It was announced yesterday that thoroughbred owner and breeder Robert LaPenta will sponsor the 2010 Derby Trial Stakes (gr. III) in honor of The Cliff’s Edge. The race, which has been restored to Grade 3 status for 2010, will be renamed The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial. It will be run at Churchill Downs on April 24, one week before the 2010 Kentucky Derby. The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial will have its purse doubled to $200,000 and will return to its original distance of one mile.

LaPenta raced The Cliff's Edge, who won the 2004 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) and was the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby before finishing fifith behind winner Smarty Jones.  As a juvenile, The Cliff's Edge dominated Churchill Downs' 2-year-old stakes program by winning the Kentucky Jockey Club (gr. II) and Iroquois Stakes (gr. III).

 
“Our sponsorship of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial is very exciting in that it allows our racing operation to contribute to the success and allure of a race that has a wonderful tradition as a Kentucky Derby prep as we honor one of our more successful horses, The Cliff’s Edge, and provide a boost to his ongoing career as a stallion,” LaPenta said. “Despite an unlucky run in the 2004 Kentucky Derby, The Cliff’s Edge enjoyed the finest moments of his racing career at Churchill Downs and in the state of Kentucky. We look forward to seeing his name and legacy being an important part of the week leading up to the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby and the possibility that a major contender for this year’s Derby could emerge with a big effort in this final important prep.”
                                       
“We thank Robert LaPenta for his enthusiastic support of Churchill Downs racing and the Kentucky Derby,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs. “His sponsorship of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial will significantly enhance the attractiveness and prestige of this historic final prep for America’s greatest race. Graded earnings are an increasingly important factor as the field for the Kentucky Derby takes shape in the days before the race and we expect that Mr. LaPenta’s efforts, along with the boost in purse and adjustment in distance, will serve to make the 2010 renewal of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial one of its most notable in years.”