Admission Office outlasts Arklow in the stretch to win Louisville

Admission Office circled the field on the final turn and then gamely outlasted favored Arklow through the stretch to prevail in a photo finish in the $100,000 Louisville Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

With Julien Leparoux in the irons, Admission Office raced in mid-pack of the 12-horse field behind a moderate pace in the 1 ½-mile Louisville. Admission Office took the overland route on the third turn to reach the front while Arklow was mounting his rally along the hedge after saving ground throughout under Florent Geroux. 

Those two dug in for a battle through the lane with Admission Office ultimately prevailing to earn his first graded stakes win. He’s No Lemon was further back in third with Ry’s the Guy completing the superfecta.

“We settled into a really nice spot early and he really liked the extra distance today,” Leparoux said. “He kept fighting the entire stretch.”

Geroux came away pleased with the effort from Arklow.

“He got in a good spot early and we got a little tight late on the hedge," Geroux said. "He was responding the whole time and ran a big race.”

Admissions Office completed the trip on a firm course in 2:27.25, which is the second-fastest clocking in Louisville Stakes history. He paid $9.20 as the second choice in the wagering. 

A homebred for Amerman Racing and trained by Brian Lynch, Admission Office had dropped eight straight races--exclusively in stakes company -- dating back to a second-level allowance at Keeneland in April 2019.

Lynch indicated the added distance of the Louisville was likely the difference in the results on Saturday. 

“He’s probably been crying out for some ground,” Lynch said.

Previously this season, the 5-year-old son of Point of Entry finished eighth in the Pegasus World Cup Turf and was a close-up second in the 1 3/8-miles Mac Diarmida before finishing off the board most recently in the 1 1/16-miles Sunshine Forever, all at Gulfstream Park.

"A lot of his previous races he just seemed to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time,” Lynch said of Admission Office. “He’s run some big races to get beat just a head and a neck. Arklow is an outstanding horse and it was a great battle today. Thankfully we had our head down at the right time on the wire. He’s a well-accomplished horse and this will open the door up to more turf marathon races in the future.”