Brass Hat

MUSKETIER READY FOR TOP EFFORT IN LOUISVILLE HANDICAP – It’s scarce to find a multiple graded stakes-winning, un-gelded horse still competing at age 9, let alone in top company, but Musketier-GER, fresh off back-to-back wins in the Elkhorn (GII) at Keeneland, has been installed as the 122-pound high weight and 9-5 favorite for Saturday’s 74^th running of the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs.  

The German-bred horse has been competing on the racetrack for seven years. Heck, he’s been around so long that gas prices averaged $1.87 when he made his Aug. 3, 2004 debut at Deauville in France. One might think that such a veteran would have lost a step; however, trainer Roger Attfield believes his horse is in top form.

“I haven’t had a chance to take a long look at the field yet,” said Attfield, who will also start Simmard in the Louisville Handicap. “But I know my horse (Musketier) is healthy and well and he’s been training very nicely for this race.”

Jesus Castanon, who rode Shackleford to a Preakness (GI) victory last week, will be aboard Musketier for the first time Saturday afternoon.

“His rider from last time (John Velazquez) was unavailable and I needed to find another rider,” Attfield said. “I’ve known Dennis Cooper (Castanon’s agent) for a long time and I know Castanon is a good jockey. We’ve had success together before and so I decided to go with him again.”

Castanon, who has ridden four mounts to victory at the meet, is well aware of Musketier’s class and ability.

“I don’t know a whole lot about the horse, but I know he’s really good,” Castanon said.

Castanon’s agent is also looking forward to Saturday’s race as the Louisville Handicap has been on his radar for some time.

“There aren’t too many races (1 ½ miles on turf) for a horse like that and I thought he might run in this one,” Cooper said. “I called Roger (Attfield) a long time ago and asked about getting this mount. He’s a great horse and we’re ready to roll.”

PADDY O’PRADO’S CONNECTIONS LOOK TO REPEAT SUCCESS WITH O’PRADO AGAIN – Just days after celebrating a win in the Dixie (GII) at Pimlico on the Preakness undercard, the connections of Paddy O’Prado were forced to retire their Grade I-winning colt after x-rays revealed a sesamoid injury. Although Paddy O’Prado’s retirement is a major blow to the barn, the duo of Donegal Racing and Dale Romans has been encouraged by the progress of a pair of promising 2-year-old colts.  

One of the colts, O’Prado Again, is named in honor of Paddy O’Prado. The $350,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase descends from the same family as First Samurai, winner of the Champagne Stakes (GI) and Hopeful Stakes (GI) as a 2-year-old in 2005. Romans is excited about O’Prado Again’s abilities and thinks the colt will make his debut before meet’s end.

“He’s a really nice horse,” Romans said. “I like him a lot.”

The son of El Prado, out of the Pulpit mare Leh She Run, might have a liking for the turf much like his namesake, who recorded all five of his wins on the lawn.

“He’s one that I think will be better on the grass,” Romans said.

The other 2-year-old is Dullahan, a half-brother to 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. Jerry Crawford of Donegal Racing purchased the colt at the Keeneland September sale for $250,000.

Romans, who worked Dullahan five furlongs from the gate Wednesday in 1:02.60 on a fast Churchill Downs track, is looking forward to seeing the colt run in the afternoon.

“He’s a good one,” Romans said. “He’s definitely one to watch.”

RETIRED BRASS HAT TO BE HONORED SATURDAY AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Fred Bradley’s homebred Brass Hat – one of the greatest rags-to-riches stars in the history of Kentucky racing – will get a fond farewell from fans and the people closest to him during a Saturday ceremony at Churchill Downs.

            Churchill Downs’ farewell to Brass Hat is scheduled after Saturday’s fifth race, which is set for a post time of 2:55 p.m. (Eastern).  Brass Hat will make the trip to the Churchill Downs paddock with the horses that will run in the fifth, and the veteran star will remain in the paddock while the race is run.  The ceremony honoring Brass Hat and his connections will be conducted in the winner’s circle following the race.

            Trainer Buff Bradley, the owner/breeder’s son, announced this week that the 10-year-old gelded son of Prized would head into retirement.  The younger Bradley described Brass Hat on Friday as a “blue collar horse” who had become a hero and favorite to many racing fans.  Bradley said Brass Hat had been training well for a campaign at 10, but he decided it was time for Brass Hat to head back to the family’s farm near Frankfort.

            “He still really has the want-to,” Bradley said.  “If he was ready to run in the Louisville Handicap tomorrow, he’d be in the starting gate.  But he’s not ready and I thought it would just take too much time to get him ready to compete this year.”

            The Bradleys could never be accused of being overly ambitious with Brass Hat, who started his career as a 3-year-old in a race for $15,000 claiming horses on Jan. 29, 2004 at Turfway Park.  He finished second that day at odds of 32-1, but two starts later scored his first career victory in a 38-1 upset in Turfway’s $100,000 Rushaway Stakes.  By the end of his first racing season Brass Hat had also collected victories in the Ohio Derby (GII) and Indiana Derby (GII).

            He rebounded successfully from two major injuries during his career to compile a record of 10-8-5 in 40 races with earnings of $2,173,561.  Other highlights included victories at five in the Donn Handicap (GI) at Gulfstream Park and the New Orleans Handicap (GII) at Fair Grounds.  Brass Hat also won the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap in 2007 and the 2005 Prairie Bayou at Turfway Park.  He shifted almost exclusively to the grass late in his career and scored emotional victories for the Bradleys in Churchill Downs’ Louisville Handicap (GIII) in 2009 and a major win as a 9-year-old in last year’s Sycamore (GIII) at Keeneland. 

            His numbers would be even more glittering had Brass Hat not been disqualified from a runner-up finish in the 2007 running of the $5 million Dubai World Cup (GI) at Nad Al Sheba.  He was disqualified after that race because of a medication violation on that international journey that the younger Bradley disputes to this day. 

          “It will be an emotional day, but no more emotional than watching him any other day,” Bradley said of his veteran star’s Saturday farewell.  “It has been so special to watch and be around this horse, especially in later years when he won the Louisville Handicap here and won the Sycamore at Keeneland last year at nine.  All my barn crew is going to walk over to the paddock with him, so I’ll get to share the moment with them.”

BARN TALK – Trainer Dale Romans has confirmed that Jerry Romans’ Sassy Image will be entered in Monday’s 8^th running of the Winning Colors (GIII). The 4-year-old daughter of Broken Vow captured the Humana Distaff (GI) here in her last start as part of the Kentucky Derby (GI) undercard. …

            Romans galloped Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford on Friday at 9:30 a.m. and said he’d firm the colt’s travel plans to New York on Friday afternoon. “It looks like he’ll leave here for Belmont on Saturday or Sunday and I need to decide if he’ll go by plane or van.” …

Romans couldn’t help but chuckle when he received a text message from a friend that included a picture of a congratulatory sign outside his alma mater, Butler High School, which is located just 3 ½ miles from Churchill Downs in the south end of Louisville. The sign read: Dale Romans: Preakness Winner, Butler Grad. “For four years, all they did was to try and kick me out,” Romans said. “Now that I’ve won the Preakness with Shackleford, they’ve got open arms and they’re showing me love!” …

Robby Albarado won the ninth race Thursday aboard Attractive Ride for trainer Merrill Scherer. The win was Albarado’s 915^th at Churchill Downs and moved him past Larry Melancon (914) for fourth place in career victories under the Twin Spires behind Pat Day (2,482), Calvin Borel (1,046) and Don Brumfield (925). …

After today, two Friday twilight programs (2:45 p.m. ET) remain during the Spring Meet and both include live music after the races in conjunction with the new five-week Paddock Concert Series: Corey Chisel and the Wandering Sons on June 3 and Wax Fang on June 10. “Downs After Dark” night racing with a 6 p.m. ET first post will return in earnest for the final three Fridays of the meet on June 17, June 24 and July 1. …

Nominations close Saturday for the 35^th running of the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles over the Matt Winn Turf Course. Hot Cha Cha won the 2010 Early Times Mint Julep. … 

MEET LEADERS - Shaun Bridgmohan and Corey Lanerie entered Friday’s program tied atop the jockey standings with 15 wins apiece, and were followed by Calvin Borel (12), Julien Leparoux (12), Miguel Mena (11), Jon Court (10) and Kent Desormeaux (10). …

The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (May 19-26) are Lanerie (9-for-33), Mena (8-for-28) and Borel (7-for-33). …

There’s a three-way tie atop the trainer standings with seven wins each between Tom Amoss, Steve Asmussen and Romans. They’re followed by Eddie Kenneally (5), Steve Margolis (5), Bob Baffert (4), Jim Baker (4), Greg Foley (4), Tim Glyshaw (4), Wayne Lukas (4), Mike Maker (4), Merrill Scherer (4) and Ian Wilkes (4). … 

Lukas’ clients, Robert C. Baker and William L. Mack, top the owner standings with four winners. They collected win No. 4 in Thursday’s fourth race when Manhattan Man collected his second win of the Spring Meet. The other two-time winning-horses this season are Distorted Love, She’s an Alpha Gam, Shot of Kela and Valid Citizen. …

WORK TAB – Carl R. Moore Management LLC’s Chamberlain Bridge, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GII) at Churchill Downs in November, worked four furlongs over a good Churchill Downs track on Friday morning in :49.80 for trainer Bret Calhoun. …

            Right Time Racing LLC’s two Kentucky Oaks (GI) starters Bouquet Booth and Street Storm both worked four furlongs over a good track for trainer Steve Margolis in :49.20 after the renovation break. …

            Tom McCarthy’s multiple GI-winner General Quarters went to the track shortly after the renovation break. The 5-year-old gray son of Sky Mesa worked five furlongs in 1:03.20 over a good track.

