Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear drew standing ovations from the crowd Saturday at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration event.

Beshear said the upcoming election would be vital to protecting Americans’ rights and keeping former President Donald Trump out of office.

“Women’s rights are on the line, our economic recovery is on the line, the Senate and the House are on the line and the future of our sacred democracy is on the line,” Beshear said.

Beshear, who is one of several high-profile Democrats being vetted to be Kamala Harris’s running mate, also took shots at GOP vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance for his lack of conviction and his comments about his “origin story.”

“He ain’t from Kentucky. He ain’t from Appalachia. And he ain’t gonna be your vice president,” Beshear said.

Vance’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” recounts his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, largely by a grandmother who moved away from the Appalachian region of Kentucky.

Outside of the keynote speaker, Iowa Democratic leaders who took the stage bashed Iowa Republican policies. Officials criticized changes to the Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEA) and the anti-abortion law that will take effect Monday.

Iowa Democratic Chair Rita Hart vowed that the November election in Iowa would be different, and that Democrats would flip many seats both at the state Legislature and in Congress.

State House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst blasted Iowa Republicans over their leadership of the state and said the crowd would change Republicans’ attitude.

“Republicans feel like they’re going to be in charge forever. They vote like it and they act like it,” Konfrst said. “It’s our job to tell everyone that that’s not true. We’re going to flip the Iowa House.”

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand criticized efforts by state leaders to reduce the power of state auditors and repeated his colleagues’ assurances that Democrats would win big in the upcoming election.

“We’re going to move on and continue to build the power of the Democratic Party in the state of Iowa so that we can restore checks and balances and make sure that we have transparency and accountability and justice rising in the state of Iowa,” Sand said.

Iowa GOP spokesperson Luke Wolff said in a press release shortly after the event ended that a “radical speaker” like Beshear did not belong in Iowa.

“He is a privileged, out of touch Governor with an awful track record, and his policies have absolutely no place here. It makes sense the Iowa Democrats look to him as an inspiring figure who fits their radical agenda,” Wolff said.

Other speakers at the event included state Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, and congressional challengers Ryan Melton, Lanon Baccam and Sarah Corkery.

Beshear ended his speech with a call for unity and reiterated his endorsement of Harris.

“This November, we’re gonna win and get back to being each other’s neighbors. We’re gonna get back to being Americans before we’re Democrats or Republicans. We’re gonna get back to working together,” Beshear said. “What [Harris] will do as president is not move the country to the right or the left. She will move it forward.”

Beshear is expected to speak again at another rally near Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (WKYT) – Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna will race against the boys in the (G1) Travers Stakes in August. Her trainer, Lexington-based Kenny McPeek, made that announcement on Saturday.

McPeek said his filly will help bring attention to the sport.

“I’m a big believer that the sport needs stars,” McPeek told “FOX Saratoga Saturday.” “It needs to be promoted. It needs to be lifted. She can do that.”

Thorpedo Anna is a perfect 4-for-4 in her starts in 2024 and has won three-straight Grade 1 races.

The Travers Stakes is Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course.

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Mark Pope and his staff are looking for their signature win in the high school recruiting world in the 2025 class. For a while it seemed that Will Riley would be that win, but he ultimately reclassified to 2024 and ended up at Illinois.

Now, the Kentucky Wildcats are looking to find a new recruit to become that first victory on the recruiting trail.

There would be no bigger win, however, than securing the commitment of the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, AJ Dybantsa.

For some time, it seemed that Lexington was a strong contender for Dybantsa under John Calipari, but now it appears this recruitment has opened up quite a bit.

In a recent interview with Joe Tipton of On3, Dybantsa broke down some of his recruitment and had this to say about UK and the new Coach Pope era:

“I talked to Mark (Pope),” Dybantsa told Tipton. “I went on a Zoom with him but I got the offer on a call. Went on a Zoom with him, Jason Hart, and they were just talking about what they have in store and hopefully get me on a visit. He was in Istanbul, Turkey (to see me with USA Basketball).”

Outside of Kentucky, it appears that BYU, Arkansas, Baylor, UCONN, Alabama, Auburn, Duke, and several others are the schools to monitor as his recruitment starts to move into the visit portion.

Luckily for the Cats, this recruitment also seems to be far from over, as Dybantsa pointed to a late winter or early spring timeframe for him to make his commitment. His father confirmed that timeline in a conversation with Jacob Polacheck of KSR, pointing to February as a time we could see a commitment come.

The other good part of that conversation? His father guaranteed that his son would play in college.

“I guarantee he will play in college,” Ace Dybantsa told Polacheck. “He wants the experience of a college year. He promised his momma. Once you promise your momma, it’s hard to break that promise.”

We all know Kentucky’s recruiting history, which has been built upon for the last 15 seasons. Although it won’t be filled with 5-star talent every season, Pope and his staff will have to continue to try to reel in these players.

If they can get him on campus, it sounds like the Cats would still have a legitimate shot.

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