Pat Forde

1 week ago | si.com | Pat Forde

Bill Mott is doing what he does, and what he’s done is good enough to put the trainer in the thoroughbred racing Hall of Fame. He’s conservative with his horses. Part of that is spacing their races farther apart than a quest for the Triple Crown allows. Thus came the news Tuesday that Mott is skipping the May 17 Preakness with his Kentucky Derby winner, Sovereignty. There will be no Triple Crown this year, not even an attempt at one.

1 week ago | si.com | Pat Forde

The Michigan Wolverines have pushed back strenuously against the NCAA and the Big Ten in defending their honor in the great Connor Stalions caper. Yet they keep having head coaches suspended. Funny how the pugnacious stances of the last 18 months have worked out. ESPN reported Monday that Michigan is suspending Sherrone Moore for two games this upcoming season.

1 week ago | si.com | Pat Forde

Saturday afternoon, Katie Ledecky opened the notes app on her phone in her hotel room and typed a one-word subject line: “Believe.” It had to start there, because how else can you accomplish the unbelievable? Beneath that header, Ledecky plotted out some goal splits for the 800-meter freestyle she would swim a few hours later in the Tyr Pro Series swim meet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. This was not a vague estimate.

1 week ago | si.com | Pat Forde

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — We had all been here before. Six years ago, on a Churchill Downs racing surface the consistency of peanut butter and under skies the color of slate, we watched trainer Bill Mott walk triumphantly through the mud and into the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle. Saturday night, on another raw and foggy day, here came Mott again, across the sticky slop once again, on top of the racing world. And yet these two triumphs were markedly different experiences.

1 week ago | kentucky.com | Pat Forde

The media needs a win these days, and Journalism is here to provide it. Journalism, the 3–1 Kentucky Derby favorite, is ready to break the streak of weirdness that has gripped America's biggest horse race for the last six years. It's time for a return to form with a horse who looms over this field as the best and most versatile option. That's why my $100 betting strategy will key on Journalism.