Churchill Downs Picks | Aristides Stakes 2024

RedLane Thoroughbreds’ speedy Skelly headlines an accomplished field of eight sprinters that entered in Saturday’s 36th running of the $275,000 Aristides Stakes (Listed) at Churchill Downs.

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The six-furlong Aristides is part of a six-pack of stakes races dubbed as “Stephen Foster Preview Day” to help catapult horses to the June 29 Stephen Foster Day at Churchill Downs. The other stakes on the 11-race card are the $275,000 Arlington (Grade III), $275,000 Blame (GIII), $275,000 Regret (GIII), $275,000 Shawnee (GIII) and $275,000 Audubon (Listed).

First post is 12:45 p.m. and the Aristides will go as Race 7 at 3:51 p.m.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Skelly is a 10-time winner from 15 starts including back-to-back wins in the Count Fleet Sprint (GIII) at Oaklawn. The speedy gelded son of Practical Joke only has one blemish in his record since Feb. 25, 2023, a runner-up finish in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (GIII) in late February.

Skelly will be piloted in the Aristides by Ricardo Santana Jr. from post No. 3.

One of the other accomplished horses in the Aristides field is Nathan Hayden’s recent Churchill Downs Stakes (GI) runner-up Here Mi Song. Trained by Billy Stinson Jr., Here Mi Song is a six-time winner from 24 starts. His impressive resume includes victories in the Commonwealth (GIII) at Keeneland and Jeff Hall Memorial at Ellis Park.

Tyler Gaffalione will ride Here Mi Song from post 8.

Here is the field for the Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Tejano Twist (Rafael Bejarano, Chris Hartman)
2. Closethegame Sugar (Irad Ortiz Jr., Adam Rice)
3. Skelly (Santana, Steve Asmussen)
4. Angkor (Martin Garcia, Phil Bauer)
5. Payne (Keith Asmussen, Steve Asmussen)
6. Bourbon Heist (Luis Saez, Ian Wilkes)
7. Surly Furious (Abel Cedillo, Glenn Wismer)
8. Here Mi Song (Gaffalione, Stinson)