday.

"I am sleeping in that morning,” said Jones, who is turning over the training of his 23 horses to his wife Cindy. “I’m gonna tell Cindy that I’m sick.”

Jones, a 53-year-old native of Hopkinsville, Ky., who began training in 1982, is retiring as a trainer after the Saturday card in which he will send the 3-year-old Payton d’Oro out to face older foes in the $150,000-added Chilukki (Grade II).

Jones galloped four horses Saturday morning, the final one being No Such Word.

“That’s it, I’m done,” Jones said with a laugh after he got off the 2-year-old filly.

“I’m gonna keep on galloping. I think I’m on the gallop list tomorrow, but on the late, late ones. I think tomorrow will be my first day as an exercise rider because I have always had a trainer’s license when I have been galloping my horses.”

Jones owns one stakes victory at Churchill Downs, where he saddled his first starter. That winner was Proud Spell in the 2008 Kentucky Oaks.

But it was another filly that really kick-started Jones’ career, Island Sand, who finished second to Ashado in the 2004 Oaks.

“She was right here in this barn and she was the one that really put us on the map,” Jones said. “We drove back to Ellis Park with her in the trailer that afternoon after the race. We stopped at a McDonald’s for a bite to eat and she went through the drive-through with us.”

Jones, who saddled Hard Spun and Eight Belles to runner-up finishes in the 2007 and 2008 runnings of the Kentucky Derby, still has that trailer.

“It is in Maryland with all my stuff in it that has to get to Oaklawn Park,” Jones said.

Cindy Jones will oversee the barn operations through the end of the Churchill Downs meet on Nov. 28 and then the couple will head home to Henderson, Ky., for the holidays and Christmas with the grandchildren.
Longtime assistants Deirdre Jackson and Cory York will handle the stable’s move to Arkansas and continue to work with Cindy.

DEMARCATION COULD RETURN CLOSING WEEKEND – Trainer Paul McGee already had one horse in his barn targeting the Nov. 27 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) in Dubious Miss.
He may have picked up a second on Friday when the Amerman Racing Stables’ Demarcation rallied to win the Ack Ack Handicap (GIII) in his first main track start since February 2008.

“The way Mr. (John) Amerman was talking last night, he was thinking about the Clark,” McGee said. “We will talk about it, but Demarcation could come back and defend his title in the River City (Handicap, GIII). He is fine this morning.”

The victory by Demarcation was his first since dead-heating with Karelian in last year’s River City Handicap. Jesus Castanon, who was aboard Demarcation on Friday, also was aboard in the River City to account for the rider’s two Churchill Downs stakes victories.

TAPITSFLY COMPLETES FRIDAY GRAND SLAM FOR ROMANS – If there was any lingering doubt that Friday was Dale Romans’ day, Tapitsfly erased it in Southern California.

Romans was not at Churchill Downs yesterday to see each of his three starters reach the winner’s circle. First up was Bobby B. Goode ($8.80) in the second, followed by Buckwild ($11.60) in the fourth and Sir Jock ($5.80) in the fifth.

The trio of wins gave Romans five through the first four days of the 21-day meet and lifted him into the top spot in the race for “leading trainer” honors.

But the crowning achievement of the day came at Santa Anita when Louisvillian Frank Jones Jr.’s homebred Tapitsfly won the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf under Robby Albarado.

The victory by Tapitsfly, Romans’ only horse in the 2009 World Championships, was Romans’ first Breeders’ Cup win from seven starters.. It was the second Breeders’ Cup victory for Albarado, who won the 2007 Classic on “Horse of the Year” Curlin.

Albarado nearly doubled up in the next race, the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI), finishing second on Beautician for Churchill Downs-based trainer Ken McPeek.

Baldemar Bahena, assistant to Romans, said that Tapitsfly was scheduled to return to Churchill Downs on Sunday.
 
FUND ESTABLISHED TO ASSIST INJURED RIDER BRIMO – Cindy Werner, wife of trainer Ronny Werner, has set up a fund at Fifth Third Bank to assist with the cost of rehabilitation for jockey Julia Brimo who was injured in an Oct. 30 spill at Keeneland.

