For those who discovered horse racing via Griffin Johnson, you’re not alone. After taking hundreds of thousands of followers contained in the Kentucky Derby with Sandman, Griffin is now again with one other promising horse: Ewing. He races Monday, President’s Day, within the Ozark Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Sizzling Springs, Ark.
Right here’s what you really must know:
He’s named after an NBA legend: Ewing, who’s owned by D. J. Steady, West Level Thoroughbreds, and Kenneth Freirich, honors the Corridor of Fame middle Patrick Ewing, who managed the paint for the New York Knicks from the mid-Eighties till the late Nineties. Griffin Johnson has an possession stake within the colt via Terry Finley’s West Level Thoroughbreds. After profitable the NCAA championship in 1984 with the Georgetown Hoyas, Patrick Ewing led the Knicks to 2 NBA Finals appearances.
He’s undefeated: Beginning his profession final summer time, Ewing went 2-for-2 at Saratoga Race Course. The upstate New York venue is called the launch pad for a lot of standout 2-year-olds (most horses start racing at age 2), and Ewing debuted again on July 5 with an attention grabbing 12-length win. Translation: He regarded legit. He then raced once more within the $200,000 Saratoga Particular Stakes on Aug. 2, and received that six-furlong dash by a size over the highly-regarded Obliteration.
He’ll be coming again after a remainder of over seven months: Ewing’s house owners and his coach, Corridor of Famer Mark Casse, meant to race him throughout fall 2025 however as an alternative gave him time without work as a result of a minor damage. That’s fairly regular in racing as these answerable for horses would fairly shield their gifted athletes, fairly than rush them. Ewing finally made the journey to Oaklawn Park to coach this winter and has been gearing up for his comeback since mid-December.
He’s obtained a red-hot trainer-jockey combo in his nook: Mark Casse and jockey Cristian Torres have paired collectively for giant wins not too long ago at Oaklawn. On Feb. 6, they received two stakes races for 3-year-olds, the Martha Washington Stakes (Search Celebration) and the Southwest Stakes (Silent Tactic). These races are preps for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby, respectively. Total, Mark Casse has received a scorching 45 p.c of his races through the Oaklawn Park meet up to now.
He’s a longshot to run within the Kentucky Derby: The Ozark Stakes is a six-furlong dash (three-quarters of a mile). That’s a distance Ewing had success finally summer time at Saratoga. The Kentucky Derby, then again, is a route race held at a mile and 1 / 4 (10 furlongs) and round two turns. The Kentucky Derby is a a lot totally different problem than sprinting, one which requires a horse to have constructed up lots of stamina to deal with. Ewing has a promising pedigree (household historical past) to compete in long-distance races however the reality is, he’s stayed at sprints up to now and can be coming again after an extended layoff.
Mark Casse may be very affected person as a horse coach, so it’s very seemingly that this gifted colt won’t be rushed in his growth, particularly for the reason that 152nd Kentucky Derby is simply over two months away. The longer term appears to be like vivid for this colt it doesn’t matter what distance he runs at, and Griffin Johnson, Ewing’s different house owners, and lots of horse racing followers have excessive expectations for the months forward – beginning on President’s Day! The Ozark Stakes can be televised dwell on FS2 and on FanDuel TV, with a scheduled publish time of 5:42 p.m. ET.
