The Blame – GIII
$300.000 For Four Year Olds And Upward
1 1/8 Miles – Dirt
Churchill Downs – May 30, 202

Named after the horse who broke the hearts of millions of Zenyatta fans The Blame will be run for the eighth time on Saturday at Churchill Downs, the site of that historic BC Classic for which Blame will forever be known. Last year it was the 11-1 YME Stable’s longshot Senor Vinagre Y Agua who came home first. This year the race has drawn a small field of five hoping to win the lion’s share of the $300.00 purse. The forecast seems to assure a fast track for those contenders which gives a fair shot at the stakes mark of 1:47.36 set by Gdp Inc’s Crack Dab, the last time this race was run without graded status. One of the following five will add their name as the eighth winner of this race. 

1. Without Warning (TwinTowersRacing/T. Gaffalione) Four-year-old homebred son out of the late blue hen mare Ruffian Gal is now a graded stakes winner at two, three and four by virtue of his win last out in the G2 Oaklawn Park Handicap. He has earned almost $2,500.00 in a seventeen-race career that has seen him finish first or second nine times against top level competition. All of that to say he is a beast you have to fear here. His resume offers plenty of warning for the rest of the field.

2. Red Dot Aim (Mb Stables/A. Fresu) In stark contrast to Without Warning there is barely any resume here. He is a lightly raced four-year-old who shows one win from seven lifetime starts. He made his stakes debut in his last start and finished fifth in a nine-horse field in The Marathon at Churchill Downs. Doesn’t exactly scream contender, right? But hold on a second. He was purchased privately for a modest $20.00 after that stakes debut and now shows up in a graded stakes race. Still not convinced? The buyer was Mb Stables and his one work since that sale shows an improvement by a couple of ticks. That makes you sit up and take notice and take him a little more seriously. 

3. Hurricane Ridge (The Sidley Stud/J.R. Velasquez) Versatile five-year-old gelding is a multiple graded stakes winner sprinting and going long on the dirt. His two previous races at Churchill Downs were duds but they were also on very wet tracks so throw those out if they are of concern. He handled the track fine in his one race here that came up dry. He has been in good form in four starts this season but faded pretty badly in his last start so he needs to rebound and he comes back relatively quickly to try to do just that. No public works since his last start.

4. Special Event (Nakamura Stables/R. Bejarano) Came out of the gate for his 2026 season flying with wins in both the G2 San Pasqual and the G1 Santa Anita Handicap. Faltered when he came east for the G3 Ali at Keeneland where he finished sixth in a field of ten so like Hurricane Ridge to his inside he is looking to rebound here. Works show he is in form, especially his bullet mile work of 1:35.3 at Churchill in early May. 

5. Sick Boi (Royalty Stables/E. Esquivel) Started his season going twelve furlongs on grass and then moved to a six-furlong sprint on dirt. That interesting race combo set him up for his last two races which were mile and a sixteenth graded stakes wins. Sick Boi posted two straight triple digit SRF speed figures in winning both the G3 Essex Handicap and the G2 Alysheba. The Alysheba was at Churchill Downs where he beat the likes of Derby and Belmont winner Extreme Jet and BC Classic winner Fawkes. Comes back to the same track in just a few weeks but appears to have held his weight and shows quick works since the Alysheba. 

There is no clear pacesetter from the five so this could be a race that comes down to tactics in a small field, and the Mb recent purchase dark horse is a big unknown in that regard and could prove to be key. This is a small field but a tough one. Sick Boi looks to be in the best form of his career and will be the pick based on that as well as his win over the track just weeks ago. Special Event has to replicate that Santa Anita form elsewhere but will look for him to give a better account this time and I’ll put him second followed by Without Warning and Hurricane Ridge.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES