Kentucky
Kentucky Derby 2024: Yearling bargains are now contenders
West Saratoga fetched a meager $11,000 when he was one of the last horses sold at Keeneland’s September yearling sale. May foal Honor Marie and Society Man, both hurt by lack of size, brought $40,000 and $85,000 at the same sale.
Those prices do not suggest that any of the three would go on to do something special. In each case, they far outran the values placed on them. And they ran their way into the 150th Kentucky Derby.
“I think that’s part of what makes our game so romantic. It can happen to anybody if you take a bit of a chance,” said Conor Foley of Oracle Bloodstock, the top bidder for Society Man.
Harry Veruchi, who landed West Saratoga, was growing impatient with trainer Larry Demeritte as he rejected one prospect after another, leaving only a handful of yearlings still available.
“Larry, we need to buy something,” he told him.
Demeritte, who has a history of spotting bargains, stood his ground. “Harry, I’m not going to buy something just to buy something. It has to be the right horse.”
Shortly after that, Veruchi received a phone call from an excited Demeritte. He wished to bid on hip 4146, convinced that he was the “right horse.” The son of 2016 Preakness winner Exaggerator lacked size but he passed the eye test with a good shoulder and good hip. Above all, nothing rattled him during the hustle and bustle of the sale.
Veruchi, who once owned a used car dealership in Denver with his brother, likes to shop with Demeritte in the $5,000 to $25,000 range for yearlings. He authorized a top bid of $20,000 and was delighted to spend a little more than half of that.
“I was hoping for an allowance horse and, if he was good enough to win a stakes race on a smaller scale, yeah, we’d probably try that,” Veruchi said.
West Saratoga became the first horse to earn Derby qualifying points when he captured the Sept. 16 Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs, providing Veruchi with his first graded-stakes win. He locked up a Derby berth when he placed second in the March 23 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) on Turfway Park’s Tapeta surface, hiking his lifetime earnings to $460,140.
Honor Marie, runner-up to Catching Freedom in the March 23 Louisiana Derby (G2), will actually celebrate his birthday on Derby Day. While that may be a nice touch for onlookers, his standing as a May foal undoubtedly diminished his worth. But not in the eyes of Kyle Zorn of Legion Bloodstock. He saw nothing but value.
“Sometimes these May foals sneak in there because they haven’t done the physical change that people are looking for,” said Zorn.
He also was not discouraged by the pedigree, even though Honor Code had shown little as a sire to that point. The dam, Dame Marie, had done well on turf and he thought they would be sending a nice turf horse to trainer Whit Beckman.
“Everybody is looking at the same horses on pedigree, so we try to find some diamonds in the rough,” Zorn said. “He was a no-brainer. He had the walk. He looked like a horse that would mature.”
He and the other partners in Legion Bloodstock could not have been more correct. Honor Marie boast a 5: 2-2-0 record with earnings of $526,175 for majority owners Kerry and Alan Ribble. They bought out their initial partners and later added Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver and David and Kenneth Fishbein.
Then there is Society Man. He was not on the Derby radar until the April 6 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct. Sent off at 106-1 in the Wood in his first start after breaking his maiden, he made trainer Danny Gargan’s decision to run him look like a stroke of genius when he rallied to snag second to Resilience.
Conor Foley of Oracle Bloodstock, bidding on behalf of West Paces Racing, said he was prepared to offer as much as $300,000 for the son of Good Magic. He was “shocked” when the hammer fell at $85,000.
“He was not a big horse but incredibly athletic,” Foley said. “I bought him with the hope that he would keep that athleticism and still grow some. And I think he did that.”
It appears to have helped the cause that Society Man underwent what Foley described as “the ultimate equipment change.” He made dramatic progress after he was gelded.
Rep. Thomas Massie’s loss in Kentucky solidifies Trump’s influence over the Republican Party. Relatives mourn the victims of the deadly mosque shooting in San Diego. And an American doctor with Ebola is evacuated to Germany for treatment.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump notches GOP primary wins, but midterm questions remain
President Donald Trump scored his biggest win yet in his mission to eliminate political enemies within his own party, as former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein won the Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District over Rep. Thomas Massie. Gallrein, Trump’s chosen candidate, won 54% of the vote, aided by an extraordinary ad blitz fueled largely by pro-Trump and pro-Israeli groups.
In successfully ousting Massie — who opposed the president on key issues — Trump continues to prove that he can not only influence GOP voters but also attack Republicans who have opposed him without feeling like there are significant negative consequences.
