LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dolphus Morrison is a racing purist: The Kentucky Derby is for the boys; the Kentucky Oaks is for the girls.
You won’t hear any of the Derby owners complaining.
Morrison’s spectacular filly Rachel Alexandra crushed the field by a record 20 1/4 lengths in the $500,000 Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs, perhaps stamping herself as the best 3-year-old horse in the world, boy or girl.
“If she stays sound, she’ll be the next Secretariat,” jockey Calvin Borel said.
She certainly put on a performance that harkened back to the legendary Triple Crown winner.
Rachel Alexandra eased past Gabby’s Golden Gal on the far turn then poured it on as she entered the stretch, extending the lead as 100,000 spectators roared with every stride of her eye-popping victory in the filly version of the Kentucky Derby.
Borel blew a kiss and tapped her on the neck as they crossed the finish line for her fifth consecutive victory, all by convincing margins.
“I’ve never been on a horse that good, to tell you the truth,” said Borel, who won the 2007 Kentucky Derby aboard Street Sense.
Stone Legacy was a distant second, with Flying Spur third.
Analyst hospitalized.
NBC analyst Bob Neumeier was taken to a hospital after collapsing during a telecast from Churchill Downs.
Neumeier was off camera during “Ladies First: Bravo at the Kentucky Derby” when he fell ill. He was taken to Audubon Hospital a short distance from the track, where he was awake and alert. He was being held for observation and will not participate in today’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby.
Stormalory put down.
Stormalory, a 3-year-old colt, was euthanized after breaking down during the $150,000 American Turf Stakes.
Stormalory, trained by Bill Mott, broke slowly under jockey Julien Leparoux in the 1 1/16-mile race before going down just before the far turn with an injury to his left front leg. State veterinarian Bryce Peckham said an X-ray revealed several fractures in the leg.
The Associated Press
Run for the Roses.
