This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
Churchill Downs is set to host an 11-race program on Saturday, featuring five stakes races, including the $150,000 Matt Winn presented by Woodford Reserve.
The Matt Winn, a one-mile race for 3-year-olds, will award points to the top four finishers on the extended Kentucky Derby series.
Maxfield, an unbeaten colt by Street Sense, is set to face 11 rivals in the Matt Winn, including Risen Star, Major Fed, Cash is King, and Ny Traffic.
Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has been on the sidelines since his 5 ½-length score in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity in early October.
"The biggest difference we have all noticed with him, has been his physicality," Brendan said. "We never really questioned what he was like mentally, although back to training he's really filled out physically."
"The biggest difference we have all noticed with him, has been his physicality," Brendan said. "We never really questioned what he was like mentally, although back to training he's really filled out physically." Maxfield also had issues with the starting gates, but has now calmed down. Other contenders entered in the Matt Winn are Pneumatic, Attachment Rate, Informative, Celtic Striker, Flap Jack, Shake Some Action, and Mystic Guide. Meanwhile, in France, the government has withdrawn its approval to race in various parts of the country still heavily affected by the crisis, with Paris and eastern areas to be closed. However, competition will continue in Normandy, the south, and west, with Longchamp, Saint-Cloud, and Auteuil to be reopened after a further review of the situation. France Galop president Edouard de Rothschild reacted defiantly to the decision, tweeting that it was "inexplicable and irrational". Addressing the wider racing industry, he continued: "I will not give in. I am proud of your exemplary behaviour behind closed doors since May 11 and the colossal work undertaken by our teams for more than two months." "I will not give in. I am proud of your exemplary behaviour behind closed doors since May 11 and the colossal work undertaken by our teams for more than two months."
