Hitherto a stakes bridesmaid, Proxy wore down West Will Power to win his first trophy in Friday’s $750,000 Clark (G1). Jockey Joel Rosario swept both graded stakes on the Churchill Downs card, previously steering Bubble Rock to victory in the $300,000 Mrs. Revere (G2).

Already enshrined in the annals of Churchill Downs as an 80-1 upsetter of the Kentucky Derby (G1), Rich Strike can add to his historic legacy in Friday’s $750,000 Clark (G1) at the Louisville track.

Trainer Chad Brown won the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland for the fifth time on Saturday, but not with his odds-on favorite.

A pair of lucrative turf stakes for sophomores served as the highlights of an unexpected Labor Day card at Kentucky Downs.

After sustaining her first loss in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Pocahontas (G3) romper Hidden Connection bids to regain top form in Saturday’s $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fair Grounds.

The Fair Grounds Road to the Kentucky Derby gets off to its earliest-ever start in the Dec. 26 Gun Runner S., a new stepping stone to the traditional New Orleans series of the Lecomte (G3), Risen Star (G2), and Louisiana Derby (G2).