“They have taken the respirator out and she is breathing on her own,” Cindy Werner said of the 33-year-old Brimo, who remains hospitalized in serious condition at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. “She has some movement in her extremities.”

Brimo’s mount, Golden Stride, clipped heels and feel in the first race on the Polytrack surface at the Lexington track.

“She has been galloping horses for us and rode some for us at Turfway Park,” Cindy Werner said.

Brimo had been a regular fixture at Churchill Downs the past few years as an exercise rider for trainer Mark Casse and among the horses she had galloped here was Sealy Hill, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2007.

Werner said donations to the fund would be accepted at any Fifth Third Bank or can be mailed to Werner at 1116 Flat Rock Road, Louisville, KY 40245.

BARN TALK – Five-time Churchill Downs riding champion Julien Leparoux was the riding star of the first day of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita on Friday with two victories. Leparoux guided She Be Wild to victory in the $2 million Grey Goose Juvenile Fillies (GI) and Informed Decision in the $1 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI). Leparoux also finished third on Forever Together in the $2 million Emirates Airline Filly & Mare Turf (GI),

She Be Wild is trained by Wayne Catalano, who has 22 horses stabled in Barn 42.

Three-time Churchill Downs graded-stakes winner Pure Clan atoned for her last-place showing in last year’s Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf by running a fast-closing second to Midday (GB) for veteran trainer Bob Holthus.

The 1-2 finishers in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, Life Is Sweet and Mushka, both spent time here in the Spring of 2008 in Barn 19 for trainer Bill Mott.

“Mushka spent some time between here and Keeneland after she wintered at Payson Park,” said Kenny McCarthy, Mott’s Churchill Downs assistant. “Life Is Sweet was here after she ran at Keeneland (fourth in the Grade I Ashland), but the owners (Pam and Marty Wygod) saw that she liked the Polytrack and sent her to John Shirreffs in California.”

Former jockey Joe Deegan, who spends the first part of each morning galloping horses at Churchill Downs, picked up a training victory Friday when Pop Tarrt posted a $101.80 upset in the eighth race.

“We have some horses at the High Point Training Center in LaGrange,” Deegan said. “I gallop here until 7:30 and then go out there. We can train as long as we want out there.”

L & M Racing’s Rachel Alexandra, a dominant winner of Churchill Downs’ Golden Rod (GII) and Oaklawn Park’s Martha Washington in her last two starts, will be the odds-on choice when she faces five rivals in Saturday’s $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (Grade II) at Fair Grounds.

If the Hal Wiggins-trained daughter of Medaglia d’Oro wins the 1 1/16-mile race, she will  to emulate 2008 Fair Grounds Oaks winner Proud Spell, who went on to win the $500,000 Kentucky Oaks (GI), America’s premier race for 3-year-old fillies, and earn the Eclipse Award that honored her as America’s finest 3-year-old filly.

Regular rider Calvin Borel will be in the irons aboard Rachel Alexandra, who is the odds-on favorite at odds of 4-5.

Heiligbrodt Stable’s Four Gifts, the Steve Asmussen-trained runner-up to injured stablemate War Echo in the Silverbulletday (GIII) at Fair Grounds, is the second choice at 5-2.  Others in the field include Our Dahlia, African Skies, Flying Spur and War Tigress.

WEST/STARDOM BOUND LIKELY TO STAY WITH FILLIES, TARGET KENTUCKY OAKS – Although she scored a fifth consecutive victory in Grade I stakes competition, last week’s narrow victory by 2008 2-year-old filly champion Stardom Bound in the Santa Anita Oaks (GI) was apparently not enough to keep her on course for a possible run against males in the Santa Anita Derby (GI) and, perhaps, a bid for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI).

