Derby Trial renamed Pat Day Mile; William Walker featured on opening night

Derby Trial renamed Pat Day Mile; William Walker featured

on opening night

Churchill Downs Racetrack will honor two riding greats with stakes races --

one renamed and another that is new -- during its 2015 spring neet, which spans

38 days from April 25 through June 27.

To no surprise, a sextet of Grade 1 races highlights the nine-week stand but

none are more prominent than the 141st runnings of the $2 million Kentucky Derby

and $1 million Kentucky Oaks. The two stalwarts anchor a 25-race stakes lineup

that emphasizes big-event days cumulatively worth $8.05 million -- a $375,000

increase or 5 percent jump from 2014. Fourteen of the stakes will be staged on

Derby Week when the international spotlight is shining bright on Louisville.

The most significant change to the stakes menu involves the now former Derby

Trial. The Grade 3, one-mile race for three-year-olds -- which produced 13

Kentucky Derby winners mainly in the 1940s and 50s but has been less meaningful

in recent years because of today's modern training methods -- has been moved

from Opening Night to Kentucky Derby Day, renamed the Pat Day Mile and boosted

by $50,000 from $150,000 to $200,000. It is one of four spring meet stakes races

to receive a purse hike.

The renamed race appropriately honors Churchill Downs' greatest jockey.

Enshrined in the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2005, Pat Day won a

record 2,482 races at Churchill Downs, including 156 stakes, from 1980-2005. His

local win total is more than double of his closest rival, fellow Hall of Famer

Calvin Borel, who has won 1,176 races beneath the Twin Spires.

"There's no better way for Churchill Downs to show its appreciation and honor

Pat Day -- a legendary jockey, great ambassador of horse racing, pillar in the

Louisville community and a man known for his devout faith -- than to pay tribute

with a race named in his honor on Kentucky Derby Day, America's greatest day of

racing," Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery said. "We're thrilled

to salute one of our most beloved individuals and role models."

None of Day's victories was more memorable than his triumph aboard W.C.

Partee's Lil E. Tee in the 1992 Kentucky Derby. He rode in a record 21

consecutive renewals of the Kentucky Derby, a streak that ended when hip surgery

forced him to miss the 2005 "Run for the Roses." Day's Triple Crown resume also

included five wins in the Preakness Stakes (G1) -- one short of Eddie Arcaro's

record -- and three victories in the Belmont Stakes.

"It's a tremendous honor to have a race at any time or any kind named in your

honor -- that's an honor in and of itself," Day said. "But to have a race such

as the Derby Trial moved to Kentucky Derby Day and have it renamed the Pat Day

Mile is out of the park. That's just unbelievable.

"To say that we're honored is an understatement. In the same way that I was

unable to describe the feeling of winning the Kentucky Derby, I find myself at a

loss for words to describe the feeling of having this occur. God continues to

bless me. I truly appreciate the sentiment and thank Churchill Downs for the

honor."

Day's 8,803 career wins rank fourth all-time and his mounts that earned

$297,914,839 rank second. During his career, Day lead the nation in wins six

times (1982-84, '86, and '90-91). His most prolific single day came on September

13, 1989, when Day set a North American record by winning eight races from nine

mounts at Arlington Park. At Churchill Downs, he won with a record seven mounts

on June 20, 1984. His local dominance is amplified by a record 34 riding titles

-- 15 spring meet and 19 fall meet riding crowns.

"We've been kicking around the idea of moving the Derby Trial to Kentucky

Derby Day for a couple of years now because the race is clearly not a

significant step to the Derby anymore with the way horsemen train their horses

today," said Ben Huffman, Churchill Downs Racetrack's Director of Racing and

Racing Secretary.

"We revere the storied history of the race but ultimately feel that a

one-turn mile race with familiar three-year-olds that aren't up to the

mile-and-a-quarter distance could prove to be very popular with both horsemen

and fans alike on Kentucky Derby Day. We think this really bolsters an already

substantial Derby Day card."

The former Derby Trial was first run in 1924 and that inaugural running was

won by Black Gold, who returned to win the Derby. Others who swept both races

include Triple Crown winner Citation (1948), Hill Gail (1952), Dark Star (1953)

and Tim Tam (1958). Horses that failed to win the Derby Trial but won the

Kentucky Derby include Triple Crown winners Whirlaway (1941) and Assault (1946),

Lawrin (1938), Gallahadion (1940), Ponder (1949), Middleground (1950), Determine

(1954) and Iron Liege (1957). 

Assault and Iron Liege finished off-the-board in their respective runnings of

the Trial, while the others were runners-up in their renewals. The most recent

Derby Trial winner to play a significant role in the Kentucky Derby was B. Wayne

Hughes' Don't Get Mad, who finished fourth to Giacomo in the 2005 Derby.

Taking the place of the former Derby Trial on Opening Night will be the

$100,000 William Walker, which is named to honor the riding great from

yesteryear who is best known for guiding Dan Swigert's Baden-Baden to a

two-length victory in the 1877 Kentucky Derby at the age of 17 for eventual Hall

of Fame trainer Edward Dudley Brown.

The inaugural running of the six-furlong sprint for three-year-olds is the

highlight of the opening night celebration under the lights on Saturday, April

25, which will kick off the spring meet and Kentucky Derby Week.

"A sprint for three-year-olds is really the only stakes category that we

don't have covered on Oaks and Derby Days," Huffman said. "We think horsemen

will appreciate this spot for sprinting three-year-olds."

William "Billy" Walker Sr. was born enslaved in 1860 in Woodford County,

Kentucky and began riding at age 11 in 1871. He witnessed every Derby for 59

straight years from its 1875 debut until his death at age 73 on September 20,

1933. The African-American jockey was Churchill Downs' leading rider at six of

the track's first 13 meets (fall 1875, spring '76, fall '76, spring '77, spring

'78 and spring '81).

