Sports reporter

Childs Walker

Childs Walker is a sports enterprise reporter. Since 2001, he has covered Carroll County politics, Anne Arundel County land use, the Orioles, higher education, the 9/11 attacks, a Super Bowl and more. He grew up in Baltimore, learning to put Old Bay on everything and be suspicious of Washington, attended Gilman and graduated from Emory University.

Trainer Tim Yakteen talks to visitors outside his barn at Churchill Downs on Wednesday in Louisville, Ky. With Bob Baffert suspended for medication violations, the Kentucky Derby does not have its usual center of gravity. But two horses that came up in Baffert's barn, Messier and Taiba, are in the race, guided by a self-described "regular Joe" in Yakteen.

‘A regular Joe’: Tim Yakteen steps in for suspended trainer Bob Baffert at Kentucky Derby

May 5, 2022 at 7:35 p.m.

The wall was bare, stripped of the familiar signs celebrating past triumphs. There was no crowd outside, waiting to glimpse the next Kentucky Derby champion or to catch a word...

These are unusual times for the Kentucky Derby, pictured in 2021, coming off controversial results in two of the past three runnings and now marked by the absence of the sport's biggest star, suspended trainer Bob Baffert. From the competition to the messier side of racing, here are five stories to watch ahead of Saturday's race.

Five storylines to watch for the 2022 Kentucky Derby

May 2, 2022 at 3:35 p.m.

Crowds will be back in full to watch 20 of the best 3-year-old thoroughbreds in the world race for the most coveted title in their sport: Kentucky Derby champion. Few...

Jockey Flavien Prat celebrates atop Rombauer after winning the 146th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 15, 2021.

Five storylines to watch for the 2021 Belmont Stakes

May 28, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.

If Medina Spirit had won the Preakness, we'd be neck deep in a wild and uncomfortable run-up to the third leg of the 2021 Triple Crown series. What would it...

Bob Baffert talks on the phone at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on June 9, 2018.

New York Racing Association suspends Bob Baffert and his horses ahead of 2021 Belmont Stakes

May 18, 2021 at 8:15 p.m.

Two days after a pair of Bob Baffert-trained horses ran in the Preakness, the New York Racing Association suspended the embattled trainer and all of his horses from the state's...

Colin McBride, Milwaukee, WI, cheers as Somelikeithotbrown ridden by Jose L. Ortiz wins the 12th race. McBride also attended the Kentucky Derby. 146th Preakness Stakes.

Rombauer wins 2021 Preakness Stakes, ending Medina Spirit’s Triple Crown bid after week dominated by controversy

June 2, 2021 at 5:57 p.m.

Trainer Michael McCarthy had never saddled a horse for a Triple Crown race, but if his Preakness day was going to end with a celebration, he had a clear idea...

Preakness entry Medina Spirit is bathed following a walk on the Pimlico track during workouts Tuesday morning.

Medina Spirit will be allowed to run in Preakness Stakes despite failed drug test after Kentucky Derby victory, is 9-5 favorite

May 15, 2021 at 3:34 p.m.

Medina Spirit will be allowed to run in Saturday's Preakness Stakes despite a failed drug test that could cost him his victory in the Kentucky Derby. W. Craig Robertson III,...

Childs Walker

All Stories

‘A regular Joe’: Tim Yakteen steps in for suspended trainer Bob Baffert at Kentucky Derby

Five storylines to watch for the 2022 Kentucky Derby

Five storylines to watch for the 2021 Belmont Stakes

New York Racing Association suspends Bob Baffert and his horses ahead of 2021 Belmont Stakes

Rombauer wins 2021 Preakness Stakes, ending Medina Spirit’s Triple Crown bid after week dominated by controversy

Medina Spirit will be allowed to run in Preakness Stakes despite failed drug test after Kentucky Derby victory, is 9-5 favorite

Bob Baffert issues possible explanation for Medina Spirit’s failed drug test that could cost colt Kentucky Derby victory

For rising star Brad Cox, no accomplishment could beat a Kentucky Derby win with favored Essential Quality

Five storylines to watch for the 2021 Kentucky Derby

10 horses to watch for the 2021 Kentucky Derby