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The road to the Kentucky Derby will run through Arkansas this weekend and TVG will be broadcasting live from Oaklawn Park with full coverage of the $1 million Arkansas Derby as the undefeated Concert Tour puts his perfect record on the line. There will also be expanded coverage of Keeneland s Spring Meet which features a pair of Grade 1 events this weekend – the $300,000 Maker s Mark Mile (G1) on Friday and the $300,000 Coolmore (G1) Jenny Wiley on Saturday.
TVG s Britney Eurton, Matt Carothers and Caton Bredar will be live from Oaklawn Park with insights and analysis throughout the thirteen-race card. The Arkansas Derby (GI) offers 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers and has drawn a field of six including two contenders for trainer Bob Baffert who saddled Nadal to victory in this race last year. Rebel Stakes (G2) winner Concert Tour, undefeated from three starts, is a homebred for Gary and Mary West and will have Joel Rosario aboard.
Australia: Four Group 1 Races Friday Night In The Championships At Randwick Sponsored by:
Eduardo, right, holds off Nature Strip in the G2 Challenge Stakes
Australia s equivalent of the Breeders Cup commences this Friday night, as Day One of “The Championships” at Randwick features a quartet of rich Group One races. Sky Racing World s racing expert Jason Witham will be trackside at Randwick for live crosses to the TVG broadcast (First Post: 9:35pm ET / 6:35pm PT).
Just as America s season-defining event takes place in the Fall, a couple of months before the season concludes, The Championships fall within Sydney s “Autumn Racing Carnival” a few months before the end of the Southern Hemisphere racing season. Like the Breeders Cup, The Championships is a two-day event, except the two days are staged a week apart. More than $21 million in purses are up for grabs across the next two Friday nights, and each day of The Championships features an eagerly awaited re
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Lance O’Sullivan admits his confidence in Rocket Spade’s prospects for Australia’s richest staying classic hasn’t been bolstered by the subsequent Australian performances of the pair that trailed him home in the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m).
Rocket Spade is on the third line of betting for the A$2 million Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday after beating Milford by a short neck in the New Zealand Derby, with Frontman a further short head back in third.
But in their respective races since the New Zealand Derby, both Milford and Frontman – who races as The Frontman in Australia – disappointed when finishing well held eighth-placings in their Australian debuts, Milford in the Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and The Frontman in the Gr.2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m).
Melody Belle no certainty to start in G1 Tancred Stakes at Rosehill
Melody Belle no certainty to start in G1 Tancred Stakes by Ray Thomas Melody Belle is no certainty to start in the Tancred Image: Getty
Trainer Jamie Richards remains optimistic champion mare Melody Belle will be given the all-clear to line up in the G1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Melody Belle is being closely monitored by veterinarians after she was found to be “tied up” after trackwork on Wednesday morning - this is essentially a build-up of lactic acid in the hind legs.
“It’s not ideal for this to happen in the week of a big race,” Richards said.
Khoekhoe to have Australian Derby test in Rosehill Guineas justhorseracing.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from justhorseracing.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.