DAILY DERBY UPDATE

April 26, 2025



Burnham Square topped a list of five Kentucky Derby hopefuls with timed workouts Saturday morning at Churchill Downs under three track conditions.

However, one of the five, Tappan Street, will not be participating in Kentucky Derby 151. The Brad Cox trainee exited his five-furlong work in :59.60 with a right foreleg injury.

The Post Position Draw for the Oaks and Derby will take place Saturday night beginning a little after 7 p.m. (all times Eastern) between the fifth and sixth races on the Spring Meet opening-night program.

First up at 5:30 on a track rated sloppy was BC Stables’ American Promise (five furlongs in :59.40) on his own.

Following the first track maintenance break with the track condition upgraded to good, Burnham Square worked five furlongs on his own in :59.40. Also during the 7:15-7:30 training window for Derby and Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) hopefuls, Baccari Racing Stable, Dream Walkin Farms, MJM Racing and Rocket Ship Racing’s Render Judgment worked five furlongs in :59 in company.

Working over a fast track at 9 o’clock following the second maintenance break, were Tappan Street and Juddmonte’s Final Gambit with the latter working five furlongs in company in 1:01.

Several scheduled works were pushed back a day. On tap now for Sunday morning are Journalism, Rodriguez, Sovereignty, East Avenue, Tiztastic and Publisher.


ADMIRE DAYTONA – UAE Derby (GII) winner Admire Daytona jogged in the one-mile chute then galloped Saturday morning. The colt is scheduled to have a published workout Tuesday.


AMERICAN PROMISE – BC Stables’ Virginia Derby winner American Promise wasted no time going to the track Saturday morning, working five furlongs in :59.40 with jockey Nik Juarez up.

Churchill Downs clockers timed American Promise in fractions of :12, :23.80, :35.40, :47, :59.40 and out six furlongs in 1:12.40 for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Juarez arrived in Louisville at 8:30 Friday night after driving to Kentucky from Oaklawn Park.

“Got here last night, ready to work this morning,” Juarez said. “He was ready to work too and the off track was not a problem.”

Juarez rode American Promise for the first time in the Virginia Derby when the Justify colt won by 7 ¾ lengths. American Promise broke his maiden over a muddy track at Oaklawn Park on Dec. 29.

American Promise is a half-brother to Grade II stakes winner Hoosier Philly who will be shooting for millionaire status Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn Park in the $200,000 Dig A Diamond Stakes. She has earned $974,465.

BAEZA – Trainer John Shirreffs went trackside Saturday morning with his colt Baeza, who had come in from California on Thursday. The son of the young stallion McKinzie, currently No. 21 on the Kentucky Derby points list (only 20 get to run), galloped during the special 7:15 to 7:30 training period for horses bound for the Derby or the Kentucky Oaks.

Baeza turned in a steady gallop over the “good” Churchill strip under exercise rider Frankie Herrate. “You might remember,” the trainer noted to a bystander, “Frankie galloped Giacomo here for me in 2005.”

Giacomo, with Mike Smith in the boot, is recalled as the 2005 Kentucky Derby winner at the hearty price of 50-1.

Baeza, unfortunately, might not make the 2025 Derby field, even though Shirreffs has the Eclipse Award jockey Flavien Prat named as his rider.

“If we don’t make it,” the trainer said, “we’ll work him here Monday. Then we’ve got to look at the Preakness.”

BURNHAM SQUARE – Whitham Thoroughbreds’ homebred Burnham Square worked five furlongs in :59.40 with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. up for trainer Ian Wilkes.

Working at 7:15 over a track rated as good, Burnham Square produced fractions of :12.40, :24.40, :36, :59.40 and out six furlongs in 1:12 and seven-eighths in 1:26.20.

“I let him out a little bit at the eighth pole and he got his last eighth in 11 and 1,” said Hernandez, winner of Derby 150 last year on Mystik Dan.

Watching the work from the backstretch was two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Carl Nafzger for whom Wilkes served as an exercise rider for Unbridled in 1990 and as an assistant for Street Sense in 2007.

“The track was good,” Wilkes said. “It was probably a tick faster, but he did it well in hand and had a strong gallop out. We just have to keep him on the ground now. He’s ready.”

CHUNK OF GOLD – Terry Stephens’ Chunk of Gold arrived at Churchill Downs Friday at 3 p.m.

The son of Preservationist had a walk day at Barn 45 and is scheduled to hit the track Sunday morning.

CITIZEN BULL/RODRIGUEZ – Trainer Bob Baffert’s duo of Derby colts – Rodriguez and Citizen Bull – were gallopers not workers, Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. Both got to stretch their legs nonetheless with exercise rider Eric Garcia handling the Authentic colt Rodriguez and Humberto Gomez aboard last year’s 2-year-old champion Citizen Bull.

