The Kentucky derby will be run on May 4th, but the last two prep races for the Derby will be run Saturday. Most eyes will be on the Arkansas Derby, which will have the greatest number of points to award, but the Lexington Stakes is also interesting for horses "on the bubble" to earn a few more points.
First, though, Somelikeithotbrown is off the Derby trail with sesamoid chips in one of his hinds. He was holding the number 20 spot in the points race when his injury was discovered and announced.
The post position draws for both the Arkansas Derby and the Lexington Stakes were held this morning. Following is the race information, followed by post position, the entry's name, the weight the horse will carry in pounds, and the morning line odds.
The Arkansas Derby 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) Purse: $1 million
1. Improbable 122 8 to 5
2. Six Shooter 122 30 to 1
3. Omaha Beach 122 2 to 1
4. Tikhvin Flew 118 30 to 1
5. Laughing Fox 118 20 to 1
6. Gray Attempt 122 8 to 1
7. Galilean 122 10 to 1
8. Country House 118 12 to 1
9. One Flew South 118 50 to 1
10. Jersey Agenda 118 30 to 1
11. Long Range Toddy 122 5 to 1
The Lexington Stakes 1 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) Purse: $220,000
1. Shang 120 15 to 1
2. Hawaiian Noises 118 15 to 1
3. Sueno 118 7 to 2
4. Anothertwistafate 120 8 to 5
5. Harvey Wallbanger 123 8 to 1
6. Chase the Ghost 118 20 to 1
7. Knicks Go 123 12 to 1
8. Owendale 118 20 to 1
9. Zenden 118 8 to 1
10. Roiland 118 12 to 1
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And I think I've twisted some tails on Chincoteague, about the ponies and pedigrees. I really didn't mean to upset anyone on the Facebook pages.... Several people were/are very excited about "the first Misty family baby" born in the wild on Assateague. They are referring to the fourth foal that arrived on 8 April - a very cute pinto sired by Don Leonard Stud II and out of the donated mare Winter Moon.
Back in March of 2018, it was announced that seven Chincoteague ponies had been returned to the CVFC by an anonymous donor. All of the press release statements included this: "All the donated ponies have the Chincoteague bloodline and three are from Misty's bloodline." One of the ponies, a cremello stallion named Winter, did not handle the transition well and was taken back to Pennsylvania. The others, all female, have been integrated into the herds on Assateague. People have been doing research and have found the partial pedigrees of five of the six females - and all were sired by Walnut Hill Nightwind, a direct Misty descendant. The one mare whose pedigree has
not been found is Winter Moon...
It might be reasonable to assume that since all the other donated ponies have WH Nighwind as their sire, that he is Moon's sire also. But it is not proven. One lady that I hold dear, the author and Chincoteague pony owner, Lois Szymanski, stated that the CVFD says that all of those ponies are Misty descendants. But there is no proof. Matt DesJardins, who tracked down most of the pedigrees, says that WH Nightwind is
probably the sire.
I guess I been burned too many times making assumptions. And, from doing human genealogy, I know that saying isn't proof. Until I see proof, in print, that Winter Moon is a Misty descendant, I'll say she "might be," but I won't say that she
is.
Today's photos of the foal born to Winter Moon and Don Leonard Stud II.
Photos copyrighted by DSC Photography (see www.dscphotography.net to purchase)