WEATHER - After a tumultuous week of rain and severe weather, the National Weather Service forecast for Louisville calls for clearing and sunny skies through Memorial Day: Friday, cloudy, 67; Saturday, partly sunny, 83; Sunday, sunny, 90; and Monday, sunny, 91.

CLARK WINNER GIANT OAK HEADING TO FLORIDA ON SUNDAY – Drew Coontz, assistant to trainer Chris Block, was all smiles Saturday morning a day after Giant Oak brought the month of November to a successful close for the barn.

“I’m on Cloud Nine,” Coontz said. “It’s like winning the (Kentucky) Oaks and (Kentucky) Derby.”

Giant Oak’s victory in the Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) via disqualification of Successful Dan came on the heels of a victory the day before in the Falls City Handicap (GII) by the Block-trained Dundalk Dust.

“He is doing great this morning and he will leave for Ocala tomorrow morning for some time off,” Coontz said of Giant Oak, who gave the Illinois-based Block stable its third stakes victory of the meet. Askbut I Won’ttell had won the Cardinal (GIII) on Nov. 7.

“When I came here with Giant Oak (in early November before the Breeders’ Cup), I had two horses waiting for me,” Coontz said. “One was Askbut I Won’ttell and the other horse (Wulfgar) ran on the Friday night (Nov. 19) program and got claimed.”

The only Block runner that shipped in for a stake and did not take home a major check was Mister Marti Gras, who finished fifth in the Commonwealth Turf (GIII) on Nov. 13.

The Block runners shared the west end of Barn 48 with trainer Tony Reinstedler’s stable.

This was the spot to be in,” Coontz said. “We did great and Tony had four winners and two seconds from six starters. This was the right barn.”

While Coontz and Company were floating on Cloud Nine, a few barns away trainer David Fawkes was getting ready to drive Duke of Mischief back to South Florida after the colt was elevated to fifth on the disqualification of Demarcation.

Duke of Mischief pressed the pressed from the outside No. 11 post position and was with the leaders until things got tight in the upper stretch.

“I thought he was maybe a little too close early, but then I saw :49 (:48.92) for the half-mile and I thought we might be all right,” Fawkes said. “But then he got in tight in the stretch and he just doesn’t like to be in a spot like that.”

Fawkes said Duke of Mischief came out of the race fine and would get some time off before possibly pointing to the Sunshine Millions at the end of January or possibly a return to the grass.

Finishing right behind Duke of Mischief was Brass Hat, who was trying to become the fifth 9-year-old to win a Grade I race.

“That was just a tough field yesterday,” trainer Buff Bradley said. “He had a safe trip and came back fine. He will take a couple of months off for a vacation and if he stays healthy we would look at the Elkhorn at Keeneland in late April to start him back.”

Meanwhile, trainer Paul McGee was wondering what might have after seeing both Demarcation and Dubious Miss with the leaders in upper stretch only to have the roof cave in when Demarcation caused the inference that led to his being placed last by the stewards.

“I really don’t know what they were doing playing bumper cars at the three-sixteenths pole,” McGee said.

Jockey) Robby (Albarado) said he felt Dubious Miss was getting ready to explode and he was getting ready to set him down and then he gets walloped … walloped by the home team.”

McGee said both horses came out of the race in good order.

“I might give Demarcation some time off in Ocala,” McGee said, “but he will eventually go to the Fair Grounds, where Dubious Miss will be.”

TODAY’S POTENTIAL STARS FOLLOWING IN SOME FANCY FOOTSTEPS -- Today’s sixth annual “Stars of Tomorrow II” program is entirely devoted to rising 2-year-old stars who have aspirations of trail-blazing their way to next year’s Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks

In just five years of existence, Stars of Tomorrow has been the launching pad for 17 Grade I winners, including Super Saver ($1,899,766), who would use a win in last year’s Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club as a springboard to Kentucky Derby 136 glory, plus millionaires Rachel Alexandra ($3,506,730), Lawyer Ron ($2,790,008), Court Vision ($2,591,521), Pure Clan ($1,987,498), Macho Again ($1,825,767), Swift Temper ($1,296,688) and Any Given Saturday ($1,083,533).

In addition to Super Saver, last year’s “Stars of Tomorrow” program featured future stars Fly Down ($1,167,070) and First Dude ($860,160), who finished one-two in a 1 1/16-mile maiden race; Stately Victor ($613,612), who would go on to win the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass; Thiskyhasnolimit ($547,532), the runner-up in the Iowa (GIII) and Indiana (GII) Derbies; and No Such Word ($503,213), who has won five of her nine 2010 starts going into today’s Gazelle (GI at Aqueduct), including the Monmouth Oaks (GIII).

MINE THAT BIRD TO GET CHURCHILL DOWNS SENDOFF SUNDAY – Sunday will be a day of celebration as Churchill Downs will honor 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) winner Mine That Bird, who will be leaving on Monday on a journey home to New Mexico.

Owned by the Double Eagle Ranch of Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach’s Buena Suerte Equine, Mine That Bird will walk over with horses for Sunday’s seventh race (post time 3:41 p.m. ET). The 4-year-old gelding will remain in the paddock during the race and then walk to the winner’s circle for his farewell ceremony before returning to Barn 44.

Before Mine That Bird makes his walk to the paddock wearing a winner’s blanket with the Kentucky Derby 135 logo, there will be other festivities.

Following the second race (1:08 p.m. post time) in the winner’s circle, Allen and Dr. Blach will be interviewed in the winner’s circle by Churchill Downs Vice President of Communications John Asher. After the third race (1:38 p.m. post time) Asher will interview former trainer Chip Woolley.

There will be a table in the paddock with a farewell poster for guests to sign along with 1,000 Mine That Bird buttons that will be handed out.

Mine That Bird, who paid $103.20 for the second-highest Kentucky Derby payoff in the race’s 136 years, was retired from racing following a 10th-place finish in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI) on Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs. He completed his racing career with a record of 5-2-2 in 18 races with earnings of $2,228,637.

BARN TALK – Not so fast on handing the Fall Meet’s leading rider title to Julien Leparoux. Robby Albarado rode three winners on Friday to move within two victories of Leparoux with two racing days left in the meet. Leparoux’s margin stands at 25-23 with Leparoux slated to ride 11 races and Albarado all 12. Both riders have 10 mounts Sunday. Also moving into contention with three wins Friday was Shaun Bridgmohan, who now has 20 victories. He has nine mounts today and seven on Sunday. …

Steve Asmussen maintains a comfortable five-victory lead in his bid for a fourth consecutive leading trainer title. This would be Asmussen’s fifth Fall Meet title and ninth overall. …

Ken and Sarah Ramsey also maintain a nice cushion as they pursue their fourth consecutive Fall Meet leading owner title. The Ramseys have sent out six winners, three more than closest pursuer Penny Lauer. The Ramseys have won 16 leading owner titles (eight fall, eight spring) with 15 of them being outright crowns.

WORK TAB – Due Date, sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GII), worked six furlongs in 1:16.20 for trainer Steve Margolis.

BREEDERS’ CUP DIRT MILE 1-2 FINISHERS TOP CLARK NOMINEES – Dakota Phone and Morning Line, who finished a head apart in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI), top a list of 30 nominees to the 136th running of the $500,000 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI).

The 1 1/8-mile main track test is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 26. Weights for the race will be announced next Friday, Nov. 19.

The roster of Clark nominees also includes three horses that competed in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI): Etched (sixth), First Dude (eighth) and Pleasant Prince (ninth).

Top names among the Clark nominees that did not compete in the Breeders’ Cup include Apart, winner of Churchill Downs’ Ack Ack Handicap (GIII), Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (GII) winner Redding Colliery and Fayette (GII) winner Successful Dan.

Distinctive Dixie, winner of the Chilukki (GII) here on Nov. 6, heads a list of 15 fillies and mares nominated to the 95th running of the $150,000-added Falls City Handicap (GII) slated for Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25. Weights for the Falls City, to be run at 1 1/8 miles on the main track, also will be announced next Friday.

Astrology and Dancinginherdreams, the winners of the two opening-day stakes on Oct. 31 on the “Stars of Tomorrow I” card, top the nominees for the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) and Golden Rod (GII), respectively, to be run on Saturday, Nov. 27.

Astrology, winner of the Iroquois (GIII), heads a list of 30 juveniles nominated to the 84th running of the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Last year’s race was won by Super Saver, who came back to win Kentucky Derby 136 in May.

Dancinginherdreams, a 5 ¼-length winner of the Pocahontas (GII), leads the list of 22 nominees for the 67th running of the $150,000-added Golden Rod. Also among the nominees is Aide, a 19 ¾-length allowance winner here on Oct. 31.

YANKEE FOURTUNE RIGHT AT HOME ON THE GRASS – A year ago, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin was not too high on the prospects of a 2-year-old named Yankee Fourtune.

The son of Yankee Gentleman had made his debut on Sept. 26 at Monmouth Park on the dirt and ran seventh in a field of 12, beaten 14 ¼ lengths.

“He didn’t run well and we just gave him time off to mature,” McLaughlin said.

When Yankee Fourtune resurfaced this July at Belmont Park, it was on the grass and for a $50,000 claiming price.

“We had no idea what we had,” McLaughlin said after Yankee Fourtune scored by 4 ¾ lengths. “He had trained well before he ran the first time. We thought he’d be a little better on turf and it turned out to be a great decision. He’ll never run for $50,000 again.”

From that maiden score, Yankee Fourtune took two races at Saratoga by a combined 10 ¾ lengths and then scored as the even-money favorite by 2 ¼ lengths in wire-to-wire fashion in the Hawthorne Derby (Grade III).

