Pin Oak Stud’s Incredibolt  earned redemption March 14, spurting away from his competition to win the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs by 4 lengths. It was a successful rebound after a disappointing last-of-six finish in the Jan. 31 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The victory earned him 50 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points which, when added to 10 points earned from winning the Street Sense Stakes (G3) in October, should clinch him a spot in the Derby starting gate.

READ: Incredibolt Surges Late To Capture Virginia Derby

With the Kentucky Derby set seven weeks after the Virginia Derby on May 2, trainer Riley Mott confirmed on the March 16 episode of BloodHorse Monday that the plan will be to train up to the 1 1/4-mile classic.

“At this time, our plan is to train up to the Kentucky Derby,” Mott said. “While he now looks like he’s doing fine, you could always run the horse back on short rest and him kind of throw another clunker. Based on the horse as an individual, I feel extremely comfortable training him up to the Derby with the spacing we have.”

Incredibolt arrived back at Mott’s Palm Meadows Training Center barn in South Florida early Monday morning in great shape, according to Mott. Mott is confident that the son of Bolt d’Oro  ‘s physical attributes and strong work ethic in the mornings will have him primed for a top performance at Churchill Downs.

“He’s a very athletic and handy horse. He doesn’t carry a lot of extra unnecessary weight. He’s pretty lean-muscled and just a very athletic type,” Mott said. “He gets a lot out of his training. His breezes are very strong; he does everything very easily.”

Among the attributes that Mott praised was the horse’s strong gallop outs at the end of his breezes.

“I think those latter parts of the works and the gallop outs are ultra important and tell you a lot of the story,” Mott said. “From what I see from him in the morning in those work outs and gallop outs, he just goes and goes and goes and he’ll just tick off 14 seconds down the backside galloping out. He can get a lot out of his works.

“It will be up to me to try and train the horse the way he needs to be trained leading into the Derby off of some space in between the race.”

As for where that training takes place, Mott said the bulk of the workload will be at Palm Meadows. Should everything go well, Incredibolt would ship to Mott’s Churchill Downs barn about two weeks in advance of the Derby, spend a week jogging over the surface, and perform his final breeze over the surface he trained on throughout his 2-year-old season.

“The month of April down here in South Florida is exceptional,” Mott said. “We get a very consistent track down here at Palm Meadows. The horse does very well down here, we’ve got him in a very good routine, familiar surroundings.”

During the 22-minute interview on BloodHorse Monday, Mott also discussed the decision to run in the Virginia Derby after Incredibolt’s Holy Bull clunker, the atmosphere at Colonial Downs for their special weekend of racing, seeing his father (Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott) win the 2025 Derby, how Incredibolt defeated a potential superstition Saturday, and more.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Buckle up. Kentucky is about to experience one of the most dramatic weather swings of the season as spring and winter collide over the next 24 hours, bringing severe storms this evening, followed by a wild cold crash and snow.

The severe weather threat takes center stage today. A powerful cold front is racing from the Plains toward Kentucky, and it’s bringing a line of severe storms that could pack a serious punch — especially across western Kentucky this evening.

The Severe Threat: Damaging Winds and Tornadoes Possible

Temperatures will surge into the 70s across the state today, but don’t get too comfortable. Winds are already cranking up, with gusts reaching 40 to 50 mph this afternoon and evening as the storm system approaches.

When that line of severe storms arrives in western Kentucky this evening, damaging winds will be the main threat. But the Storm Prediction Center is also highlighting the possibility of a few tornadoes within this line, with the greatest tornado threat in western Kentucky.

The severe weather won’t stay in the west for long. The entire line will race eastward through central and eastern Kentucky during the late evening and early morning hours of Monday. Damaging winds remain a major threat as it moves east, though the line will weaken somewhat as it pushes toward the mountains. Still, some wind damage is possible even in eastern Kentucky.

Here’s what happens next: temperatures ahead of the front are sitting in the 65 to 70-degree range. Once that cold front passes, expect a dramatic temperature drop of 20 to 30 degrees in just one hour. Behind the front, snow showers and flurries will begin to develop.