Stardom Bound rallied to win the Santa Anita Oaks by a nose, but majority owner IEAH Stable had hoped to see more progress by the gray Tapit filly.  IEAH President Michael Iavarone said Monday the champion would now be pointed toward the Ashland (GI) at Keeneland, and a big run there would likely earn her a shot at the May 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

“We have to think of her welfare and do what’s in her best interest,” said Iavarone. “What we were looking for in the Santa Anita Oaks and what we didn’t see is a leap forward.” 

Third Dawn, the John Sadler-trained Santa Anita Oaks runner-up at odds of 35-1, is also being pointed toward the Ashland Stakes.

OAKS NOTES – Brereton Jones’ Proud Spell, winner of the 2008 Kentucky Oaks, was upset by Superior Storm in her debut as a 4-year-old on Thursday at Oaklawn Park.  The Larry Jones trainee finished second as she could not catch the pacesetting winner over a muddy track. … Rags to Riches, the winner of the 2007 Kentucky Oaks who would later beat eventual ‘Horse of the Year’ Curlin, Hard Spun and other males in the Belmont Stakes (GI), delivered her first foal – a filly by Giant’s Causeway – on Monday at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky.

Jockey Robby Albarado, a finalist for last year's Eclipse Award as America's leading jockey who ranks seventh among the all-time riding leaders at Churchill Downs, earned his first "leading rider" title under the historic Twin Spires as the home of the Kentucky Derby wrapped up its 52-day Spring Meet on Sunday, July 6. 

Trainer Tom Amoss won two races on the meet's closing day to nail down his second title of leading trainer, and Ken and Sarah Ramsey continued their assault on the Churchill Downs record book as the Nicholasville, Ky., couple won a record 13th "leading owner" crown. 

Albarado, 34, ended the meet with 73 victories. The highlight was clearly his victory aboard reigning "Horse of the Year" Curlin in the $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) on June 14, but Albarado said earning his first "leading rider" crown since his arrival at Churchill Downs in 1996 was special. 

"It means a lot," Albarado said. "I know I'm at a point in my career where ‘leading rider' titles probably won't make a difference in my business that I've established, but it was one of my own personal goals, and I'm glad I got it accomplished here at Churchill." 

Albarado won his meet-leading 73 races from 287 mounts, a significantly smaller total than those of runner-up Miguel Mena, who won 65 races from 364 mounts. He is generally considered to be more selective in regard to the quality of the mounts he selects, but Albarado said his first championship meet belies that assumption. 

"I've been injured quite a few times, so I've got to be a little more selective," he said. "A lot of trainers think I don't give 100 percent on all of the horses, but I do. I've won $5,000 claiming races here this meet - I've won them all in all different areas of it. So it kind of instills a little confidence in the trainers also that I can ride seven or eight a day and make it happen." 

Albarado now has 753 career victories at Churchill Downs. Julien Leparoux, the riding leader in the 2007 Spring Meet, finished third with 56 victories and was followed by Calvin Borel (52), Jamie Theriot (48) and Shaun Bridgmohan (44). Six of Albarado's victories came in stakes competition, including a victory aboard Einstein in the $500,000-added Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) on Kentucky Derby Day.

The New Orleans-born Amoss opened the meet on a hot streak and closed with a rush to collect his second "leading trainer" crown - and his first outright title. He had previously tied with Dale Romans for the Spring Meet title in 2002. Amoss' stable collected 35 victories from 87 starts - a 40 percent win rate for a barn in which 72 percent of its starters finished in the top three in their races. 

"We caught fire and we were able to keep it going all meet, which is truly a credit to everybody in the barn," Amoss said by telephone. "I've got probably five managerial people that have been with me for more than 15 years each, and this is a proud moment for all of us." 

Amoss wrapped up the meet with victories by Alfred Kent ($4) in the fifth race and Our Dancer ($7) in the 10th. The highlight of the Spring Meet for Amoss was a victory in the $125,000 Aristides (GIII) with Maggi Moss' Indian Chant. 

"This is a special feeling," said Amoss. "This is a prestigious meet. Not to take anything away from any of the other titles we've won, but this is big. It's really important to us and there's a great deal of satisfaction amongst everybody." 

