Throughout the world, the Twin Spires are a recognized landmark that has become symbolic to Churchill Downs and "the greatest two minutes in sports", the Kentucky Derby.

Constructed in 1895, the Spires were the creation of a twenty-four-year-old draftsman, Joseph Dominic Baldez, who was asked to draw the plans for Churchill Downs' new Grandstand. Originally the plans did not include the Spires, but as the young Baldez continued work on his design, he felt the structure needed something to give it a striking appearance.

A panel of international handicappers, chaired by British Horseracing Board head handicapper Nigel Gray, hailed the exploits of the top U.S. horses when the 2006 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings were unveiled Tuesday, Jan. 16, in London, England.
 

Hard Spun, a 3-year old Pennsylvania-bred thoroughbred, won at the New Orleans fairgrounds this past weekend. He’s won all four of his races and is a serious Kentucky Derby contender. But Hard Spun is not the only Philadelphia horse hoping to come out on top. Another horse vying for the crown is Chelokee. 

This is the first list of leading Kentucky Derby contenders, compiled by Steve Haskin, senior correspondent for The Blood-Horse magazine, that will be published weekly until the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) is held at Churchill Downs May 5. The two other races comprising the Triple Crown are the May 19 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico and the June 9 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park.

Barbaro has "improved considerably" after weekend surgery to remove a section of his laminitis-stricken left rear hoof. The Kentucky Derby winner was "stable and comfortable" Tuesday, said Dean Richardson, chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, where Barbaro has been recovering since shattering his right rear leg in the Preakness Stakes on May 20.

Shadwell Stables’ Invasor has topped the Northern Hemisphere section of the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings for 2006, details of which were revealed Tuesday, Jan. 16, in London, England.
The Kiaran McLaughlin-trained 5-year-old earned a career-high rating of 129 pounds in defeating Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Bernardini by a length at Churchill Downs on November 4.