LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the mostly local crowd at Churchill Downs watched Race 4 this Thurby, one horse with a local connection caught the attention of bettors and onlookers.
The favorite heading into the claiming race for three-year-old fillies this afternoon, Breonna, won the fourth race of the day.
Jockey Corey Lanerie, who is based in Louisville and has been the leading rider at the track 10 times, was aboard the filly. The filly's owner is JS Stables, LLC, a racing stable owned and operated by Janelle and Sam Aguiar.
Sam Aguiar, best known as the founding attorney at Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers, is one of the attorneys representing the family of Breonna Taylor. The Race 4 winner, Breonna, was named after the Louisville native shot by LMPD officers during a botched raid at her apartment in March 2020.
Aguiar said the stable purchased the filly around April 2020, a month after the police shooting that took Taylor's life. He said his wife named her after Taylor because "she was beautiful, strong and resilient."
"She's tough and has swagger," Aguiar said. "But to those closest to her, she's also loving and kind. That was Breonna Taylor as well."
Aguiar said he, co-counsel Lonita Baker and Taylor's mother Tamika Palmer watched the race from his office Thursday. The $10,000 purse from the win will be donated to the Breonna Taylor Foundation.
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