Life can teach us many things. As we roll around the race track , the key to getting smarter is you always have to be willing to learn. So as we close the book for the 151st time on the Kentucky Oaks and Derby did we learn anything new ?
One of the biggest things we should have seen was the sport of kings is alive and well in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Just over 100,000 people were present on Oaks Day and another 147,000 plus braved rain and cooler temperatures on Derby Day. As most were dressed to impress, it was their opportunity to be royalty for a day and enjoy the greatest game on earth.
As is the norm during this showcase for the sport, the competition was fantastic. Thrilling finishes and magnificent performances were featured throughout the two days in which fifteen Stakes decorated a twenty-six-race extravaganza. As for the headline events, they absolutely taught us something.
On Friday, the Kentucky Oaks provided proof of the quality of a three-year old filly named Good Cheer. Unbeaten going in, she exited the Oaks with yet another sashay to the winner’s circle. Making it look somewhat easy, the Godolphin-owned runner gave Brad Cox his third triumph in the most highly acclaimed race for three-year old females and showed us all why she is now seven for seven lifetime.
The Kentucky Derby was a showcase for the roll up your sleeves guy. Sovereignty was absolutely not the sexiest of picks, but obviously the most solid. Coming in with five career starts at four different tracks, we knew he could ship and one of those races had come at Churchill Downs while winning the Street Sense Stakes. Without a win streak or eye-catching name, he was somewhat forgotten by the casual fan. His trainer was not a feel-good story or a man with a flamboyant past. Bill Mott has long been a workmanlike guy that produces results. Owner Godolphin has been synonymous with success, but didn’t feature celebrities or look-at-me characters. When the gates opened and the mile and a quarter was run, all parties provided proof of what can happen when you simply do your job. The flash is nice, but at the end of the day, it’s about making the cash that really matters most. And in the sport of kings it can be all about Sovereignty.
A famous saying of world history professor Al Wilkerson was “history doesn’t repeat itself but rather people repeat history”. The 2025 Kentucky Oaks and Derby are no different. Similar things happen over the years in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Those things may feature different players, but the game is still the same. The Oaks and Derby serve as this tremendous magnifying glass for something that is always magical and memorable. In case we had forgotten, we learned that all over again.