Yankee Fourtune brought his four-race win streak to Churchill Downs on Tuesday night in preparation for Saturday’s $100,000-added Commonwealth Turf (GIII). Victor Santiago has the mount Saturday on Yankee Fourtune, who will break from post position 11 in the field of 13 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

“Victor likes him and suits him well and he’s won four straight on him,” McLaughlin said.

All four of Yankee Fourtune’s victories have come over firm ground and there is a 30 percent chance of rain in Louisville on Saturday.

“A yielding course would be a concern,” said McLaughlin, who has won six stakes at Churchill Downs including the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) with Invasor (ARG). “I don’t like the uncertainty of a yielding course.”

BRASS HAT GEARS UP FOR ANOTHER CLARK HANDICAP TRY – Trainer Buff Bradley’s back was aching Friday morning and he was eagerly in search of relief.

He got it a little after 8:30.

“Watching him work like that makes me feel better,” Bradley said after his father’s Brass Hat worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 under Calvin Borel over a fast track for the second fastest of 27 works at the distance. “I like it when Calvin comes back smiling.”

The 9-year-old Brass Hat was working for the first time since winning the Sycamore (GIII) at Keeneland on Oct. 21. The victory improved Brass Hat’s career record to 10-8-5 in 39 races for earnings of $2,167,92.

The Sycamore came on the turf at 1 ½ miles, but Bradley is looking at the Nov. 26 Clark Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the main track as the next target for Brass Hat.

Calvin has always been telling me to run him back on the dirt,” Bradley said. “This is his home track and if the race was not here, we would not think about it. He was hitting the ground good this morning and Calvin never moved on him.”

Brass Hat tried the dirt once this year, finishing eighth in the Cornhusker Handicap (GII) at Prairie Meadows in June.

“Calvin said the dirt at Prairie Meadows was not the same (as it is here),” Bradley said.

Brass Hat ran in the 2007 Clark, finishing second to A.P. Arrow. His most recent victory on the dirt, which came six dirt starts back, came in the 2007 Massachusetts Handicap and the most recent of his four graded stakes victories on dirt came in the Donn Handicap (GI) in 2006.

Bradley plans to work Brass Hat again next week as the final prep for the Clark, which was won last year by 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame.

BARN TALK – Pretty soon, Sue Lorimer may find herself on permanent resident status in Kentucky. An assistant to trainer Roger Attfield, Lorimer is back in Kentucky for the fifth time in six weeks, this
time to saddle Don Cavallo in Saturday’s Commonwealth Turf. The journeys from Woodbine began in early October when Lorimer brought Society’s Chairman and Stormy Rush to Keeneland for stakes engagements Oct. 9-10. She returned to Canada and then came back to Lexington for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (GI) with Perfect Shirl on Oct. 16. The following weekend had Lorimer returning to Keeneland with Musketier (GER) for the Sycamore (GIII) on Oct. 21 and No Explaining (IRE) for the Pin Oak Valley View (GIII) on Oct. 22. Last week, Lorimer brought Society’s Chairman and Miss Keller (IRE) to Churchill Downs for Breeders’ Cup appearances, returned to Toronto and then came back Thursday morning with Don Cavallo. “I’m flying home Sunday to pack the car for Florida,” Lorimer said, adding with a laugh, “At least that’s the plan for now.” …

Asphalt’s winning time of 1:43.10 for 1 1/16 miles on the turf Thursday was the fastest clocking of the meet at the distance. … Thursday’s card produced the largest Pick 3 and Pick 4 payoffs of the meet through its first eight days. The Pick 3 that began in the fifth race returned $5,874.20 and the Pick 4 beginning in the fourth race returned $108,337.80. Both payoffs were for $2 tickets.

ATTA BOY ROY WORKS HALF IN :48 UNDER BOREL – R.E.V. Racing’s Atta Boy Roy, winner of the Churchill Downs (GII) here on Kentucky Derby Day, worked a half-mile in :48 over a fast track after the renovation break under jockey Calvin Borel. The move was third fastest of 33 at the distance on a cool, clear Friday morning.

“Calvin was very happy with him,” trainer Valorie Lund said. “He said, ‘He’s back in his house.’ He loves the track here.”

Lund brought Atta Boy Roy to Churchill Downs from the nearby Trackside Training Center, where the 5-year-old has been stabled since April.

“I like it at Trackside, because it is peaceful and quiet,” Lund said. “They (Churchill Downs) said I could come over at any time, but I just like it there. Now he will come back to work next Saturday and then I will bring him over Monday or Tuesday of Breeders’ Cup week.”

A $4,500 purchase, the Washington-bred Atta Boy Roy’s road to the Breeders’ Cup actually began last year.

“We had planned to run him in the Breeders’ Cup last year at Santa Anita and we took him out there and ran him (in the Ancient Title) and he hated the Polytrack,” Lund said. “So, we said, ‘No Breeders’ Cup for us this year’ and started planning for next year.”

After a getting a break over the winter, the wheels were put in motion for the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs.

“A lot of people were saying I was making a huge mistake. There was tremendous risk and a lot of naysayers,” said Lund, who has 12 horses stabled at Turf Paradise in addition to “Roy” and two 2-year-olds at Trackside. “But the horse is that good and they had to give him a chance. I would have gotten down on my knees and begged to come here.”

Lund’s belief in her horse was validated when he won on Derby Day.

“I think everybody I saw that day got a hug,” Lund said with a laugh. “It was tremendous relief and verified that we had made the right decision.”

Since his victory in the Churchill Downs, Atta Boy Roy finished second in the Aristides (GIII) here when he broke in the air, finished second in the Iowa Sprint Handicap and won the Remington Park Sprint Championship before finishing eighth in the Woodford (GIII) on grass two weeks ago at Keeneland.

“We have been focusing for the one race and getting him there,” Lund said of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. “There have been no bumps in the road and everything has gone well.”

Atta Boy Roy is one of five confirmed mounts for Borel in the Breeders’ Cup. Other mounts for Borel, whose lone Breeders’ Cup victory came here in 2006 in the Juvenile on Street Sense, are A.U. Miner (Marathon), Tell a Kelly (Juvenile Fillies), Hurricane Ike (Dirt Mile) and Seeking the Title (Ladies’ Classic).

PADDY O’PRADO HEADED TO BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC – It appears that trainer Dale Romans will now have two runners in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) to be run Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs.

Donald Dizney’s Preakness (GI) runner-up First Dude, who has hit the board in five Grade I races this year, already was penciled in for the Classic and on Thursday, the ownership of Paddy O’Prado opted for the Classic over the Emirates’ Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI) or the Nov. 27 Japan Cup (GI).

“My personal belief is his chances of hitting the board were about the same in either race,” Jerry Crawford, managing partner of Donegal Racing, told the Des Moines (Iowa) Register. “We’re not going to short-change Paddy O’Prado by playing it safe. We’re going to swing for the fences.”

Paddy O’Prado has run the Classic distance of 1 ¼ miles before on the main track here, finishing third in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI). After running sixth in the Preakness (GI), Paddy O’Prado returned to the grass and reeled off victories in the Colonial Turf Cup (GII), Virginia Derby (GII) and the Secretariat (GI) before running second in the Turf Classic Invitational (GI) in his first test against older horses.

Asked if there was a chance that Paddy O’Prado would be pre-entered in both the Classic and the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Monday, Romans said, “I don’t think so.”

Both horses are scheduled to work at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

BRASS HAT JUST KEEPS ROLLING ALONG FOR BRADLEY – When Buff Bradley started Brass Hat for the first time on a snowy night at Turfway Park in January 2004, it was for a $15,000 claiming tag.

“I figured he’d be a useful horse,” Bradley said after Brass Hat ran second. “I just didn’t know how useful.”

Fast forward to Thursday at Keeneland when Brass Hat rallied from last in the field of 12 to win the 1 ½-mile $100,000 Sycamore (GIII) on turf by a length under Calvin Borel.

“He was 20 lengths out of it at one point in the race,” said Bradley, who trains the 9-year-old gelding for his father Fred Bradley. “I had to watch the replay to believe it. It never looked like he would get there. When he got back to the barn, he didn’t take a deep breath.

The reception from the fans in the grandstand after the race was tremendous. (Keeneland president) Nick Nicholson said he had not heard one louder. After the presentation (on the turf course) we took him back to the regular winner’s circle for another picture with friends and family. Calvin jumped back on him bareback.”

For Brass Hat, who has turned into a turf marathon specialist the past three years, the victory improved his record to 39-10-8-5 for earnings of $2,167,921. Brass Hat’s only venture off the turf this year was an eighth-place finish in the Cornhusker Handicap (GII) at Prairie Meadows in June.

“That was not him,” Bradley said. “It was my fault. I trained him hard to get him ready and then shipped him out there in the heat.”

Although there are no distance grass stakes in the condition book for the Churchill Downs fall meeting that begins Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 28, Bradley said Brass Hat could make an appearance here.

“I might run him on the dirt,” Bradley said of Brass Hat, who returned to the family farm in Frankfort on Friday morning. “He is doing so well right now.”

BARN TALK – Vision Racing’s Soundwave, winner of three of four career starts who is being pointed to the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) on Nov. 5, worked six furlongs in company with Frijiana in 1:16.60. Fractions for the work were :14, :27, :39.60, :52 and 1:04.20 with a gallop-out time for seven furlongs in 1:31. Jockey Robby Albarado was aboard. ..