Monday: From Flurries to Possible Snow Squalls

Monday will be a completely different story. Temperatures will continue to plummet from west to east, with most areas staying in the upper 20s and low 30s. Factor in the wind, and it’ll feel like the teens with dangerous wind chills.

Snow showers and flurries will be common across the state, especially in central and eastern Kentucky. A few snow squalls can’t be ruled out — and here’s something unusual: one or two of these snow squalls may actually produce a little thunder.

Some light slush may show up on grassy and elevated surfaces throughout the day. We are watching closely for a band of enhanced snow trying to develop across eastern Kentucky. If that develops as expected, a slushy accumulation — what we’re calling a “slushy thumper” — would be possible.

Monday Night Into Tuesday: Slick Conditions Possible

A few snow showers and flurries will continue Monday night with light accumulations possible. Temperatures will drop into the teens, which means bridges and overpasses could become slick. Wind chills will reach the single digits by Tuesday morning — dangerously cold.

Looking ahead: The cold snap is temporary. Temperatures will start to rebound on Wednesday with a slight chance of rain or snow showers early in the day. Milder winds move in, pushing temperatures into the 60s Thursday, the 70s Friday, and possibly the 80s next weekend.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – All six crew members of a KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed while supporting operations against Iran are dead, the U.S. military said Friday.

The Department of War announced that 34-year-old Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt of Bardstown was among the six killed. She was assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

The DOW identified the other five Airmen as:

• Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama
• Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington
• Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana
• Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio
• Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash in western Iraq on Thursday followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace” and that the other plane landed safely.

The crash brings the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members, with the seven others killed in combat. About 140 U.S. service members have been injured, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week.

The KC-135 has been in service for more than 60 years and has been involved in several fatal accidents, most recently in 2013. Adding to concerns about their reliability, the aircraft don’t always carry parachutes.

Here’s what is known so far about the tanker, which is the fourth U.S. military aircraft publicly acknowledged to have crashed since the war against Iran began on Feb. 28:

Cause of crash not immediately known

U.S. Central Command said the circumstances of the crash are under investigation but that the loss of the aircraft was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the other plane involved was also a KC-135. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., wrote on X that the other plane landed safely in Israel.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday morning that the crash occurred “over friendly territory in western Iraq, while the crew was on a combat mission” and reiterated that hostile or friendly fire was not the cause.

Speaking at the same news conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the crew heroes.

“War is hell. War is chaos,” Hegseth said. “And as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen. American heroes, all of them.”

Hegseth and Caine spoke to reporters before the deaths of the six crew member had been made public.

Yang Uk, a security expert at South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said it would be rare for a refueling tanker to be downed by enemy fire because such operations are usually conducted in the rear of combat zones.

Last week, three U.S. F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire. All six crew members ejected safely.

The KC-135 is a long-serving tanker plane

The KC-135 Stratotanker is a U.S. Air Force aircraft used to refuel other planes in midair, allowing them to fly longer distances and sustain operations without landing. The plane is also used to transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions, according to military experts.

“The last of these planes were produced in the 1960s,” Yang said.

Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the KC-135 is set to be gradually phased out as more of the next-generation KC-46A Pegasus tankers enter service.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year had 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.

A basic KC-135 crew consists of three people: a pilot, co-pilot and boom operator. Nurses and medical technicians are added in aeromedical evacuation missions.

Refueling typically happens at the back of the plane, where the boom operator is located. A fuel boom is lowered to connect with fighters, bombers or other aircraft. On many of the planes, the boom operator works lying face down while looking out of a window on the underside of the plane.

Some KC-135s can also refuel planes from pods on their wings. The tankers have room to carry cargo or passengers if needed.

Refueling tankers could play an increasingly important role if the Iran war drags on, as U.S. aircraft may need to fly longer missions to pursue Iranian forces retreating deeper into the country, said Yang.

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