C J Russell, a 3-year-old El Corredor colt trained by Bob Baffert, went wire-to-wire to capture his career debut on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs on May 7.
Bet down from his 5-1 morning line price, C J Russell broke sharp under Martin Garcia and quickly seized command through fractions of :22.21 and :46.15. He opened up by 2-1/2 lengths in the stretch and crossed the line a bit less than a length in front of Santo Gato.
The winning six furlong time was 1:09.62 and he paid $3.80 to win. Mike Pegram owns the winner.