Also working at Churchill Downs was Casa Farms I’s Prince Will I Am, winner of Belmont Park’s Grade I Jamaica Handicap in his most recent start. Trained by Michelle Nihei and pointing to the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI) or the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GIII), Prince Will I Am worked five furlongs in 1:02.20, 16th fastest of 25 at the distance. …

Columbine Stable’s J. B.’s Thunder, winner of the Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (GI) at Keeneland on Oct. 9, worked a half-mile in company in :47 on Friday morning at Keeneland. Fractions for the work were :11.60, :23.60, :35.40 and out five furlongs in 1:00 and six furlongs in 1:14.60. Trained by Al Stall Jr., and a candidate for the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI), J. B.’s Thunder is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs on Wednesday. …

Arriving at Churchill Downs from California shortly after 3 p.m. (EDT) on Friday Breeders’ Cup Sprint hopeful Smiling Tiger, owned by Alan Klein and Philip Lebherz and trained by Jeff Bonde, and owner-trainer Myung Kwon Cho’s Riveting Reason for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

BOREL, ASMUSSEN MAINTAIN SOLID LEADS IN RACE FOR MEET HONORS – With four days to go in the 2010 Spring Meet, Calvin Borel is on track for his first leading rider title for a Spring Meet at Churchill Downs.

Borel, who won an outright Fall Meet title in 1999 and shared Fall honors in 2006 and 2009, has a 44-35 advantage on Corey Lanerie. Borel is named on three mounts Thursday, nine on Friday night’s card and nine on Saturday while Lanerie is named on eight mounts Thursday and Friday and 10 on Saturday.
Asmussen, who swept the training titles at both meets in 2009, has a 22-16 edge on Dale Romans and Tom Amoss. Eyeing his fourth Spring Meet title and eighth overall, Asmussen has two horses entered Thursday, five on Friday and two on Saturday. Romans has three entrants Thursday, seven on Friday and three on Saturday. Amoss has two entrants Thursday and none Friday or Saturday.

Maggi Moss, hoping to secure her second leading owner title, has had eight winners during the meet and has a three-winner advantage over Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, Amerman Racing Stable and WinStar Farm. The 2007 Spring Meet leading owner has Dartangia in the sixth race and is the only member of this year’s group of  top four owners to have a runner on Thursday.

BACK TO THE GRASS FOR VETERAN BRASS HAT – The return to dirt experiment is over for Fred Bradley’s Brass Hat after beating only one horse and trailing the victorious Shadowbdancing by more than 12 lengths in last Saturday’s Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (GII) in Iowa.

“He is going to go back on the grass and we are looking at the closing day stake at Ellis Park,” trainer Buff Bradley said of the Cliff Guilliams Handicap at 1 1/16 miles. “I may give him a couple more weeks off and wait for that.”

The 9-year-old Brass Hat had not run on dirt since the 2008 Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) and primarily had been in 1 1/2-mile turf races for the past two years.

“I was looking to cut him back in distance and I didn’t want to do what we did last year,” Bradley said of Grade I bids by Brass Hat in the United Nations and Sword Dancer at Monmouth Park and Saratoga, respectively.

Bradley knew early on that Brass Hat was in trouble at Prairie Meadows.

“It was a speed-favoring track and records were set both nights,” Bradley said in reference to Majesticperfection’s 1:07.24 six-furlong mark established Friday and then Concord Point’s 1:40.37 for 1 1/16 miles on Saturday. “I knew we were in trouble when the first race Saturday for $12,500 fillies went in 1:09 and 1 for six furlongs.”

Brass Hat has earned more than $2 million and Bradley does not envision that career coming to a close soon.

“There are some people saying we should retire him, but he is doing fine and we space his races out,” Bradley said.

DANZON CAN MAKE QUICK RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN LOCUST GROVE – The highest-priced claim of the meet can make a quick return on investment Saturday when Danzon runs for new owner Alfred Nuckols Jr. in the 29th running of the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (GIII) at a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

“They claimed her to breed next spring,” trainer Jim Baker said of the $80,000 purchase. “The plan is to run her until the end of the year and breed her next year.”

The 7-year-old Danzon appeared on Nuckols’ radar when she won on April 30 for the $80,000 tag. When she was entered back on June 4 under the same conditions, Baker got a call.

“They called me and asked if I would claim a horse for them,” Baker said and the claim was made as Danzon romped to another victory.

Alex Solis will ride Danzon on Saturday in what will be fifth stakes start over the Matt Winn Turf Course.

"She has got some back class to her and she has been doing good and is two-for-two this meet,” Baker said.

Danzon first ran here in 2007 at age four when she finishing third, beaten a length, against males in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI). She finished third later that meet in the Early Times Mint Julep (GIII) and came back the following spring to compete in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (GIII) and the Early Times Mint Julep.

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Royal Academy, Danzon has compiled a record of 9-4-6 in 28 races for earnings of $484,823.

BARN TALK – Heading into the final four days of the meet, six riders have had their mounts earn in excess of $1 million. Leading the way is Calvin Borel, whose mounts have earned $3,012,009. Following in order are Robby Albarado ($1,338,365), Corey Lanerie ($1,075,995), Shaun Bridgmohan ($1,071,074), Miguel Mena ($1,049,410) and Garrett Gomez ($1,001,163). Two trainers have surpassed the $1 million mark: Todd Pletcher ($2,397,898) and Steve Asmussen ($1,082,445). …

Leading apprentice Freddie Lenclud, who is seventh in the standings with 27 victories, plans to ride at Saratoga. “I will ride some for Ian (Wilkes), some for Rick Dutrow and some for Rusty Arnold,” Lenclud said. “As long as I have (agent) Doc (Danner), I am not worried (about getting mounts).” Lenclud’s victory total is the highest for an apprentice at a Churchill Downs Spring Meet since Julien Leparoux and Randall Toups won 87 and 39 races, respectively, in 2006. …

Leparoux returns to the saddle this afternoon for the first time since being injured May 16. Leparoux, who suffered a compression fracture in his vertebrae after being unseated in the Black-Eyed Susan (GII) at Pimlico on May 14, is named on five mounts today and five on Friday. …

Francisco Torres, third in the rider standings with 31 victories, plans to ride this summer at Ellis Park and Hoosier Park with an occasional foray to Arlington Park.

ROMANS LOOKS AHEAD TO NEXT CHURCHILL DOWNS MILESTONE – Trainer Dale Romans was a happy man Friday morning, the day after Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Skipadate gave the conditioner his 500th victory at Churchill Downs.

It was the first victory for Romans here since Suz Slew won on May 31 and Skipadate represented the 20th runner for Romans trying to get that 500th win.

“It seems like the closer you get to a milestone, the harder it is to get over the hump,” said Romans, a 43-year-old native of Louisville.

Son of trainer Jerry Romans, all of Dale’s victories have been with horses that have come out of Barns 4 and 5, where he is stabled today.

“Dad had Barn 4 and I was in 5 until he had his stroke and then I moved into 4,” Romans said. “His best piece of advice was to just keep grinding. The successful ones are the ones that could last.”

Of the 500 victories, 23 have come in stakes. Romans said he rates 2004 Eclipse Award turf champion Kitten’s Joy’s triumph in the 2005 Firecracker (GII) as his favorite victory among the 500.

The quest for 600 begins with tonight’s program in which Romans has three horses entered. Romans will run three on Saturday’s card and four on Sunday.

Eight more cards remain to be drawn for the Spring Meet that ends July 4, and Romans has one runner that could aid on the road to 600: Frank L. Jones Jr.’s homebred Tapitsfly, winner of last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“She had a chip taken out of her ankle after the Breeders’ Cup,” Romans said of Tapitsfly, who returned to the work tab May 23. “She could run before the end of the meet.”'

BRASS HAT WORKS BULLET TOWARD CORNHUSKER START – Fred Bradley’s Brass Hat punched his ticket to next Saturday’s $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (GII) by working a bullet five furlongs in :59.20 on Friday morning under jockey Calvin Borel.

Brass Hat worked at 6:30 over a fast track and his time was the fastest of 30 at the distance. Churchill Downs clockers had Brass Hat galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.

“I wanted to get a good work in him this morning,” trainer Buff Bradley said of Brass Hat, who has not started on dirt since finishing fifth in the 2008 Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) at Churchill Downs. “He was very relaxed and striding out well. Calvin said it’s hard to believe he is nine years old. He likes what he does.”

Brass Hat, who has earned $2,097,921 with a record of 9-7-5 in 36 races, finished third in his most recent start, the mile and a half Louisville Handicap (GIII) on May 22. Seven of Brass Hat’s past eight starts have been at 12 furlongs.

“I wanted to cut him back to a mile and an eighth,” Bradley said. “There is a mile and a sixteenth race here, but I am afraid it won’t go. I hate not to run him here because he loves this track.

“But I looked at the past performances for the Cornhusker, and it looks like he might be one of the top ones. Three of the horses nominated ran in the Stephen Foster, so that would be coming back in two weeks out of a Grade I race, and I don’t think many will do that.”

WALKING THE BEACH RETURNS TO WORK TAB FOR CALHOUN – The final tasty morsel from last fall’s Thanksgiving Day program at Churchill Downs was the initial outing of Cobra Cooper Racing’s Walking the Beach, who swept past the field under Miguel Mena for a 1 ½-length victory in the 12th race at six furlongs.

A son of Medaglia d’Oro out of the Woodman mare Babeinthewoods, Walking the Beach became an instant hot commodity on Kentucky Derby watch lists. Two off-the-board finishes in route races at Fair Grounds in January faded the watch lists to black.

“He had a few minor issues, first with a foot and then an ankle but nothing significant,” trainer Bret Calhoun said. “He was just not the horse we expected him to be. He went off the Derby trail early and we decided to back off.”

Walking the Beach reappeared on the work tab Thursday with a three-furlong work in :38.20.

“He has grown up and looks good,” Calhoun said. “He is 45 to 60 days to a race, closer to 60. We will start him out short; maybe that is just what he wants to be. We ran him twice at two turns and it seemed like a mental thing. He seemed lost out there, but he has the body and pedigree to go two turns.”