The strong closing day performance by Amoss allowed him to pull away from runner-up Steve Asmussen, the 2007 Spring Meet leader who finished with 30 victories. Ken McPeek was next with 26 wins. 

The "leading owners" title for Ken and Sarah Ramsey was their record 13th overall and their seventh Spring Meet crown. They earned their first Churchill Downs Spring Meet title in 2000 and have taken seven of the nine spring titles since. The latest title allowed the Ramseys to tie legendary Calumet Farm's record for the most Spring Meet "leading owner" crowns. 

"Did you notice how long we're delaying leaving the winner's circle?" asked a beaming Ken Ramsey in special winner's circle ceremony. "It never gets old." 

Sarah Ramsey accompanied her husband to the winner's circle ceremony. Mrs. Ramsey was in a wheelchair as she made her first appearance at Churchill Downs since she suffered a stroke early last year. "She told me that if we won another ‘leading owner' title that she'd come to the track with me," Ken Ramsey said. 

The Ramseys horses finished with a record of 20-11-17 in 75 starts, which reflects a winning rate of 27 percent and 64 percent of their horses recorded top-three finishes. Maggi Moss, the leading owner in the 2007 Spring Meet, finished second with 15 wins while Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein were third with 10 victories. 

The 2008 Spring Meet got off of to a memorable, if bittersweet, start with a dominant 4 ¾-length victory by IEAH Stable and Paul Pompa Jr.'s Big Brown in the 134th running of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI). The Derby victory was the third for jockey Kent Desormeaux and the first for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. But the day was marred by a fatal injury suffered by Fox Hill Farm's filly Eight Belles well past the finish of the "Run for the Roses." A crowd of 157,770 witnessed the Derby - the second-largest attendance in the history of the race. 

One day earlier Brereton C. Jones' Proud Spell scored an emphatic five-length victory in the 134th running of the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks. Kentucky native J. Larry Jones scored his first Oaks victory with the daughter of Proud Citizen, who was ridden by Gabriel Saez. Despite heavy rain that fell throughout the afternoon, a crowd of 100,046 attended the Oaks, which marked the 10th time in 11 years that Kentucky Oaks attendance had topped the 100,000 mark. 

Competing with those spectacular races for the honor of meet highlight was the 27th and richest running of the $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) for 3-year-olds and up. Reigning "Horse of the Year" Curlin cruised to an easy 4 ¼-length victory under Albarado in his first race since a victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup (GI) in March. Einstein finished second on the dirt in the Stephen Foster, and returned to finish second to Thorn Song in the $200,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII) on July 4. Other notable stakes efforts included wins in the Crown Royal American Turf (GIII) and Jefferson Cup (GII) by the 3-year-old turf start Tizdejavu, the meet's only two-time stakes winner; Intangaroo, who notched an upset in the Grade I Humana Distaff on Kentucky Derby Day; Pure Clan in the Regret (GIII); Dreaming of Anna in the Early Times Mint Julep (GIII); Pyro in the Northern Dancer (GIII); Hystericalady in the Fleur de Lis (GII); Ginger Punch in the Louisville Stakes (GII); Elite Squadron in the Louisville Stakes (GII); Lattice in the Louisville Handicap (GIII); Acoma in the Dogwood; Say You Will in the Locust Grove (GIII); Garden District in the Debutante (GIII); and Screen Your Friend in the Bashford Manor (GIII).

Churchill Downs' 26-day Fall Meet is scheduled for Oct, 26-November 29.

A field of 12 three-year-old fillies, headed by Grade I winners Country Star, Little Belle and Golden Doc A as well as possible Kentucky Derby starter Eight Belles, was entered Tuesday for Friday’s 134th running of the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

In addition to the Grade I winners, five other graded stakes winners are in the field for the Oaks on a Friday card that features five other stakes races, of which four are graded. First post time for the 11-race card is 11 a.m. (EDT) with the Oaks scheduled to run at 5:45 p.m.

