A day after arriving in Louisville, Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism wasted no time impressing observers, turning in what Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch called an “eye-catching” 1 1/8-mile gallop around Churchill’s main track Wednesday.
“He appeared to handle the racetrack and unfamiliar surroundings professionally and without any issue whatsoever,” Welsch observed.
Who’s hot, who’s not?
Unsurprisingly, Journalism was the first Derby entrant Brad Free name-checked in the “hot” portion of his “Who’s hot, who’s not” column. Other horses warranting mention on the warm side of the Derby pillow were Sovereignty, Luxor Cafe, Tappan Street, Rodriguez, and Sandman.
Sandman showing plenty of energy
Speaking of Sandman, his Wednesday work at Churchill was of the maintenance type. Still, Welsch noted that the Arkansas Derby winner traveled “effortlessly throughout” an easy five furlongs in 1:02.44 and showed “plenty of energy” before galloping out six furlongs in 1:15.40.
Barring any setbacks, this will be the first time in four years that Sandman’s Hall of Fame trainer, Mark Casse, will saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby, and he likes his chances.
“I think our horse is continuing to get better. Each race has made him better. He goes into the Derby as one of the most experienced horses in the race, which is always important when you have 20 horses. There aren’t many horses that are going to cherish the mile and a quarter any more than him. I’m very happy with it.”
Mark Casse, sandman’s trainer
Other derby qualifiers
Built and Owen Almighty are two Derby qualifiers whose connections have entertained the thought of instead entering the Pat Day Mile. Both worked over the Churchill strip in blinkers on Thursday, and while Owen Almighty is definitely staying in the Derby field, Built’s status remains uncertain.
“The mile and a quarter [of the Derby], I don’t know if he can get that,” admitted Built’s trainer, Wayne Catalano. “The jury is going to be out for most of them anyway. It always is, right?
“The Pat Day Mile is probably a good race for him. None of these races are easy. Right now, we got a good horse that trains good, looks good, and I’m happy with the way he went today.”
If Built opts out of the Kentucky Derby, Florida Derby third-place finisher Neoequos would have the opportunity to draw into the 20-horse field.
Churchill Downs renovation update
As for Churchill Downs itself, company executives announced Wednesday that they would be pausing nearly $1 billion in renovations to the Louisville track due to “increasing uncertainty surrounding construction costs related to tariffs and trade disputes, as well as current macro-economic conditions.”
While Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen expressed confidence that the renovations would eventually restart, he explained that the recent tariffs on foreign goods imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration have “created unanticipated and currently unquantifiable expected cost increases in all materials.”
Carstanjen added, “We like to treat [project costs] as a certainty, rather than a variable. Right now, we can’t do that.”
Daily Racing Form Derby package
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