But Trump did not outright win everything he touched. In Georgia’s race for governor, Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire Rick Jackson are headed to a runoff for the Republican nomination. (The winner of the runoff will face Democratic candidate and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.)
Despite the wins, it’s unclear how Trump’s GOP primary dominance will play out in the midterm general election. His low approval ratings and the war with Iran may raise red flags among voters who supported the president’s “America First” agenda. And his surprise endorsement of Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton a week before the runoff against longtime Sen. John Cornyn has some wondering if the president should’ve kept quiet.
Read the full story here.
More election results:
- Democrats picked candidates for four key districts in Pennsylvania in the party’s battle for the House.
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity will face off in the race for governor. The result wasn’t unexpected, but the outcome of the race could have a big impact nationwide.
- Rep. Andy Barr won the Republican primary in the race for retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat in Kentucky.
- Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley are heading to a Senate Republican primary runoff in Georgia, vying to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville won the Republican primary for governor of Alabama, making him the clear favorite to win the general election.
- In the race to succeed Tuberville, Rep. Barry Moore advanced to a Senate primary runoff, and two rivals are battling for the second spot.
- State Sen. Christine Drazan won the Republican nomination for governor of Oregon, setting up a rematch against Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.
More politics news:
- The Senate voted to advance a resolution to end the war in Iran after GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy flipped his vote to “yes.”
- Months before a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund was announced, a Trump administration official told a GOP ally that big payouts were coming for Jan. 6 defendants.
- The DOJ said the federal government won’t take legal action against Trump, his family members and companies as part of Trump’s settlement agreement with the IRS.
Steve Kornacki answers your questions live today
At 2 p.m. ET, NBC News’ chief data analyst will take questions from subscribers in a livestreamed Q&A. Ask Steve anything — go deeper into Tuesday’s election results, delve into burning questions about the midterms or learn more about his career and life in front of the Kornacki Cam. Submit your question here.
San Diego mosque shooting victims identified as investigators probe writings
A day after two gunmen killed three people at a San Diego mosque, loved ones remembered the victims as important pillars of the community while investigators looked into the suspects’ possible writings, filled with extremist material.
The victims were identified as: Security guard Amin Abdullah, whose daughter called him her best friend and said he was so dedicated to his job that he would skip lunch to stay on duty. Mansour Kaziha, a community leader who managed the mosque store for nearly 40 years. Imam Taha Hassane said he was the mosque’s handyman, cook, caretaker and storekeeper. “He was everything,” Hassane said. And Nadir Award, who rushed to protect the school when he heard the shooting and is being remembered for his generosity and presence in the community. More about the victims.
Meanwhile, investigators are trying to authenticate a document posted online that purportedly details the motivations of the gunmen. The 75-page document has sections apparently written by Caleb Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, and includes material that espouses anti-Islamic, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ views and promotes white supremacist ideology. More about the documents.
American doctor with Ebola evacuated to Germany
The American surgeon who contracted Ebola in Congo was barely able to stand on his own as he departed the country to be flown to Germany for treatment, according to two leaders of the Christian missionary group where he worked.
Dr. Peter Stafford “looked really tired and really sick,” said Dr. Scott Myhre, the East and Central Africa area director for the group, called Serge.
Stafford’s wife, Rebekah Stafford, is also a doctor and treated the same patient thought to have infected Stafford. She and the couple’s four young children remain in Congo, where they are being monitored.
How Stafford is thought to have contracted the virus.
There are now more than 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths from the virus, the head of the World Health Organization said today.
Read All About It
- A U.S. indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 94, is expected in Miami.
- Meta is expected to announce today a company reorganization that includes moving 7,000 employees into roles focused on AI and layoffs affecting 10% of the company, a source said.
- The NAACP launched a campaign calling on Black student-athletes to boycott Southern colleges after a Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act.
- A Minnesota woman paid $99,000 to an insurance company to generate retirement income for life. Then, the company collapsed.
- Tens of thousands of people flocked to the streets of North London late Tuesday after soccer club Arsenal clinched its first English Premier League title in 22 years.
Staff Pick: Amid prospect of ICE at World Cup games, vendors weigh their livelihoods against safety
The upcoming World Cup will bring some of soccer’s biggest stars to the U.S., but at the site of one of the stadiums hosting multiple games, a sense of unease is palpable. This story from breaking news reporter Marlene Lenthang examines the feelings of Latino vendors in and around SoFi Stadium in Inglewood amid the possibility of ICE agents working games — a gamble between their safety and a potentially lucrative payday.