Stonerside Stable’s Country Star, trained by Hall of Famer and two-time Kentucky Oaks winner Bobby Frankel, won the Grade I Darley Alcibiades and Hollywood Starlet to close out 2007. In her lone 2008 start, Country Star finished fifth in the Ashland Stakes (GI) at Keeneland. Rafael Bejarano, who was in the saddle for the Grade I victories, has the call Friday and will break from post position six.

Darley Stable’s Little Belle, winner of the Ashland in her most recent start, brings a three-race win streak into the Oaks. Rajiv Maragh, who has been aboard for three victories, will ride Friday and break from post position seven.

Ron McCauley’s Golden Doc A took the Grade I Las Virgenes at Santa Anita in February and followed that effort with runner-up finishes in the Santa Anita Oaks (GI) and Stonerside Beaumont (GII). Kent Desormeaux has the call on Golden Doc A, who will break from post position one.

Rick Porter, who races under Fox Hill Farms, plans to enter Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on Wednesday. Should Eight Belles draw what is deemed as an unfavorable post position, Porter would scratch her out of the Derby and run in the Oaks.

Riding a four-race win streak, Eight Belles will be ridden in the Oaks by Ramon Dominguez. Dominguez has been aboard for victories in the Honeybee (GIII) and Fantasy (GII) at Oaklawn Park. If she runs in the Oaks, Eight Belles will break from post position 12. Eight Belles is the 5-2 morning line favorite.

Other graded stakes winners in the field are Aurora Springs Stable’s Awesome Chic, Cloverleaf Farm’s Bsharpsonata, Brereton Jones’ Proud Spell, Gold Mark Farm’s Elusive Lady and IEAH Stable, Lewis Lakin and Pegasus Holding Group Stable’s Pure Clan.

The field for the 134th Kentucky Oaks, from the rail out, is as follows: Golden Doc A (Desormeaux), Keith Kinmon’s Absolutely Cindy (Julien Leparoux), Awesome Chic (Robby Albarado), Elusive Lady (Eibar Coa), Lloyd DeBruycker’s Rasierra (Jamie Theriot), Country Star, Little Belle, Proud Spell (Edgar Prado), Koolmen Racing Stable’s A to the Croft (Calvin Borel), Bsharpsonata (Eric Camacho), Pure Clan and Eight Belles.

All starters will carry 121 pounds.

Also on Friday’s card is the $300,000-added Louisville Stakes (GII) that features the return to Churchill Downs of Eclipse Award winner Ginger Punch.

Owned by Stronach Stable, Ginger Punch scored the first of five victories in 2007 at Churchill Downs on Derby Day. She culminated the year and clinched older filly and mare honors with a victory in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Distaff (GI) at Monmouth Park. She will carry top weight of 124 pounds and concede 2-6 pounds to her six rivals.

The mile and a sixteenth main track event also attracted West Point Thoroughbreds’ Lear’s Princess, who defeated Kentucky Oaks and Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches in the Grade I Gazelle last September at Belmont Park.

Three Grade III stakes also will be offered: The $150,000-added Alysheba for three-year-olds and up going a mile and a sixteenth on the main track; the $150,000-added Crown Royal American Turf for three-year-olds going a mile and a sixteenth; and the $100,000-added Aegon Turf Sprint for three-year-olds and up going five furlongs.

The Edgewood, a $150,000-added event for three-year-old fillies going a mile and a sixteenth on the turf, is the sixth stakes race of the day.

Two fillies headed for a showdown in Saturday’s Ashland Stakes (Grade I) at Keeneland – Brereton Jones’ Proud Spell and Stonerside Stable’s Country Star – stood as the top two choices in Pool 3 of Churchill Downs’ 2008 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager as the four-day betting pool reached its halfway point.

Proud Spell, a daughter of Proud Citizen who handed 2-year-old filly champion Indian Blessing her first career loss in the Fair Grounds Oaks (GII), and Country Star, an Empire Maker filly with Grade I victories in Keeneland’s Darley Alcibiades and the Hollywood Starlet, could barely be separated in the closely-matched group at the top of the roster of 24 wagering interests in Pool 3. Proud Spell stood at odds of 7-2 at the end of Friday’s betting and was a narrow favorite over Country Star, who was a 5-1 risk.

