Keeneland’s Stonestreet Lexington Stakes can provide a 3-year-old with a way to catapult into the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve in the 24th hour of qualifying – but not this year.
A son of a butcher turned business magnate, Joseph E. Widener was a visionary architect of modern American racing, known for transforming Hialeah Park into a world-class destination and leading Belmont Park through a pivotal era of elegance.
As a titan of the sport and a dedicated preservationist, he combined his passion for fine art with a commitment to racing’s aesthetic and structural integrity. His lasting legacy remains in the pedigrees of the sport’s athletes as well as his tireless efforts to elevate the social and cultural prestige of the American turf.
This feature provides a capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Triple Crown trail and three horses whose chances for the 2026 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve are not as strong as they previously were. In the eighth edition of this blog for the 2026 run for the roses, the focus is on what has changed since the previous edition on March 31.
In the mid-1970s, a crafty but achy-armed left-handed pitcher named Tommy John faced the prospect of surgery to extend his career in Major League Baseball. His surgeon, Dr. Frank Jobe, devised a new way to treat John’s ailment, using a tendon elsewhere in his patient’s body to replace a damaged ulnar collateral ligament. The new technique proved a stroke of genius as it not only allowed John to resume his career, it also saved the career of a long list of pitchers in future years.
Today, Jobe’s breakthrough surgical procedure is known as Tommy John Surgery.
The Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes, held during the spring meet at Keeneland, is the first marquee one-mile turf race on the horse racing calendar and usually attracts both domestic and foreign horses with a year-end goal of winning the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF.