It marked the second straight year that Calhoun had early Derby dreams dashed before the real running even began. In 2008 Indygo Mountain had been a dazzling winner at a mile during the Churchill Downs Fall Meet.

“Indygo Mountain is coming back to our barn at Lone Star Park on Sunday,” Calhoun said. “He ran here last fall off a long layoff and got hurt in that race and has been on the shelf since.”

Indygo Mountain is owned by Clarence Scharbauer Jr., who also owned another promising 2-year-old in 2008 in Silver City, trained by Calhoun.

“He came in on the same van with Walking the Beach,” Calhoun said. “He won this winter at Fair Grounds off a layoff and we were preparing him for the Count Fleet in April at Oaklawn Park when he had a mild strain of a suspensory and we backed off. He has had a couple of three-eighths works.”

A couple of Calhoun’s stable stars will be in action in the coming weeks.

Multiple stakes winner Chamberlain Bridge, runner-up in the Churchill Downs Turf Sprint (GIII) on April 30, is being pointed to the $75,000 Arlington Sprint Breeders’ Cup at five furlongs on the turf at Arlington Park next Saturday. Winning Colors (GIII) winner Dubai Majesty most likely will go to Calder for the $350,000 Princess Rooney (GI) at six furlongs on July 10 with the July 4 Chicago Handicap (GIII) at seven furlongs also as an option.

BARN TALK – Backtalk, winner of the 2009 Bashford Manor (GIII) and idle since finishing 20th in the Kentucky Derby, returns to the races Saturday night at Charles Town in the $400,000 Red Legend at seven furlongs. Miguel Mena will ride Backtalk for trainer Tom Amoss. Chief among the opposition for Backtalk is Comedero, winner of seven of eight starts including the Chick Lang (GIII) by three lengths at Pimlico on May 15. Robby Albarado will ride Comedero in the sprint for 3-year-olds. …

Tiz My Time, placed second in a maiden race at Churchill Downs on May 28, ran third in the six-furlong Group II Albany Stakes for 2-year-olds at Royal Ascot on Friday for trainer Ken McPeek. McPeek, whose fifth-place Kentucky Derby finisher Noble’s Promise ran fifth in Tuesday’s St. James’s Palace Stakes (GI) at a mile, will send out the maiden Casper’s Touch in Saturday’s Chasham Stakes at seven furlongs. …
Nominations close Saturday for the final three stakes of the Spring Meet scheduled to be run July 3 and 4. Scheduled for July 3 are the 109th running of the $100,000-added Bashford Manor for 2-year-olds going six furlongs and the 29th running of the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (GIII) for fillies and mares going a mile on the turf.  The 20th running of the $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII) at a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course is the closing day feature on July 4.

WORK TAB – Buckleupbuttercup, winner of the Eight Belles (GIII) on May 1, worked a half-mile in :50.20 over a fast track. … Matt Winn runner-up Cool Bullet, winner of the Rumson Stakes at Monmouth Park in his most recent start June 6, worked a half-mile in :50.40. … Multiple stakes winner Euroears worked three furlongs in :37.60.

BRASS HAT COULD RETURN TO THE DIRT – After nine consecutive starts against graded-stakes company on the grass, a change in venue could be in store for Fred Bradley’s homebred veteran Brass Hat.

“I’d like to find an easier spot for him and I haven’t ruled out going back to the dirt,” trainer Buff Bradley, the owner-breeder’s son, said in the wake of Brass Hat’s third-place finish in last Saturday’s Louisville Handicap (GIII) behind Free Fighter.

“He tries hard every time he runs, but with his style in the mile and a half races he runs, he is at the mercy of the pace. I may have to run him shorter, so they will come back to him. A mile and an eighth is a possibility.”

After winning the Louisville Handicap last year, Brass Hat hit the road and recorded third-place finishes in the United Nations (GI) at Monmouth Park and the Sword Dancer (GI) at Saratoga.

“Saratoga was too tough,” Bradley said. “I don’t know where I am going to run, but I know it won’t be on Polytrack.”

Brass Hat, whose actual birthday was last Saturday when he turned 9, returned to Fred Bradley’s farm in Frankfort on Monday for a week of R & R.

“He came out of the race good,” Buff Bradley said. “He will get a week off and maybe even a couple of extra days depending on what my dad and I plan for him.”

Brass Hat’s most recent start on dirt came in the 2008 Stephen Foster (GI) when he ran fifth behind two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. His most recent dirt victory came in the 2007 Massachusetts Handicap, one of seven stakes wins for Brass Hat on dirt.

STALL TURNS SLOW WINTER INTO BANNER SPRING – The number practically screams off the page: 91.

That’s the in-the-money percentage through the first 18 days of the Spring Meet for trainer Al Stall Jr. Stall has saddled five winners with three seconds and two thirds, a 180-degree turnaround from the season he had at Fair Grounds.

“January, February and March were the three worst months I have had in years,” said Stall, who ended the nearly five-month meet with only 15 winners from 128 starters. “For whatever reason, my horses didn’t run and they sure didn’t use their conditions up.”

 Stall, who has 16 horses stabled at Churchill Downs along with a 25-horse string at Louisiana Downs and 20 at Keeneland, accepts the pendulum swing as part of the game.

"There is no rhyme or reason to it,” Stall said. “But for a claiming trainer, he can have no turnover in the barn and they get some new stock in and things can turn around quick.”

Tne horse that is not part of Stall’s current statistics at Churchill Downs is stable star Blame, who made a winning 2010 debut in the W.D. Schaefer Handicap (GIII) at Pimlico on May 15.

Blame is back at Keeneland, where Stall has all horses owned by Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm housed.

“I will probably breeze him Saturday or Sunday,” Stall said of Blame, whose next race is scheduled to be the $600,000 Stephen Foster (GI) here on June 12. “I may just leave him over there until the Foster or come over the day before and not risk getting hung up the day of the race in the construction on I-64.”

Blame, a 4-year-old homebred son of Arch, has compiled a record of 9-6-1-2 for earnings of $676,747. He will bring a three-race win streak into the Stephen Foster after closing 2009 with victories in the Fayette (GII) at Keeneland and the Clark Handicap (GII) at Churchill Downs.

“WORK MATE” GETS HIS DAY IN THE SUN – During the two weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Awesome Act was accompanied through his morning exercise daily by a chestnut who wore a yellow saddle towel adorned with the words “Work Mate”.

In Thursday’s third race, “Work Mate” will hit the track as a solo act under his proper name: Peace Town.

Owned by Vinery Stables, the co-owner of Awesome Act, Peace Town is a 4-year-old Maryland-bred Peace Rules colt trained by Steve Asmussen.  Racing primarily on the Mid-Atlantic circuit in the care of trainer Michael Trombetta, Peace Town has compiled a record of 13-5-2-0 for earnings of $152,267.

Thursday’s race, a $50,000 claiming event at five furlongs on the turf, will be Peace Town’s first race for Asmussen.

BARN TALK – Jockey Calvin Borel was off all of his mounts Thursday. “He’ll ride tomorrow,” agent Jerry Hissam said of Borel, who has been sidelined by an eye infection since May 16. Borel, who leads all riders with 22 victories this spring here, is named on eight mounts on Friday’s 11-race card. …

Trainer Tom Proctor, who won the Regret (GIII) last year with Keertana, will try for a repeat in this year’s renewal to be run June 12 with Keertana’s half-sister, Snow Top Mountain. Both fillies are homebreds for owner Barbara Hunter. Snow Top Mountain was an allowance winner here on May 13. Proctor also plans to run Patinack Farm and Tim Turney’s Queen of the Creek, a Keeneland allowance winner who broke her maiden here last fall, in the Regret. Proctor, who has won seven stakes at Churchill Downs, also won the Regret in 2005 with Rich In Spirit. …

Trainer Dale Romans, seeking to become the second trainer at Churchill Downs to record 500 victories beneath the Twin Spires, has six runners entered Thursday and four Friday. Tied for fourth in the trainer standings with six victories this meet, Romans has 494 career wins at Churchill Downs, trailing only Bill Mott (630).

WORK TAB – Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado worked a half-mile on a firm Matt Winn Turf Course in :48.80 with Mary Doser up. Sixth in the Preakness in his most recent start, Paddy O’Prado ran third in the Kentucky Derby and could return to the turf in the $100,000-added Jefferson Cup (GIII) on June 12. Paddy O’Prado has a record of 4-1-1-2 on the grass with the victory coming in the Palm Beach (GIII) at Gulfstream Park in March. … IEAH Stables and Resolute Group Stables’ Court Vision, second in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) in his most recent start, worked six furlongs on the fast main track in 1:15.60.

HEADTAP TO PERFORM DURING FRIDAY HAPPY HOURS – This week’s “Dress to Impress” Friday Happy Hours from 4-7 p.m. in Churchill Downs’ paddock area will showcase live music by Headtap, $2 Anheuser Busch draft beer, $3 Bacardi mojitos and $2 hot dogs.

Also, one male and one female deemed “most stylish” will a $100 wagering voucher and $250 gift certificate to a local Louisville area boutique, respectively. Weekly winners will be invited back for the finals on Friday, June 25 for a chance to win a shopping spree in Chicago, which includes hotel and a $1,500 Visa gift card.

TRAINER STEVE MARGOLIS WILL BE SPECIAL ‘GET IN THE GAME WITH JILL BYRNE’ GUEST ON SATURDAY – Trainer Steve Margolis, who will saddle Cash Refund in the Aristides and Visavis in the Dogwood on Saturday, will be Saturday’s “Get in the Game with Jill Byrne” special guest. Byrne and Margolis will discuss several topics including Saturday’s stakes events, plus Stay Put’s upcoming start in the June 5 Belmont Stakes. The weekly 30-minute seminars offer fans an insider look at the world of horse racing every Saturday in the paddock area starting at 11:45 a.m. Also, it will be televised on television monitors throughout Churchill Downs.

