Betty's Critters - & History Views

 Dornoch became the third winner of a Triple Crown race in 2024, while racing the winners of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.  The third leg of the 2024 was run at Saratoga this year due to rebuilding at Belmont Park, and the Belmont Stakes was shortened from the traditional 1 and 1/2 miles down to 1 and 1/4 miles - the same length as the Kentucky Derby.  The purse for the race was a cool $2 million.    Surprisingly, the second-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, Sierra Leone, was the betting favorite in the field of ten colts.  Unfortunately, Sierra Leone stumbled coming out of the starting gate, and then was bumped hard when he caught up with the back of the field.  Seize the Grey, winner of the Preakness, took the early lead and ran the quarter in 22.99 seconds, the half in 47.25 seconds, and the 3/4 in 1:10.67.  That's when Dornach, who had been in second place following the gray colt for the first 6 furlongs, started to move up.  ...

 Thorpedo Anna, the bay daughter of Fast Anna and Sataves (by Uncle Mo), won the Acorn Stakes by 5 and 1/2 lengths this afternoon.  It was the first time the Acorn Stakes was run at Saratoga - due to the rebuilding at Belmont Park - and the distance of the race was increased from the usual 1 and 1/16 miles to 1 and 1/8 miles.  Thorpedo Anna was the betting favorite when the gates opened this afternoon, after winning the Kentucky Oaks on 3 May.    A field of nine fillies was originally entered, but Becky's Joker, who had drawn post position 1 in the field, scratched from the race.  Just F Y I, last year's 2-year-old champion filly, went to the lead out of the gate, and led for 3/4 mile, with times of 23.53 seconds, 46.75 seconds, and 1:10.24 for 3/4s mile.  Thorpedo Anna had stayed in second from the break, and took the lead just past the 3/4 mark.  Leslie's Rose had stayed in third behind the two front runners for the first 6 furlongs.  As Ju...

 Wow!  What an amazing finish in the Kentucky Derby this afternoon! In front of grandstands holding 156,710 fans, we waited for several minutes for the results - Mystik Dan was the winner by a nostril; and Sierra Leone was in second place by a nostril over Forever Young (JPN).  Mystik Dan had the lead for the last quarter-mile, while Sierra Leone kept lugging to the inside and bumping Forever Young (JPN), who kept pulling to the outside and bumping Sierra Leone.  I'd bet that both colts have sore ribs tonight and tomorrow.    Mystik Dan is a bay son of Goldencents, out of the Colonel John mare Ma'am.  He is trained by Kenny McPeek, and his jockey is Brian Hernandez, Jr.  The trainer and jockey won the Kentucky Oaks yesterday with Thorpedo Anna.  It is only the third time in 150 years that a trainer has won the Oaks and Derby in the same year - the last time was in 1952, when Ben Jones accomplished the double win.  It's only the 9th time ...

 When the full field of 14 went to the post for the 150th running of the Kentucky Oaks today, the track was sloppy .  Tapit Jenallie, who had drawn post position 1, had scratched; so the fillies in gates 2 through 14 moved over  one space, and Our Pretty Woman, trained by Steve Asmussen, and heading out of the gate at odds of 13 to 1, was in post 14.    The morning line betting favorite had been Tarifa, who had earned the most points for entry into the Oaks; and the second betting favorite was Just F Y I, who had won the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies race last year.  Leslie's Rose was third betting choice in the morning line, and Ways and Means, along with Thorpedo Anna, were fourth betting choices at 5 to 1.    Thorpedo Anna took the lead in the Kentucky Oaks today after running 1 furlong (or 1/8 of a mile) and led for the rest of the race.  She ran  the first 1/4 mile in 22.87 seconds; the half-mile in 46.79 seconds; the 3/4 mile in 1:...