Churchill Downs Stakes Advance: Elkhorn Stakes Winner Utah Beach Headlines $250,000 Louisville Stakes

May 10, 2025

Jeffrey Amling and Merribelle Stable’s Elkorn Stakes (Grade II) winner Utah Beach is set to face a field of nine turf marathoners entered in the 88th running of the $250,000 Louisville Stakes (GIII), the featured event on next Saturday’s Downs After Dark nighttime program at Churchill Downs.

The Louisville, run at 1 ½ miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, will go as Race 9 of 11 with a post time of 10:11 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 6 p.m.

Utah Beach, trained by Ignacio Correas IV, was a gutsy winner in last month’s Elkorn at Keeneland, defeating 11 rivals at odds of 11-1. The 5-year-old gelded son of English Channel sports a solid record of 14-4-5-1 with purse earnings of $536,265. He’ll be ridden in the Louisville by Vincent Cheminaud from post No. 6.

Chief among Utah Beach’s rivals is last year’s Louisville winner Sugoi. Owned by Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher, Sugoi scored a front-running 1 ¼-length victory in last year’s race. Trained by Mike Maker, the former $50,000 claim went on to finish second in the Chorleywood Stakes before returning to the winner’s circle earlier this year in the John Connally Turf Cup Stakes at Sam Houston. The veteran 8-year-old gelding will break from post 9 under Luan Machado.

The field for the Louisville from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

Idratherbeblessed (Ben Curtis, Chris Hartman)
Missed the Cut (Brian Hernandez Jr., Cherie DeVaux)
Rebel Red (GB) (Declan Cannon, Cherie DeVaux)
Tapit Shoes (Rafael Bejarano, Ed Moger Jr.)
Verstappen (Frankie Dettori, Brendan Walsh)
Utah Beach (Cheminaud, Correas)
Rock’n a Halo (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss)
Accredit (Mario Gutierrez, Pavel Matejka)
Sugoi (Machado, Maker)
The card marks the first of two remaining Downs After Dark programs during the Spring Meet, with the other scheduled for Saturday, June 21.

Saturday’s theme is ’90s nostalgia, featuring iconic music and décor from the decade. Along with the 11-race program, fans can watch the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes (GI) on the Big Board. Tickets are available at www.churchilldowns.com.

DOWN THE STRETCH – The Derby City 6 Jackpot has a carryover of $46,144 for Saturday’s card. Saturday’s card also includes three Pick 5s starting in Races 1, 4 and 7. … Wathnan Racing’s Dubai World Cup (GI) winner Hit Show had his first work back since his victory in the April 5 race. The Brad Cox trainee worked a half mile in :49 Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. … Horseplayers can now register for the $3,000 Stephen Foster Betting Challenge, which will be held Saturday, June 28 on TwinSpires.com. The live-money tournament awards seats to the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, the 2026 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge and the 2026 National Horseplayers Championship.