Maxfield draws post 8 in Friday’s Grade I, $750,000 Clark
At 0h01, on November 24, 2021 • By CHURCHILL DOWNS
Godolphin’s multiple graded stakes winning colt Maxfield drew post No. 8 and will face a talented field of seven rivals that entered Friday’s 147th running of the Grade I, $750,000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare, the premier race of the Churchill Downs Fall Meet.
The 1 1/8-mile Clark will go as the featured 11th race at 5:56 p.m. The first race for the 12-race program is 1 p.m.
The Clark, named in honor of Churchill Downs founder Col. Merriweather Lewis Clark, is one of four stakes events that was staged during the inaugural meeting in 1875. Throughout the past 146 years, some of racing’s biggest superstars have won the Clark such as multiple champion Gun Runner (2016), Hall of Famer Wise Dan (2011), Horse of the Year Blame (2009), Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Silver Charm (1998) and Triple Crown winner Whirlaway (1942).
In Friday’s edition, Maxfield will attempt to notch another Grade I victory in his final career start. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield won the Breeders’ Futurity (GI) as a 2-year-old. The Street Sense colt was originally on target for the delayed 2020 Kentucky Derby following his one-length victory in the $150,000 Matt Winn (GIII) but was forced to the sidelines with a minor injury.
Maxfield’s 2021 campaign includes two victories at Churchill Downs in the $400,000 Alysheba and $600,000 Stephen Foster (GII). The talented Kentucky-bred finished second to eventual Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) hero Knicks Go in the $1 million Whitney (GI) and second to front-running Art Collector in the $500,000 Woodward (GI). Overall, Maxfield sports a stout career record of 7-2-1 from 10 starts and earnings of $1,550,902. He will be ridden in the Clark by regular rider Jose Ortiz.