The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager offers fans the opportunity to bet on contenders for the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI) on May 2 at Churchill Downs at odds that could be greater than those they would receive on the day of the race. Fans across North America had wagered $9,335 through the first two days of Pool. Wagering on the pool is set to resume at noon (all times EDT) on Saturday, April 5, and betting in Pool 3 will close on Sunday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m.

The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager is a minimum $2 wager and a win bet only. There are no refunds in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager.

Friday’s betting saw a surge in support for Shes All Eltish, the winner of last week’s Bonnie Miss (GII) at Gulfstream Park. Odds on Shes All Eltish dipped from 17-1 to 7-1 in Friday’s betting, and she was a narrow third choice over the mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old fillies other than the 23 individual horses in Pool 3. The “all others” wager was the 8-1 fourth choice at the pool’s midway point, and was followed by Eight Belles at 10-1 and Bsharpsonata and Pure Clan, who closed at odds of 13-1.

It will be a busy weekend for fillies among the betting interests in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager. Proud Spell, Country Star and Bsharpsonata are among six Pool 3 wagering fillies that will compete in Saturday’s Ashland, while Eight Belles, Pure Clan and French Kiss will run in Sunday’s $250,000 Fantasy (GII) at Oaklawn Park.

Real time odds on Pool 3 of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager are available on the official Kentucky Oaks Web site at www.kentuckyoaks.com.

2008 KENTUCKY OAKS FUTURE WAGER POOL 3

1 - A to the Croft: morning line 30-1; 11-1 after day 1; 23-1 after day 2
2 - Absolutely Cindy: morning line 15-1; 11-1 after day 1; 17-1 after day 2
3 - African Violet*: morning line 30-1; 47-1 after day 1; 40-1 after day 2
4 - Ariege*: morning line 15-1; 34-1 after day 1; 26-1 after day 2
5 - Armonk*: morning line 20-1; 28-1 after day 1; 63-1 after day 2
6 - Awesome Chic*: morning line 20-1; 22-1 after day 1; 37-1 after day 2
7 - Bsharpsonata: morning line 12-1; 11-1 after day 1; 13-1 after day 2
8 - Country Star: morning line 5-1; 6-1 after day 1; 5-1 after day 2
9 - Eight Belles: morning line 8-1; 7-1 after day 1; 10-1 after day 2
10 - Elusive Lady*: morning line 20-1; 36-1 after day 1; 51-1 after day 2
11 - French Kiss*: morning line 50-1; 99-1 after day 1; 67-1 after day 2
12 - Gentle Audrey*: morning line 30-1; 99-1 after day 1; 99-1 after day 2
13 - Golden Doc A: morning line 15-1; 18-1 after day 1; 18-1 after day 2
14 - Grace and Power: morning line 30-1; 59-1 after day 1; 54-1 after day 2
15 - Highest Class: morning line 30-1; 82-1 after day 1; 90-1 after day 2
16 - Kadira: morning line 50-1; 73-1 after day 1; 68-1 after day 2
17 - Little Belle*: morning line 30-1; 30-1 after day 1; 50-1 after day 2
18 - My Baby Baby: morning line 50-1; 77-1 after day 1; 99-1 after day 2
19 - Proud Spell: morning line 4-1; 6-1 after day 1; 7-2 after day 2
20 - Pure Clan: morning line 8-1; 13-1 after day 1; 13-1 after day 2
21 - Robbie's Gal*: morning line 50-1; 67-1 after day 1; 68-1 after day 2
22 - Shes All Eltish: morning line 30-1; 17-1 after day 1; 7-1 after day 2
23 - Valentine Fever*: morning line 50-1; 99-1 after day 1; 99-1 after day 2
24 - Mutuel field "All Others:" morning line 15-1; 6-1 after day 1; 8-1 after day 2

Morning Line odds by Mike Battaglia. (*) - New wagering interest in Pool 3.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2008. The track’s 2008 Spring Meet begins on April 26. Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record six times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.