How 2025 Kentucky Derby horses have raced on sloppy or wet tracks
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Kentucky Derby 151 preview
Click below to view more coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com previewing the 151st Kentucky Derby to be held May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
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If, as weather forecasts suggest, the track turns muddy or sloppy for Kentucky Derby 151 on Saturday at Churchill Downs, it will be a new experience for the majority of the colts making a run for the roses.
Only six of the 19 horses in the 2025 running have experience running on a muddy or sloppy track. And two of the six did so on Japanese tracks.
Here are the six:
No. 2 Neoequos: The colt won an allowance race on a sloppy track at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 23 for trainer Saffie Joseph. Neoequos’ racing debut came on a sloppy track on July 21, 2024, but the colt “got bumped hard by an inner foe at the start and lost the rider, completed the circuit, was caught shortly after and walked off,” according to the Equibase chart.
No. 5 American Promise: On his sixth attempt, American Promise broke his maiden on a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park on Dec. 29 for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Previously, the son of Triple Crown winner Justify had finished eighth on a sloppy Churchill Downs track on Sept. 27, 2024.
No. 6 Admire Daytona: A Japanese entry, Admire Daytona finished fourth on a muddy track in Tokyo on Oct. 6, 2024.
No. 7 Luxor Cafe: Another Japanese entry, Luxor Cafe finished second on a muddy track at Sapporo on Aug. 31, 2024.
No. 13 Publisher: The son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Publisher ran second on a muddy track to American Promise at Oaklawn Park on Dec. 29, 2024 for trainer Steve Asmussen. He finished third on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs on Sept. 27, 2024.
No. 16 Coal Battle: Trained by 72-year-old Lonnie Briley, Coal Battle won the Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs on Nov. 8, 2024. His racing debut came with a win on a sloppy track at Evangeline Downs on July 25, 2024.
Final Gambit will be making his first start on the dirt Saturday. The Jeff Ruby Steaks winner has run in rainy conditions on the all-weather track at Turfway Park.
Kentucky Derby wet track history
The last Kentucky Derby to be run on a sloppy track was in 2019 when Maximum Security was disqualified and Country House was declared the winner.
Of the 150 runnings of the Kentucky Derby, only nine have been run on a track officially listed as sloppy:
- 2019: Country House
- 2018: Justify
- 2013: Orb
- 2010: Super Saver
- 2009: Mine That Bird
- 2004: Smarty Jones
- 1994: Go for Gin
- 1948: Citation
- 1925: Flying Ebony
Seven of the 150 runnings of the Kentucky Derby have been run on a track listed as muddy:
- 1989: Sunday Silence
- 1958: Tim Tam
- 1945: Hoop Jr.
- 1929: Clyde Van Dusen
- 1918: Exterminator
- 1912: Worth
- 1890: Riley
Always Dreaming won the 2017 Kentucky Derby on a track officially listed as “wet fast (sealed).”
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 3:15 PM.
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