Both youngsters traveled approximately a mile and a quarter around the big strip, which went from sloppy to “good” to fast over the course of the morning.   

Hall of Famer Baffert said his plan is to work Rodriguez Sunday morning, then Citizen Bull on Monday.

Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who was aboard Rodriguez for his tally in the Grade II Wood Memorial in his most recent outing on April 5, has the call back for Derby 151. Regular rider Martin Garcia will be aboard Citizen Bull, who has four wins in six starts and more than $1.4 million in earnings.

COAL BATTLE – Norman Stables’ Coal Battle walked at Barn 42 Saturday morning and following training hours had a paddock schooling session.

EAST AVENUE – Godolphin’s East Avenue schooled in the paddock then galloped under exercise rider Stephen Dolan for trainer Brendan Walsh.

The Blue Grass (GI) runner-up is slated to breeze Sunday with jockey Manny Franco in the saddle.

FINAL GAMBIT/TAPPAN STREET – WinStar Farm, CHC Inc. and Cold Press Racing’s Tappan Street breezed five furlongs in :59.40 but following the work, trainer Brad Cox reported the colt had a condylar fracture in his right foreleg.

His stablemate, Juddmonte’s Final Gambit, completed his final move before the Derby by working five furlongs in 1:01 under jockey Luan Machado. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80.

FLYING MOHAWK – Two Eight Racing, Berry Family Racing and Kaleta Racing’s Flying Mohawk had a scheduled walk day following his five-furlong move in 1:00 Friday.

GRANDE – Repole Stable’s Curlin colt Grande, who had drilled five furlongs in 1:01 Friday morning at Keeneland, was sent back to the track at Churchill Downs Saturday by conditioner Todd Pletcher.

“He’s a high energy colt and we’ve got to keep him busy,” the seven-time Eclipse Award winner noted. “He’ll just gallop a mile.”

Grande, who most recently ran second in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 5, will be handled by Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez in Derby 151. The veteran reinsman was aboard the Kentucky-bred for victories in a straight maiden test and an allowance race at Gulfstream Park this year. 

JOURNALISM – The likely Kentucky Derby favorite was scheduled to turn in his final major prep for the Run for the Roses Saturday morning, but when the day dawned trainer Michael McCarthy said “uh, uh.”

“That track out there is a little wetter than I’d like it to be,” he offered. “We’ll wait until tomorrow.”

Journalism, a striking colt by super sire Curlin, is headed to America’s most famous race with four straight victories under his belt, the most recent one the Santa Anita Derby (GI) on April 5.

So instead of his Saturday work, the bay took exercise rider Marc Witkowski for a mile and a quarter spin around Churchill in a good gallop. Sunday will be a different story.


LUXOR CAFÉ – Fukuryu Stakes winner Luxor Café galloped at 7:15 a.m. under exercise rider Naoto Suzuki.

Trainer Noriyuki Hori is expected to arrive in Louisville on Monday and the horse could breeze Tuesday.

NEOEQUOS – C2 Racing Stable, Ian Parsard, Shining Stables and Stefania Farms’ Neoequos arrived at Churchill Downs Saturday morning. He’s scheduled to hit the track Sunday morning.

OWEN ALMIGHTY – Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing’s Owen Almighty galloped a mile and a half at 5:30 under exercise rider Antonio Orellana for trainer Brian Lynch.

PUBLISHER/TIZTASTIC – Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen’s duo of Publisher and Tiztastic galloped Saturday and are scheduled to work on Sunday.

RENDER JUDGMENT – Trainer Kenny McPeek reported Virginia Derby runner-up Render Judgment will be entered in the Derby.

The colt breezed five furlongs in :59 under jockey Julien Leparoux who has the call in the “Run for the Roses.”

SANDMAN – D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables’ Sandman galloped a mile during the 7:15-7:30 training window under Froylan Garcia for trainer Mark Casse.

SOVEREIGNTY – “We’re just going to gallop at 7:15,” noted trainer Bill Mott Saturday concerning his Kentucky Derby charge Sovereignty. “I don’t have a problem with the racetrack; I just decided to wait until tomorrow (to work).”

The Hall of Fame conditioner has previously indicated that his Into Mischief colt, owned and bred by the folks of Godolphin, was going to turn in his final Derby drill Saturday morning, but checked to Plan B for his double stakes winner on an overcast and chilly morning in Louisville.

Instead, the bay and exercise partner Javier Cardona, took a tour of the paddock, then galloped a mile and one half around the big Churchill oval.

Regular rider Junior Alvarado is slated to handle the homebred come Derby Day.