Kentucky
Kentucky Derby preview: Picks for Saturday as well as the sport’s future – WTOP News
While the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby kicks off horse racing’s Triple Crown on Saturday, next month’s Preakness will be special for multiple reasons.
While the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby kicks off horse racing’s Triple Crown on Saturday, this month’s Preakness Stakes will be special for multiple reasons.
First, the race will be held at Laurel Park due to Pimlico Race Course renovations. Second, this might be the last time the Preakness will be held on the third Saturday of May.
Sports Business Journal reported April 13 that the race could be moved back one week to allow for horses to recover fully from their Derby run, something that kept Sovereignty out of the Preakness last May and thus eliminating any Triple Crown talk before it even had a chance to begin.
The current format of three races in five weeks has been in place for over half a century.
“Basically etched in stone in 1969, and that was in an era when horses would run every two weeks with no issue,” said Barry Abrams, host of “The Far Turn” on the EQUUS TV Network. “But that’s not how it’s done any more. More time between races is absolutely what every trainer wants, and two weeks from the Derby to the Preakness is an anachronism. And the next media rights-holder is going to put an end to that.”
NBC has broadcast the race since 2002 and its contract ends this year. The network (which also airs the Derby) is still in the mix, as is FOX (which broadcasts the Belmont Stakes). But don’t discount ABC/ESPN, the network that aired the Preakness from 1977 to 2001.
The date isn’t the only wind of change surrounding the Preakness. Churchill Downs Incorporated said it has entered into an agreement to acquire the intellectual property for the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. Churchill Downs Incorporated previously purchased Calder Race Course in Miami and Arlington International Racecourse in Illinois before shuttering both tracks.
Abrams told WTOP not to expect anything in the near future, but he wouldn’t be surprised if 20 years from now the Preakness is moved to a track Churchill Downs owns in, say, Richmond, Virginia.
But let’s refocus on this year’s races.
Renegade is the favorite this year at 5-1 odds (as of Thursday morning), but they’ll be starting from the No. 1 post position — a spot that hasn’t yielded a Derby winner since Ferdinand in 1986.
“It’s obviously not good. When you have a field of 20, which is the only race in North America that has a field that large, when you go from the rail, you really run the risk of being boxed in by the field up against the fence,” Abrams said. “If anybody can figure out a way to work a trip out for him it’s Irad Ortiz Jr., but he’s got to balance between using enough energy to make sure he doesn’t get swarmed but saving enough energy for the end of the race.”
Legendary trainer Bob Baffert has seen six of his horses take the Derby, including Triple Crown winners American Pharaoh in 2015 and Justify in 2018. This year he has two, and Potente has drawn significant attention at around 26-1 odds.
“I think this horse has a real chance to win. His numbers have gotten better every time, he’s won after being up near the early lead and he’s won while being not near the early lead,” Abrams said. “The problem is because he’s going from the 14 in so much traffic, he just may not get the right trip. He may get bounced around.”
Also getting Barry’s eye are the horses starting from the No. 8 and 9 posts, So Happy (6-1) and The Puma (7-1).
“The Puma has danced a lot of dances and is very consistent,” Abrams said. “He won the Tampa Bay Derby and was competitive in his other starts in Florida against really good horses like Commandment.”
Meanwhile, So Happy gives hope to those who subscribe to the “bounce” pattern of a thoroughbred.
“This horse won the Santa Anita Derby going away, while the race before that, he didn’t run well. And two starts before, he did,” Abrams said. “Has he gotten that bounce out of the way and therefore is sitting on a big race?”
Regardless of which horse finishes first, the winning pick remains a straw boater hat, madras jacket, white pants and blue Sperry shoes for men, and a fascinator for the women — plus plenty of sunscreen.
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Over the last several recruiting classes, the University of Kentucky Basketball program has come up short in terms of landing the “big fish” in either recruiting or the transfer portal.
But recently, head coach Mark Pope and his staff landed Milan Momcilovic — the top target in the entire transfer portal — from Iowa State to join their team for the upcoming season.
While many people clearly played a role in getting Momcilovic to Kentucky, former Wildcat Tyler Herro clearly had his fingerprints on the move.
Tyler’s dad — Chris — was Momcilovic’s coach back in AAU and (of course) was heavily connected to UK through Tyler back around the COVID years when Momcilovic was being recruited out of high school.
“Tyler reached out to me. Chris (Herro) and my dad are pretty good friends because they used to coach together on the EYB,” Momcilovic said during Thursday’s media scrum. “So, he was calling me, and he was obviously telling me, ‘Go to Kentucky. Go to Kentucky.’ I really like the Herro family. Obviously, I listen to them, but it was my decision at the end of the day.”
Though Kentucky never reached out originally back during his high school recruiting, they did come knocking most recently during this past summer, and with the help of Herro’s encouragement, Momcilovic will represent the Big Blue Nation this fall in Lexington for a chance to try and bring banner No. 9 home to UK.
Can’t love this enough.
No return to college bball for Billy D.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – Cub Express Auto Wash will officially open its newest Kentucky location next week.
Located at 2270 Scottsville Rd. in Bowling Green, a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Tuesday, July 7, at 11 a.m. It will kick off five days of free car washes for the community.
The Five Days of Free will run from Tuesday, July 7, through Saturday, July 11. Each guest will receive the Ultimate wash, Cub Express’s top-tier wash experience. at no charge.
The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting on-site at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate the opening alongside the Cub Express team.
Claim Your Free Ultimate Wash
Copyright 2026 WBKO. All rights reserved.
Mark Pope had a real surprise on his 2025-26 roster as true freshman center Malachi Moreno exceeded expectations, stepping into a starting role. Big Blue Nation didn’t expect Moreno to see the floor much once Jayden Quaintance was back on the floor, but JQ never got healthy, and Moreno took over for Brandon Garrison immediately. The freshman seven-footer averaged 7.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game.
This season, many expect a massive leap for Moreno as he could take over as one of the more dominant centers in the SEC. While his name was in the NBA Draft, the stock rose quickly for Moreno, and this gives fans and the staff a ton of confidence that he is going to break out this season.
Another person who believes Moreno is going to break out this season is Jon Rothstein. He made a list of his five top breakout candidates in SEC basketball this season, and Moreno was on this list, joined by Florida’s Isaiah Brown, Alabama’s London Jemison, Tennessee’s Dewayne Brown, and lastly Patton Pinkins from Ole Miss.
I believe Moreno is going to boost his stats from year one to year two in an absolutely massive way. I predict Moreno to score in the ballpark of 13 points per game this season. I expect him to pull down about 9 boards per game. His assists will take a big leap with him running the show, and I am predicting 3.5 dimes per game. Lastly, the shot blocking will be important for Moreno, and I believe he will average about 2.2 blocks per game.
If Moreno is able to put up numbers close to that this year as a sophomore, he is going to, without question, turn himself into a first-round draft pick, which Coach Pope predicted. The big thing for Moreno will be getting more physical down low. At times last season, teams would have a big who played a little bit more physical than Moreno, and he didn’t do well.
If Moreno can get mean down low, he is going to put up some eye-popping numbers this season in Lexington. I believe Moreno will finish this college basketball season as a top ten center in all of college basketball. It is going to be an absolute delight to watch Moreno run the show on offense this season for Pope and the Wildcats.
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