HORSEMEN’S GOLF SCRAMBLE RETURNS ON JUNE 8 – The second annual Horsemen’s Golf Scramble will be held Tuesday, June 8 at the Glenmary Country Club in Fern Creek, Ky. to help raise funds for the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs. The cost of the golf outing is $100 per player with four players to a team. Players will be treated to an 11 a.m. lunch. The 18-hole tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. There will be contests for the longest drive, closest to the pin, and a hole-in-one in which someone could win a 2010 Toyota Corolla from Oxmoor Toyota. Registration is due Friday and entry forms can be found at the Backside Learning Center or by visiting www.derbymusuem.org/backsidelc.

DERBY 136 PLAYERS STATELY VICTOR, DEAN’S KITTEN WORK AT TRACKSIDE LOUISVILLE – With the experience of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) now two weeks in the rear-view mirror, the pair of “Run for the Roses” participants trained by Mike Maker – Thomas and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor and Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Dean’s Kitten – returned to serious training on Saturday at Churchill Downs’ Trackside Louisville training center.

Stately Victor, who finished eighth behind Super Saver on Derby Day, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.20 over the fast six-furlong oval under exercise rider Derrick Smith.  Dean’s Kitten, who checked in 14th in the 20-horse Derby field, breezed five furlongs under Marvin Jiminez, worked a half-mile in :49.40.

“They both came out of the race well and they worked excellent this morning,” Maker said.

The Derby runners will be embarking on separate paths for the remainder of their 3-year-old campaigns.  Stately Victor, the winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) over Keeneland’s synthetic Polytrack course, would return to the Triple Crown trail with a run in the $1 million Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 5.  Maker said Dean’s Kitten, a homebred son of 2004 turf champion Kitten’s Joy and winner of the Lane’s End (GII) on Turfway Park’s Polytrack surface,, would focus on grass and synthetic courses through the summer.  His near-term goal is the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup (GI) on June 19at Virginia’s Colonial Downs.

Maker thought Stately Victor ran well in a ruggedly-run Derby and the son of Ghostzapper should be well-equipped to handle the Belmont’s 1 ½-mile distance.

"Stately Victor, I think, ran a decent race,” said Maker.  “He had some trouble, along with a bunch of others and that was that.”

Also working for Maker on Saturday at Trackside Louisville was the Ramseys’ Furthest Land, upset winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Oak Tree at Santa Anita last fall.  He has not raced since a last-place finish behind Gloria De Campeao in the $10 million Dubai World Cup (GI) at Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse on March 27.   Maker has no firm plans for a return to racing by Furthest Land, but is encouraged by his progress.

“It’s still up in the air,” said Maker.  “I think he recovered from Dubai a lot better than we were expecting, but we’ll just wait ‘til he’s ready and see what’s out there.”

Another Maker worker was the Ramsey’s Accredit, winner of the Churchill Downs (GII) in 2009.  The 5-year-old breezed a half-mile in :49.20.

VETERAN BRASS HAT PREPS FOR LOUISVILLE ‘CAP DEFENSE WITH CHURCHILL DOWNS WORK – With a bid for a repeat victory in the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII) just a week away, Fred Bradley’s homebred veteran Brass Hat tuned-up for the 1 ½-mile turf test with a sharp five furlong work on the dirt on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

The 9-year-old gelded son of Prized zipped the five-eighths mile distance in 1:00.40 under veteran jockey Charles Woods Jr., as regular rider and workout partner Calvin Borel was in Baltimore to ride Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course.  The move was the third-fastest of 23 at the distance over a fast racing surface.

Trainer William “Buff” Bradley, the owner-breeder’s son, is thrilled with the spark displayed by his veteran star as Brass Hat approaches his third start of the year.  He opened the season with an eighth-place run behind Bearpath in the Pan American (GIII) at Gulfstream Park and followed it with a strong runner-up finish to Musketeer in the $200,000 Elkhorn (GII) on the Keeneland turf.

That runner-up finish improved Brass Hat’s career recrd to 9-7-4 in 35 races and boosted his earnings to $2,087,110.  Those numbers include a victory on dirt in the Donn Handicap (GI) and a runner-up finish (later vacated because of a medication infraction) in the $5 million Dubai World Cup in 2006 – highlights of a career that began with a runner-up finish in a race for $15,000 claiming horses in January 2004 at Turfway Park.

A few days after his Elkhorn run, Brass Hat traveled to Frankfort, Ky., where the farm of his owner, a former Kentucky state senator, is located.  The international exploits of the veteran who was bred and raised on the elder Bradley’s farm have made him a folk hero to residents near that city and Brass Hat was honored in Kentucky’s capital city with a day named in his honor.

"It was so cool,” recalled Buff Bradley.  “I took him off the trainer and put him in a portable stall – a 10’ x 20’ stall that was open all the way around – and he never turned a hair.  He worked the crowd like a true politician.  He ate peppermints out of all the kids’ hands, and Calvin came and spoke.  We had two governors there – Brereton Jones and Julian Carroll – and (former Keeneland Association President) Ted Bassett came and spoke,”

The event that honored both Brass Hat and his owner-breeder was a fundraiser for a museum in Frankfort.

“It turned out to be a great day,” said Buff Bradley.  “He got to go home for a few days and they had a little party for him and everything.  But since then he’s come back to the track and done very well.  We’re on target to run next weekend.”

The Louisville figures to offer an enticing match-up of what could be billed as the “Senior Tour” of Kentucky racing as Brass Hat’s rivals could include Chrysalis Stable’s Silverfoot, a three-time Louisville ‘Cap winner (2004-06) who is now 10 years old.

"I’ve been watching him train and I’d be surprised if he didn’t go in there,” Bradley said.  “It looks like he’s doing very well, too.”

Whatever happens next Saturday and the rest of the year with Brass Hat is a bonus for Bradley and his father.  Their star has suffered a pair of significant injuries during his racing career, but has come back in stakes-winning form from each setback.

"I thought he was done at five,” Bradley said.  “So the last four years have been great.  We truly didn’t expect it.  It wasn’t going to break out hearts if he didn’t get to run after everything he had already done for us.  He’s been something.”

STAKES STARS DOT SATURDAY CHURCHILL DOWNS WORK TAB – Several stakes winners were among horses that turned in serious workouts in perfect spring weather on Saturday at Churchill Downs.  
    Multiple Grade I winner Court Vision, a narrow runner-up to General Quarters in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) on Kentucky Derby Day, breezed four furlongs in :51 for trainer Todd Pletcher.

Trainer Eddie Kenneally sent out Custom for Carlos, a candidate for Churchill Downs’ $100,000-added Aristides on June 29, out for a four-furlong move in :49.40.  The move by Homewrecker Stable and Avalon Farm’s winner of this year’s Count Fleet (GIII) and Mr. Prospector (GIII), ranked 23rd out of 42 at the distance.

David Holloway Racing’s Dubious Miss, a candidate for the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) on June 12, breezed five furlongs in 1:03.40 for trainer Paul J. McGee.  The 6-year-old E. Dubai gelding won the Ben Ali (GIII) over the synthetic Polytrack surface at Keeneland last time out.

Silverbulletday (GIII) winner Jody Slew, 13th for trainer Bret Calhoun behind Blind Luck in the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI), breezed four furlongs in :49.80.

WEEKLY HANDICAPPING CONTEST WILL OFFER PRIZE MONEY, TRIP TO HORSEPLAYER WORLD SERIES – This spring’s “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest at Churchill Downs will offer $4,000 in prize money each week and five prize packages to compete in the Horseplayer World Series in Las Vegas.

First prize each week will be $1,500 and a five-day, four-night trip to Las Vegas to compete in the Horseplayer World Series, which is scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2011 at the Orleans Resort and Casino.
The popular handicapping contest will begin this Sunday and continue every Sunday through June 13.

The “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest is a game of skill that tests the player’s ability to handicap Thoroughbred racing. Each contestant will start the day with a $24 imaginary bankroll and may only wager exactly $2 to win and $2 to place on six designated races from Churchill Downs.

the contest costs $30 per entry ($25 for Twin Spires Club members) and is limited to 400 entries with a limit of three entries per person.  Registration is scheduled in the Champions Club Lounge on the second floor of the clubhouse on Sundays between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

BARN TALK – Nominations close Saturday, May 15 for a pair of upcoming stakes races at Churchill Downs: the $100,000 Aristides (GIII) for 3-year-olds & up at six furlongs on Saturday, May 29, and the $100,000-added Winning Colors (GIII) at six furlongs for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up to be run on Memorial Day, May 31.  Nominations can be made online at www.churchilldowns.com or by phone (502.636.4470) or fax (502.636.4598) before midnight (EDT) on Saturday.

BREEDERS’ CUP WINNER TAPITSFLY BACK IN ROMANS BARN – Trainer Dale Romans’ attention has been focused in recent days on his pair of contenders for Saturday’s Preakness (Grade I) – Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and Donald Dizney’s First Dude.  But there is another reason for Romans to smile as he now can look down his shedrow and see the gray head of Tapitsfly poking out of her stall door.

Frank L. Jones Jr.’s homebred daughter of Tapit was last seen on the track in an impressive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf at Santa Anita, where she rallied from just off the pace to score a half-length victory under jockey Robby Albarado.

The promise of good things loomed for Tapitsfly after that race, which marked her third win in seven lifetime starts that also included a maiden win on traditional dirt at Saratoga and good efforts on dirt during the spring over her home track at Churchill Downs.  But she was forced to the sidelines by injury early in her 3-year-old season and returned to Romans barn at the Louisville track a few days ago.