One of his greatest moments at Churchill Downs came aboard seven-year-old Ten

Broeck in the famed four-mile match race with the California-based mare Molly

McCarthy on July 4, 1878, a contest remembered in the bluegrass music standard

"Molly and Tenbrooks."

When Walker's riding career ended after some 25 years, he became a trainer,

was recognized as an expert on breeding and bloodlines and served as an advisor

to John E. Madden, who bred five winners of the Kentucky Derby: Hall of Fame

inductees Old Rosebud (1914), Triple Crown-winner Sir Barton (1919) and Zev

(1923), as well as Paul Jones (1920) and Flying Ebony (1925). He also served as

a clocker at Churchill Downs' spring and fall meets.

Walker's unmarked grave was discovered at the Louisville Cemetery near

Germantown in the mid-1990s, and Churchill Downs placed a headstone detailing

his memorable racing career at the resting place prior to the 1996 Kentucky

Derby.

"There's a vast number of people who helped make Churchill Downs the

legendary racetrack that it is today, and we're proud to remember William

'Billy' Walker as one of Churchill Downs' founding jockeys," Flanery said.

"Walker not only had a noteworthy career in horse racing and the Kentucky Derby,

but he was a notable and admired individual in Louisville's African-American

community. We're delighted to memorialize his impact with this new opening night

stakes race."

The addition of the Pat Day Mile to Kentucky Derby Day on May 2 means that

seven graded stakes races cumulatively worth $4.05 million -- the richest in the

track's storied history -- will help comprise the 13-race Derby Day card.

The Kentucky Derby will be preceded by the 29th running of the $500,000

Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1), a 1 1/8-mile test on the Matt Winn Turf

Course for four-year-olds and up; the 29th running of the $300,000 Humana

Distaff (G1), a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares; the 81st

running of the $500,000 Churchill Downs (G2), a seven-furlong sprint for

four-year-olds and up; the 30th running of the $300,000 Churchill Distaff Turf

Mile (G2), a one mile grass race for older fillies and mares; the 24th running

of the $250,000 American Turf (G2), a 1 1/16-mile turf contest for

three-year-olds; and 91st running of the $200,000 Pat Day Mile.

The Churchill Downs, won in recent years by Shackleford (2012), Delauney

(2013) and Central Banker (2014), received a $100,000 purse increase.

The Kentucky Oaks Day card on May 1 is the nation's fourth-largest attended

racing program in the U.S. behind only the three Triple Crown events. The Oaks

Day card features six stakes cumulatively worth a record $2.2 million, including

the 30th running of the $300,000 La Troienne (G1), a 1 1/16-mile test for older

fillies and mares; $400,000 Alysheba (G2), a 1 1/16-mile test for four-year-olds

and up; 60th running of the $200,000 Eight Belles (G3), a seven-furlong sprint

for three-year-old fillies; 21st running of the $150,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint

(G3), a five-furlong dash on grass for four-year-olds and up; and 31st running

of the $150,000 Edgewood (G3), a 1 1/16-mile turf race for three-year-old

fillies.

The Alysheba, an increasingly popular spot for some of the nation's elite

older horses, was enhanced by $100,000. Recent winners include First Dude

(2011), Successful Dan (2012), Take Charge Indy (2013) and Moonshine Mullin

(2014) against fields that have included the likes of future two-time Horse of

the Year (2012-13) Wise Dan, who finished eighth in 2011; future Breeders' Cup

Classic (G1) winners Fort Larned (2012) and Mucho Macho Man (2013), who finished

second and third, respectively, in 2012; and 2013 champion three-year-old male

Will Take Charge, who finished sixth as the favorite last year.

"The Alysheba and Churchill Downs are two of the strongest Grade 2s on our

stakes program and we're continuing to gradually get these undercard stakes

purses up to ensure high quality talent from around the country with the hope of

garnering Grade 1 status down the road," Huffman said. "That's our ultimate

goal."

Also, the Eight Belles was boosted by $25,000 and the Edgewood was awarded

Grade 3 status for the first time by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the

Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association after its annual review of U.S.

races.

The 34th running of the $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at 1 1/8 miles,

the racing centerpiece of a "Downs After Dark" night racing program on June 13

is one of the major American races for older horses and heads a schedule of four

races beneath the Churchill Downs lights that offer total stakes purses of

$900,000. Sharing the nighttime spotlight with the Foster are the 40th running

of the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap (G2), a 1 1/8-mile races for fillies and

mares; the 18th running of the $100,000 Matt Winn (G3) for three-year-olds at 1

1/16 miles; and the 46th running of the $100,000 Regret (G3) for three-year-old

fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Closing night on June 27 will showcase a stakes tripleheader for the spring

"Downs After Dark" finale. The headliner under the lights is the 25th running of

the $200,000 Firecracker (G2), a one-mile grass test for three-year-olds and up

that was won by Wise Dan in 2011 and '13; the 114th running of the Bashford

Manor (G3) for two-year-olds at six furlongs; and the $100,000 Debutante for

two-year-old fillies at six furlongs, which is being carded one week later than

recent renewals.

Other stakes races scheduled during the Spring Meet: the 78th running of the

$100,000 Louisville Handicap (G3), a 1 1/2-mile grass marathon for

three-year-olds and up on May 23; the 12th running of the $100,000 Winning

Colors (G3), a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares on Memorial Day, May 25;

the $100,000 Aristides (G3), a six-furlong dash for three-year-olds and up on

May 30; and the $100,000 Mint Julep Handicap (G3) for fillies and mares at 1

1/16 miles on turf on June 6.

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