The Los Angeles region was rocked last year by sprawling immigration raids targeting day laborers and factory workers. While the glitz and glamor of soccer’s most prestigious competition coming to town has generated excitement in some quarters, Marlene’s interviews with vendors highlights the worry that continues to linger for others. — Rudy Chinchilla, breaking news editor
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Former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein has won the Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District over Rep. Thomas Massie, NBC News projects, notching another win for President Donald Trump in his push to eliminate political rivals and roadblocks within his own party.
Gallrein beat Massie in the most explosive fight of Trump’s political pressure campaign, which wended its way from Indiana and Louisiana to Kentucky this month, all featuring primary challengers he endorsed. Gallrein was aided by an extraordinary advertising blitz fueled largely by pro-Trump and pro-Israel groups.
Massie, first elected to the House in 2012, had become an ever-present thorn in Trump’s side. Trump traveled to the district in March to throw his political weight behind Gallrein and slammed Massie as a “disaster.”
Known as an anti-war libertarian and deficit hawk, Massie drew ire from Trump and his allies for opposing the war in Iran, as well as Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” spending package. Massie, along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also was one of the chief proponents of releasing the Justice Department’s files related to investigations of the late sex offender — and onetime Trump friend — Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie’s prospects of outmaneuvering Trump became even more tenuous over the final days of the race.
In Louisiana, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican who similarly got crosswise with Trump, failed to advance from the party’s primary in his re-election bid Saturday, underscoring how unflinchingly loyal GOP voters remain to Trump.
And when Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo, campaigned with Massie, Trump threatened to revoke his endorsement of her.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Kentucky on Monday for a last-minute appearance with Gallrein — an unusual and overtly political move for a defense secretary but one the Defense Department said Hegseth was making in his personal capacity.
“There’s a portion of the electorate who doesn’t believe that Congress should be independent,” Massie said in an interview last month. “They believe that, when the Republicans control the White House and the Congress, that Congress should just do whatever the president wants. But that’s not how our government’s set up.”
Massie faced an onslaught of ads, many of them negative, led by MAGA KY, a super PAC directed by Trump adviser Chris LaCivita. The group’s attacks focused in part on immigration and border security provisions in Trump’s spending bill. Pro-Israel groups affiliated with the Republican Jewish Coalition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, also poured millions of dollars onto the state’s airwaves to boost Gallrein.
Spots promoting Gallrein or attacking Massie accounted for more than $19 million of the $33 million spent on advertising in the primary, according to AdImpact, an ad-tracking firm. But pro-Massie forces made noise, as well. The Massie-aligned Kentucky 4th PAC aired a spot called “Tucked Tail And Ran” that used war imagery to emphasize Gallrein’s departure from the GOP during Trump’s first term. The ad depicted Gallrein leaving Trump behind in a foxhole.
Gallrein kept a low profile, choosing to let Trump’s endorsement speak for him and drawing criticism from Massie for dodging debates and other candidate forums.
“It’s like they have a tracker on my car and keep from getting within 50 miles of me,” Massie said last month. “He is scared to answer any question, even if I don’t get to ask the questions.”
Massie’s defeat follows other losses this month by Republican state lawmakers in Indiana who had resisted a Trump-backed congressional redistricting push. Five challengers endorsed by Trump defeated sitting state senators in their primaries.
Another Trump victory came Saturday in Louisiana, where Cassidy, who had voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, finished third in his re-election primary. Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming advanced to a June 27 runoff.
Massie told NBC News last month that the outcome of his primary could determine whether more Republicans and Congress are willing to stand up to Trump.
“They’re trying to decide,” Massie said, “could they win an election?”
Kentucky
Election live updates: Voters go to the polls in Kentucky, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and more in major primary contests
Trump campaigned via phone for three GOP candidates in Kentucky yesterday, urging voters to back candidates that include the challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie.
Trump split time during the event advocating for Rep. Andy Barr for Senate, Ralph Alvarado for the 6th Congressional district and Ed Gallrein for the 4th Congressional District where Massie is the representative.
“This is a group, great group of people, but that’s in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District against a disastrous Thomas Massie. I say, he’s the worst Republican congressman in the history of the country,” Trump said.
“You need to send Ed Gallrein to fight for you in Washington,” Trump said during the call.
Gallrein called the primary a “pick a side moment,” arguing that a vote for Massie — who has previously said he votes with the GOP “90% of the time” — would be “picking the radical Democrats” over “President Trump, the Republican Party and the Constitution.”
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