On Black Friday, America goes shopping with a vengeance. In Louisville, thousands will avoid mall madness at Churchill Downs, where the highlight of a 12-race card is the $600,000 Clark Stakes (G2).
Churchill’s Thanksgiving weekend racing is always outstanding, and the Clark is the centerpiece of a four-day stakes extravaganza. First run in 1875, the year of the first Kentucky Derby, the 1 1/8-mile race is named for Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., founder of the Louisville Jockey Club and the man who built Churchill Downs.
Churchill Downs/Coady Photo.
Churchill Downs’s holiday weekend is packed with graded stakes action
(Fun factoid: Clark was the grandson of explorer William Clark. He and his partner, Meriwether Lewis, helmed the 1804-06 Lewis and Clark Expedition that explored the vast western territory America recently gained with the Louisiana Purchase.)
The list of Clark winners includes Hall of Famers Silver Charm (1998) and Wise Dan (2011) as well as standouts Saint Liam (2004), Blame (2009) and Gun Runner (2016). Saint Liam, Blame and Gun Runner all took the Classic the year after winning the Clark.
Churchill’s Friday card also features the Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Its post time is 5:18 p.m. ET, with the Clark a half-hour later.
For those who like betting on horses, here’s a few handicapping tips.
$300,000 MRS. REVERE
Although it’s her first graded stakes, trainer Wesley Ward’s Kehoe Beach looks very tough. She’s a head away from 3-for-3 on grass. She’s a need-to-lead type who shapes up as lone speed, and there’s no one better than all-time great Frankie Dettori at nursing a pacesetter.
That’s what he did in Kehoe Beach’s last race, a $120,000 optional claimer at Keeneland. They led throughout a 5½-length runaway, and this could be a rerun for the 3-1 morning-line favorite.
Buchu (5-1) was second this spring in a Churchill grass stakes and should improve second time off a layoff. She’s 1-for-6 this year but has been chasing top-class runners Iscreamuscream and Cinderella’s Dream. She should get a nice inside trip from post 2 with Irad Ortiz, Jr.
The picks: 1 Kehoe Beach 2 Buchu 3 Pin Up Betty
$600,000 CLARK STAKES
Hit Show (3-1 morning line) is the horse to beat, and his toughest rival could be his 3-year-old stablemate Most Wanted (7-2). Hit Show has won three consecutive stakes, is 4-for-8 at 1 1/8 miles and 2-for-4 over the track. Most Wanted is quick early and 4-for-4 lifetime.
So, just play a Brad Cox-Brad Cox exacta? But as college football guru Lee Corso says: “Not so fast, my friend.” Neither Hit Show nor Most Wanted is a sure thing, because they haven’t been dominating. Hit Show edged ex-claimer Cook Creek by a neck and allowance-level Bolzy by less than a length. Most Wanted’s four victories are by a combined two lengths.
Most Wanted may be vulnerable if speed types Cook Creek and Bolzy go with him early. The pace shapes up as quicker than average, which should help stalker/closer Hit Show along with late runners Rattle N Roll and Red Route One.
Trainer Kenny McPeek shipped Rattle N Roll to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), but he couldn’t escape the also-eligible list, so he was pointed for the Clark. He was a decent third behind Hit Show Sept. 24 in the Lukas Classic (G2), his only start this year after winning three stakes as a 3-year-old in 2023. He’s been training brilliantly at Churchill, where he’s 3-for-8 with one second. It feels like he’s sitting on a big performance.
The picks: 1 Rattle N Roll 2 Hit Show 3 Most Wanted