Kentucky Derby 2011: Churchill Downs Spring Meet Opens Saturday

Added on Apr 28, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

Horse Racing

The Kentucky Derby is still over a week away, but the festivities will begin in Louisville on Saturday night. Churchill Downs historically has kicked off its spring race meet one week before the Kentucky Derby, but this year they’re making a much bigger deal of it–they’re running a full card under their recently installed lights that will be headlined by the $200,000 Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial. Nine horses are expected to start the Derby Trial, though none are likely to be back one week later for the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby. Opening day at Churchill Downs has always taken a backseat to the huge event one week later. While obviously it can’t compare with the pageantry and significance of ‘The Run for the Roses’, the track is breaking with its tradition of a low key race meet opener and packaging the ‘Opening Night’ event as more of a big deal than in the past. Churchill Downs President Kevin Flanery said that it’s a great way to not only kick off the spring meet but Kentucky Derby week:

“We created this new stand-alone event to help properly kick off and celebrate Kentucky Derby Week.”

he added:

“Racing fans in Louisville love to dress up and love a good party. We intend to deliver that to them”

In theory, the Derby Trial is supposed to be a last shot for horses to qualify for the Kentucky Derby but even for a winning entry it would be a very long shot to make the field one week later. Even with a $200,000 prize in the Grade 3 Derby Trial, it’s not a lock that would be enough to get a horse in the top twenty of graded stakes winnings necessary to earn entry to the Kentucky Derby should it be oversubscribed. At this stage, the only way for a horse outside the top 20 to earn their way into an oversubscribed field would be for one of the horses already eligible to withdraw from the race. Still, the Derby Trial is attractive not only for its association with the most famous race in the sport but also it’s generous prize money. Furthermore, it’s a good springboard for a horse looking to compete in the Preakness Stakes or Belmont later this summer.