Before the graded stakes taking place during the May 3 Kentucky Oaks (G1) and May 4 Kentucky Derby (G1) race cards, three high-value stakes headline weekday stakes action at Churchill Downs May 2.
Racing on "Thurby"—so called as the Thursday before the Derby—is top notch. There are 12 races, including the $250,000 Kentucky Juvenile Stakes for 2-year-olds racing five furlongs, the restricted $200,000 St. Matthews Overnight Stakes for older horses at six furlongs, and the $350,000 Opening Verse Stakes at a mile on turf.
- The latter race, the 11th on the card, drew numerous skilled grass horses, led by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Carl Spackler, a two-time graded stakes winner in 2023 for trainer Chad Brown. He makes his 4-year-old debut in the race, facing opposition led by the grade 1-placed Ah Jeez and multiple stakes winners Smokin' T and Talk of the Nation.
- A race before, Tamaroak Partners' Bango, an 11-time winner at Churchill Downs from 21 starts for trainer Greg Foley, will face six rivals as he bids to become the winningest horse in track history. He is currently tied with Ready's Rocket with 11 wins. Bango won the St. Matthews by five lengths last year.
- Preceding both of these races is the Kentucky Juvenile in which Ice Wine Stable and Smart Choice Stable's Shoot It True, a daughter of Munnings , could give trainer Wesley Ward a third victory in the race.
Entries: Kentucky Juvenile S.
Churchill Downs, Thursday, May 2, 2024, Race 9
- STK
- 5f
- Dirt
- $250,000
- 2 yo
- 5:13 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Tuxedo Park (KY) | Joseph C. Bealmear | 118 | Paul McEntee | 10/1 |
| 2 | 2Akinmusire (KY) | Joel Rosario | 118 | Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. | 8/1 |
| 3 | 3The Queens M G (KY) | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | 117 | Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. | 6/1 |
| 4 | 4Strummin (KY) | Victor Lebron | 118 | John A. Hancock | 8/1 |
| 5 | 5Jet Sweep Joe (KY) | Luis Saez | 120 | Paul McEntee | 6/1 |
| 6 | 6West Memorial (KY) | Reylu Gutierrez | 115 | John A. Hancock | 12/1 |
| 7 | 7Shoot It True (NY) | Tyler Gaffalione | 117 | Wesley A. Ward | 7/5 |
| 8 | 8Turnbuckle (KY) | Julien R. Leparoux | 118 | Lance Rutledge | 30/1 |
| 9 | 9Mensa (FL) | Jose L. Ortiz | 120 | Mark E. Casse | 5/1 |
Churchill Downs, Thursday, May 2, 2024, Race 10Entries: St. Matthews Overnight S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Necker Island (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 120 Chris A. Hartman 12/1 2 2Surveillance (KY) James Graham 120 J. Keith Desormeaux 12/1 3 3Richiesonaroll (IL) Emmanuel Giles 118 Jose G. Rodriguez 20/1 4 4Manny Wah (KY) Flavien Prat 118 William Walden 6/1 5 5Bango (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Gregory D. Foley 1/1 6 6Bourbon Bash (KY) Keith J. Asmussen 118 D. Wayne Lukas 7/2 7 7O Besos (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Gregory D. Foley 4/1
Churchill Downs, Thursday, May 2, 2024, Race 11Entries: Opening Verse S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Ah Jeez (KY) Antonio Fresu 120 Doug F. O'Neill 12/1 2 2Churchtown (KY) Luis Saez 120 Roger L. Attfield 15/1 3 3Quality G (KY) Lanfranco Dettori 120 Todd A. Pletcher 12/1 4 4Smokin' T (KY) John R. Velazquez 120 Claude R. McGaughey III 6/1 5 5Harlan Estate (ON) Declan Cannon 120 D. Whitworth Beckman 15/1 6 6Ice Chocolat (BRZ) Jose L. Ortiz 120 Mark E. Casse 5/1 7 7Skyro (KY) Junior Alvarado 120 Brian A. Lynch 20/1 8 8Accredit (KY) Luan Machado 120 Pavel Matejka 20/1 9 9Carl Spackler (IRE) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Chad C. Brown 2/1 10 10Talk of the Nation (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 120 Todd A. Pletcher 3/1 11 11Stitched (KY) Florent Geroux 120 Gregory D. Foley 20/1 12 12Tiverton (GB) Axel Concepcion 120 Conor Murphy 30/1
