Horse Racing News Blog

Kentucky Derby creates new qualifying race (AP)
The Kentucky Derby could have a more international feel next year. Churchill Downs has partnered with Kempton Park Racecourse in England to create the $150,000 Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile race over Kempton’s synthetic surface that will guarantee the winner a spot in next year’s Derby.

Monmouth Park Barn Notes - Thursday, September 18 (PA SportsTicker)
(courtesy of www.monmouthpark.com)

Favorite Somebeachsomewhere skips Little Brown Jug (AP)
The big story in this year’s Little Brown Jug is the horse that isn’t there. Somebeachsomewhere, the season’s top-rated pacer in harness racing, is skipping Thursday’s Little Brown Jug at Ohio’s Delaware County Fairgrounds. It’s the first time that the leading 3-year-old pacer has by-passed the classic.