"We had a chip taken out of her ankle,” Romans said.  “She’s back and looks better than ever, and we’ll start breezing her when we get back from Maryland.”

While she has run well on dirt, Tapitsfly is unbeaten in two races on the grass.  While offspring of the versatile stallion Tapit seem to run well on just about any surface, she is out of Jones’ mare Flying Marlin, a turf specialist who won on grass courses at Churchill Downs and Keeneland during her 18-race career.  Tapit’s other grass win came in the P.G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga.

Once Tapitsfly begins to breeze, Romans is hoping for quick progress and a chance for Churchill Downs fans to see her compete.

“We’ll try to make one race by the end of the meet,” he said.

Tapitsfly’s career record stands at 3-2-1 in seven races with earnings of $668,142.

LIKELY CONTENDERS FOR STEPHEN FOSTER ‘CAP WORK – A pair of likely contenders for Churchill Downs $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I) on June 12 were in action during training hours Friday morning at Churchill Downs as reigning champion Macho Again and Alysheba (GIII) winner Arson Squad appeared on the fast racing surface for morning works.

Both horses competed in the Alysheba on Kentucky Oaks Day.  Jay Em Ess Stables’ Arson Squad scored an impressive 2 ½-length victory for trainer Rick Dutrow while the Dallas Stewart-trained Macho Again struggled to finish seventh of in that 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up..

Arson Squad, who ran fourth to Macho Again in last year’s Foster, breezed five furlongs in :50 on Friday.  The move by the 7-year-old Brahms gelding ranked as the 16th fastest of 34 at the distance.  The Dutrow trainee won the Skip Away (GIII) at Gulfstream Park prior to the Alysheba and now has a career record of 8-1-4 in 27 races with earnings of $1,108,164.

West Point Thoroughbreds’ Macho Again has not won in five races since his triumph in the 2009 Foster – a string that included a narrow loss to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward (GI) at Saratoga.

Macho Again breezed a half-mile in :49.20 – a move that ranked eighth out of the 34 at the distance.

Macho Again’s record stands at 6-6-0 in 23 races with earnings of $1,819,050.  He has run seven times at Churchill Downs, with a record of 3-1-0 in those races.  The Alysheba was the first start of the year for Macho Again, and his first race since a ninth-place finish behind Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Blame in the $400,000 Clark Handicap (GII) on Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs.

Blame makes his 4-year-old debut on Saturday in the Schaefer Handicap (GII) on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico.  A good effort there could earn the Al Stall Jr. trainee a start in the Stephen Foster.

Nominations for the Stephen Foster Handicap and other stakes races on the June 12 undercard will close Saturday, May 29.

PREAKNESS STAKES FESTIVITIES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Advanced wagering on the Preakness will be offered all day Friday at Churchill Downs, plus the Black-Eyed Susan/Preakness Double – similar to the Oaks/Derby Double – will connect Friday’s Grade II, $175,000 Black Eyed Susan and Saturday’s $1 million Preakness.

The pageantry of the Preakness Stakes will be featured prominently at Churchill Downs on Saturday with the simulcast of the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown from Pimlico.

The first 5,000 fans attending Churchill Downs will receive a free Super Saver/Calvin Borel commemorative button in the paddock area while supplies last. Also, Black-Eyed Susan specialty drinks will be on tap at Churchill Downs at select locations, plus Dixieland and Big Band music will be performed in the paddock area and Millionaires Row 4 and 6.

Additionally, the Crab Derby returns as select customers will be in crab costumes competing in races throughout the day, with the final being held on the Matt Winn Turf Course immediately after Race 7.
Post time for the Preakness Stakes simulcast is 6:15 p.m. ET, which immediately follows the 11th and final live race at 5:58 p.m. ET.

SATURDAY’S SEVENTH RACE TO HONOR OLMSTEAD – For the second consecutive year, Churchill Downs will run the Chuck Olmstead Memorial on Preakness Stakes Day to honor the memory of the popular Louisville telvision newsman who passed away in March 2009 after an aneurysm ruptured in his brain.
The second annual Chuck Olmstead Memorial will be run as Race 7 on Saturday at approximately 3:57 p.m. ET.

Olmstead, who was a 34-year veteran at WHAS-11, was a longtime fan of Thoroughbred racing. Both he and his signature hat were broadcast fixtures in the Churchill Downs paddock on Kentucky Derby.
With tremendous encouragement from the community, Chuck’s widow, Candy Olmstead, has established a special fund in her husband’s memory through Norton Healthcare Foundation to support screenings and education provided by Norton Neuroscience Institute. These screenings will help detect aneurysms before they rupture, increase awareness of symptoms of ruptured brain aneurysms and, perhaps, save lives in the process.

More information can be found and pledges can be made online at www.ChuckOlmsteadFund.com.

ASHER WILL BE SPECIAL ‘GET IN THE GAME WITH JILL BYRNE’ GUEST – Churchill Downs vice president of racing communications John Asher will be Saturday’s “Get in the Game with Jill Byrne” special guest. Byrne and Asher will provide insight and analysis of the Preakness Stakes plus select races at Pimlico Race Course and Churchill Downs. The half-hour program will begin at 11:45 a.m. in the paddock area and will be televised on television monitors throughout Churchill Downs.

WEEKLY HANDICAPPING CONTEST WILL OFFER PRIZE MONEY, TRIP TO HORSEPLAYER WORLD SERIES – This spring’s “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest at Churchill Downs will offer $4,000 in prize money each week and five prize packages to compete in the Horseplayer World Series in Las Vegas.

First prize each week will be $1,500 and a five-day, four-night trip to Las Vegas to compete in the Horseplayer World Series, which is scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2011 at the Orleans Resort and Casino.
The popular handicapping contest will begin this Sunday and continue every Sunday through June 13.

The “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest is a game of skill that tests the player’s ability to handicap Thoroughbred racing. Each contestant will start the day with a $24 imaginary bankroll and may only wager exactly $2 to win and $2 to place on six designated races from Churchill Downs.

The contest costs $30 per entry ($25 for Twin Spires Club members) and is limited to 400 entries with a limit of three entries per person. Registration will be open Sundays between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Champions Club Lounge on the second floor of the clubhouse.

BARN TALK – Fred Bradley’s homebred Brass Hat, winner of the 2009 Louisville Handicap (GIII), continues to gear-up for a defense of that victory.  Trainer William “Buff” Bradley said Friday that the 9-year-old gelding would work Saturday in preparation for the $100,000-added at 1 ½ miles on turf on May 22.  Regular rider Calvin Borel will be out of town for the Preakness bid by Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver on Friday, so veteran Charlie Woods is expected to be in the saddle for Brass Hat’s work … Leading rider Calvin Borel flew to Pimlico Thursday night for rides aboard Tidal Pool, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Oaks (GI) in the Black-Eyed Susan (GII) on Friday and Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in Saturday’s Preakness.  Borel will return to Churchill Downs on Sunday to continue his pursuit of his first Spring Meet riding title at Churchill Downs.  Borel holds a 19-11 edge over Julien Leparoux in the race for leading rider.  Shaun Bridgmohan and Garrett Gomez are tied for third at 10 victories. … Nominations close Saturday, May 15 for a pair of upcoming stakes races at Churchill Downs: the $100,000 Aristides (GIII) for 3-year-olds & up at six furlongs on Saturday, May 29, and the $100,000-added Winning Colors (GIII) at six furlongs for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up to be run on Memorial Day, May 31.  Nominations can be made online at www.churchilldowns.com or by phone (502.636.4470) or fax (502.636.4598) before midnight (EDT) on Saturday.

WORK TAB (Main: FAST) – Carter Handicap (GI) winner and Churchill Downs (GII) runner-up Warrior’s Reward breezed four furlongs in :49.80 under exercise rider Tracey Wilkes.  The Ian Wilkes trainee is being pointed toward the Metropolitan Handicap (GI) at Belmont Park and his work ranked as the 13th fastest of 38 at the distance.… Unforgotten breezed four furlongs in :50.60 for trainer Dallas Stewart. … Age of Humor, runner-up in the Bourbonette (GIII) at Turfway Park and 12th in the Kentucky Oaks, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 Friday over a fast surface at the six-furlong oval at Trackside Training Center.

BOREL HAPPY WITH SUPER SAVER, PREAKNESS POST – A winner of three of last four runnings of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), jockey Calvin Borel will bid Saturday for his second consecutive victory in the $1 million Preakness, the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, aboard WinStar Farm’s Derby winner Super Saver.

Borel is scheduled to ride in eight of Thursday’s nine races at Churchill Downs, then boards a flight to Baltimore and Pimlico Race Course, where hopes to help keep the Triple Crown hopes of owner/breeder WinStar and trainer Todd Pletcher alive.  Super Saver was installed as the 5-2 favorite for the Preakness and the son of Maria’s Mon drew post eight in a field of 12 3-year-olds.

“I’m very happy,” Borel said Thursday at Churchill Downs.  “I worked him the other morning and Todd was very pleased.  “He galloped out good, switched leads perfect right at the eighth pole.  You can’t ask for a better place.”

Last year, Borel abandoned longshot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird to ride Kentucky Oaks (GI)-winning filly Rachel Alexandra in the 1 3/16-mile second jewel of the Triple Crown.  Stonestreet Stable and Harold McCormack’s future Horse of the Year and Borel held off the late-running Mine That Bird to take the 2009 Preakness.  His 2007 Kentucky Derby winner, James Tafel’s Street Sense, was nipped at the Preakness finish by future two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.

Four of the horses that faced Super Saver at Churchill Downs – third-place Derby finisher Paddy O’Prado, beaten favorite Lookin At Lucky, Dublin and Jackson Bend – are back for another try at Borel’s Derby winner in the Preakness, with seven horses stepping into Triple Crown competition for the first time.

“We’ve got a couple of new shooters, but I don’t think they’ve got the class this horse has,” Borel said.  “What I like about this colt is he’s peaking.  He’s lightly-raced coming into here, but I think that’s a big plus.  It might not be, but in my opinion I think it is.”

Borel and agent Jerry Hissam continue to limit media opportunities for the popular rider in the days leading up to the Preakness.  Those limits are to allow Borel to maintain focus on Saturday’s goal: to win the Preakness and take dead aim three weeks later on the Belmont Stakes (GI) with a chance to become the first 3-year-old to sweep the elusive Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

“We’re going to go out there and try our damndest to win it,” Borel said.  “If we can get away with this one, we’ll worry about the next one.  But we’re just going to worry about this one now.”

Borel will ride at Pimlico on Friday and Saturday in a light schedule that includes the mount on favored Tidal Pool for trainer D. Wayne Lukas in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (GII) for 3-year-old fillies. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             HOT MARGOLIS HAS HIGH HOPES FOR COOL BULLET – One of the hottest trainers thus far at Churchill Downs hopes that playing it cool will pay off in Saturday’s featured ninth running of the $100,000 Matt Winn Stakes.

Steve Margolis started Thursday’s race with five victories – one win back of current leading trainer and two-time Eclipse Award-winner Steve Asmussen – and will look to improve that total Saturday when he saddles Robert and Lawana Low and Winmore LLC’s Cool Bullet in the seven-furlong Winn.

The gelded son of Preakness winner Red Bullet returns to competition six weeks after a 4 ½-length romp in the $50,000 Hansel at six furlongs on Polytrack at Turfway Park.  The victory was the third in seven races for Cool Bullet, who had tried the Kentucky Derby trail over the winter, but returned to one-turn distances following an eighth-place finish to Conveyance in Oaklawn’s Southwest (GIII) at 1 1/16 miles.

“We thought the Hansel would be a good race to get him back on course, as opposed to the [one-mile The Cliff’s Edge] Derby Trial (GIII) and it worked out really well,” Margolis said.  “He couldn’t be training any better.  We’ve had four really nice moves over the track.”

Calvin Borel rode Cool Bullet in the Hansel, but will be at Pimlico on Saturday to ride Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in the Preakness.  Brian Hernandez Jr., who was aboard Cool Bullet in his first five starts, will be back in the saddle for the Matt Winn.  Cool Bullet’s five foes include Iroquois (GIII) winner Thiskyhasnolimit, winner of last fall’s Iroquois (GIII) at Churchill Downs and the beaten favorite in the $150,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) won by Super Saver, and the John Sadler-trained Privilaged, a good third to D’Funnybone in Gulfstream Park’s Swale (GII) at the Winn distance of seven furlongs last out.
That’s a lot of quality in a six-horse field, but Margolis likes the chances of Cool Bullet in the Winn, a race Margolis just missed winning a year ago when he saddled Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s Cash Refund to a runner-up finish behind Capt. Candyman Can.

“He’s a nice little gelding,” Margolis said of Cool Bullet.  “He trains very good, he’s a very handy little horse and does everything right.”

Cash Refund, last year’s Winn runner-up, continues to train toward a run in the $100,000-added Aristides (GIII) at six furlongs.

Margolis is also looking at plans for the Kleins’ 3-year-old Stay Put, an allowance winner on Kentucky Derby Day that is being considered for a run in the Belmont Stakes (GI), the third jewel of the Triple Crown on June 5.  He said the Broken Vow colt is nominated to the $125,000 Northern Dancer (GIII) on June 12 at Churchill Downs, but a bid by the Kleins for the 1 ½-mile Belmont is very possible.

The horse is improving,” Margolis said.  “You only get so many chances to run in the Belmont.  We’re just going to wait and see what happens out of the Preakness.  We’ve got the Northern Dancer in our backyard, too, so we don’t really have to make any decisions now.”

VETERANS TOP LOUISVILLE HANDICAP NOMINATIONS - Former victors Brass Hat and Silverfoot top the 33 nominees for the 73rd edition of the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII) to be run Saturday, May 22 at 1 ½ miles over the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Fred F. Bradley’s Brass Hat will be looking for his first victory since taking the 2009 Louisville Handicap for trainer William “Buff” Bradley. Brass Hat recorded a second place finish in his last start, the Elkhorn Stakes (GII) at Keeneland on April 23.

Chrysalis Stables LLC’s Silverfoot, at age 10, looks to regain his winning form as a previous winner of this race in 2005 and ‘06. One of two three-time winners of the Louisville, the salty veteran is just $52,000 shy of hitting the $1 million mark with $948,365 in earnings for trainer Dallas Stewart.

Other notable nominees include Lothenbach Stables Inc.’s Bearpath, who two starts back took the Pan American (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, and Johanna L. Glen-Teven’s Musketier (GER), the winner of the Elkhorn Stakes.

PREAKNESS STAKES FESTIVITIES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Advanced wagering on the Preakness Stakes will be offered all day Friday at Churchill Downs, plus the Black-Eyed Susan/Preakness Double – similar to the Oaks/Derby Double – will connect Friday’s Grade II, $175,000 Black Eyed Susan and Saturday’s $1 million Preakness.

The pageantry of the Preakness Stakes will be featured prominently at Churchill Downs on Saturday with the simulcast of the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown from Pimlico.

The first 5,000 fans attending Churchill Downs will receive a free Super Saver/Calvin Borel commemorative button in the paddock area while supplies last. Also, Black-Eyed Susan specialty drinks will be on tap at Churchill Downs at select locations, plus Dixieland and Big Band music will be performed in the paddock area and Millionaires Row 4 and 6.

Additionally, the Crab Derby returns as select customers will be in crab costumes competing in races throughout the day, with the final being held on the Matt Winn Turf Course immediately after Race 7.
Post time for the Preakness Stakes simulcast is 6:15 p.m. ET, which immediately follows the 11th and final live race at 5:58 p.m. ET.

SATURDAY’S SEVENTH RACE TO HONOR OLMSTEAD – For the second consecutive year, Churchill Downs will run the Chuck Olmstead Memorial on Preakness Stakes Day to honor the memory of the popular Louisville telvision newsman who passed away in March 2009 after an aneurysm ruptured in his brain.

The second annual Chuck Olmstead Memorial will be run as Race 7 on Saturday at approximately 3:57 p.m. ET.

Olmstead, who was a 34-year veteran at WHAS-11, was a longtime fan of Thoroughbred racing. Both he and his signature hat were broadcast fixtures in the Churchill Downs paddock on Kentucky Derby.
With tremendous encouragement from the community, Chuck’s widow, Candy Olmstead, has established a special fund in her husband’s memory through Norton Healthcare Foundation to support screenings and education provided by Norton Neuroscience Institute. These screenings will help detect aneurysms before they rupture, increase awareness of symptoms of ruptured brain aneurysms and, perhaps, save lives in the process.

More information can be found and pledges can be made online at ChuckOlmsteadFund.com.

TURN 3 TO PERFORM DURING FRIDAY HAPPY HOURS – This week’s “Dress to Impress” Friday Happy Hours from 4-7 p.m. in Churchill Downs’ paddock area will showcase live music by Turn 3, $2 Budweiser Select, $2 mojitos and $2 hot dogs. Also, one male and one female deemed “most stylish” will a $100 wagering voucher and $250 gift certificate to a local Louisville area boutique, respectively.

ASHER WILL BE SPECIAL ‘GET IN THE GAME WITH JILL BYRNE’ GUEST – Churchill Downs vice president of racing communications John Asher will be Saturday’s “Get in the Game with Jill Byrne” special guest. Byrne and Asher will provide insight and analysis of the Preakness Stakes plus select races at Pimlico Race Course and Churchill Downs. The half-hour program will begin at 11:45 a.m. in the paddock area and will be televised on television monitors throughout Churchill Downs.

WEEKLY HANDICAPPING CONTEST WILL OFFER PRIZE MONEY, TRIP TO HORSEPLAYER WORLD SERIES – This spring’s “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest at Churchill Downs will offer $4,000 in prize money each week and five prize packages to compete in the Horseplayer World Series in Las Vegas.

First prize each week will be $1,500 and a five-day, four-night trip to Las Vegas to compete in the Horseplayer World Series, which is scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2011 at the Orleans Resort and Casino.
The popular handicapping contest will begin this Sunday and continue every Sunday through June 13.

The “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest is a game of skill that tests the player’s ability to handicap Thoroughbred racing. Each contestant will start the day with a $24 imaginary bankroll and may only wager exactly $2 to win and $2 to place on six designated races from Churchill Downs.

The contest costs $30 per entry ($25 for Twin Spires Club members) and is limited to 400 entries with a limit of three entries per person. Registration will be open Sundays between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Champions Club Lounge on the second floor of the clubhouse. 

BARN TALK – Churchill Downs based jockeys Robby Albarado (four mounts), Calvin Borel (three mounts including Super Saver in the Preakness), Garrett Gomez (eight mounts, including Dublin in the Preakness) and Julien Leparoux (eight mounts, including Pleasant Prince in the Preakness) will be riding at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday.

WORK TAB (Main: FAST … Turf: FIRM, dogs up) – Louisville Stakes (GII) winner Atta Boy Roy zipped four furlongs under jockey Calvin Borel in :47.20, the fastest work of 26 at the distance … Three-time Louisville Handicap (GIII) winner Silverfoot breezed five furlongs on turf in 1:03.20 … Lost Aptitude breezed four furlongs on turf in :49.40 for trainer Dale Romans … You Go West Girl breezed three furlongs on turf in :37.60 for trainer Tom Proctor.