Horsephotos

War Emblem ($43) and Victor Espinoza cross the wire in front in the 128th Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

War Emblem was purchased less than a month ago by Baffert on behalf of Prince Ahmed Salman's The Thoroughbred Corporation. None of the dozens of 2-year-olds that Baffert began with one year ago panned out, forcing Baffert and Salman to buy their way into the Derby.

They found a willing seller in owner Russell Reineman, who raced War Emblem for the first seven starts of his career, in which he was trained by veteran Midwest horseman Frank "Bobby" Springer. War Emblem won four of those races, most recently the Illinois Derby, in which he ran a Beyer Speed Figure of 112, highest in the Derby field. After that race, War Emblem was purchased privately for $900,000, plus commissions, according to Salman, a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family.

Also signing off on the purchase was Richard Mulhall, Salman's racing manager, who accompanied Baffert to Keeneland the second week of April to negotiate the purchase of War Emblem.

The pace was expected to be contested, but a number of horses did not go out with War Emblem. He was able to set moderate fractions of 23.25 seconds, 47.04, 1:11.75, and 1:36.70 for the first mile. War Emblem completed 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track in 2:01.13.

War Emblem kicked clear in the stretch and won by a widening four lengths. Proud Citizen, who also was close to the pace early, held on for second, three-quarters of a length in front of third-place Perfect Drift.

Salman got the Derby trophy he coveted one year ago with the best horse he has ever bred and raced, Point Given. That colt finished fifth as the favorite in the Derby, but came back to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. He also was named Horse of the Year for 2001.

"I told the prince 'I owe you a Derby after last year,' " Baffert said.

"It's an honor to win the Kentucky Derby. It's always been my dream," Salman said. "I'd like to thank Bob Baffert. He is a genius."

Jockey Victor Espinoza rode War Emblem for the first time, and recorded his first victory in America's greatest race. Espinoza placed Perfect Drift in tight quarters with a quarter-mile remaining, but Eddie Delahoussaye, who rode Perfect Drift, said the incident did not alter the outcome, so he did not lodge an objection.

War Emblem paid $43 to win. The exacta with Proud Citizen paid $1,300.80, and the Oaks-Derby double coupling Kentucky Oaks winner Farda Amiga with War Emblem returned $1,395.40.

The Derby was run on a gorgeous spring afternoon. Temperatures were mild, with a high in the low-70's. An unprecedented show of security surrounded this Derby, with SWAT team members on the roof, National Guard members throughout the facility, and a regular contingent of uniformed security. The crowd was announced as 145,033, which would make it the fifth-largest in Derby history.

With 18 runners, the Derby's purse was $1,175,000, with $875,000 going to the winner. Salman also will pick up a $1 million bonus, offered by Sportsman's Park, by virtue of War Emblem winning the Illinois Derby and any Triple Crown race.

There were several disappointments in the race. Harlan's Holiday, who came into the race having finished first six times and second four times in his 10 career starts, wound up seventh. Harlan's Holiday went off at 6-1, making him the highest priced favorite in Derby history.

"As soon I got the horse in the clear, I had to start riding to keep my position," said Edgar Prado, who rode Harlan's Holiday. "They were going easy on the front end. If I had had horse, I'd have been right there."

Came Home, the Santa Anita Derby winner, finished sixth after a wide trip.

"He came up empty," said Chris McCarron, who rode Came Home. "The trip I got was really not the reason. Maybe everybody was right and I was wrong. Maybe he doesn't want to go a mile and a quarter."

Saarland, who was bet down to 6-1 and was the second choice in the race, finished 10th. Johannesburg, last year's champion 2-year-old colt, continued the inglorious record of Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners by finishing eighth.

A field of 18 went to the post in the Derby. Danthebluegrassman, a last-minute entry by Baffert on Wednesday, was scratched from the race Saturday morning. Buddha, the Wood Memorial winner, had been scratched Friday morning.

The scratch of Danthebluegrassman removed one of the probable front-runners from the race, which made War Emblem's task easier.

- additional reporting by David Grening

Horsephotos

War Emblem, under Victor Espinoza, wins the Preakness at Pimlico Saturday.

War Emblem now heads to the June 8 Belmont Stakes with a chance to become the sport's 12th Triple Crown winner, and the first since Affirmed in 1978. If War Emblem wins that race, his owners, Prince Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corporation, and Russell Reinemen, will receive a $5 million bonus from Visa, the Triple Crown's sponsor. Salman owns 90 percent of the colt, Reineman 10 percent.

This is the third time in six seasons that trainer Bob Baffert has won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes to head to Belmont with a chance to win the Triple Crown. Both Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998 finished second in the Belmont.

Baffert and Salman also won last year's Preakness and Belmont with Point Given, who finished fifth as the favorite in the Derby.

War Emblem was challenged for the early lead in the Preakness, unlike in the Derby, in which he was allowed to set a leisurely pace at Churchill Downs. He had to sit off of the speedy Menacing Dennis through fast fractions, put away that pace rival, turned back a bid from Proud Citizen at midstretch, then outlasted the 45-1 longshot Magic Weisner to win by three-quarters of a length.

Magic Weisner finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of Proud Citizen, who had finished second in the Derby. Harlan's Holiday, the beaten favorite in the Derby, finished fourth.

The biggest disappointment in the race was Medaglia d'Oro, who went off as the second choice at 3-1 and finished eighth after stalking the early pace.

"I don't have much of an excuse, to be honest with you," said Jerry Bailey, who rode Medaglia d'Oro.

Straight Gin, who finished ninth in the 13-horse field, had to be removed from the track in the horse ambulance. According to Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Straight Gin suffered a bowed tendon in his right front leg.

War Emblem, who was 20-1 in the Derby, went off as the 5-2 favorite and paid $7.60 to win.

It was cold and windy at Pimlico on Saturday, and rain that fell Friday night and into Saturday left the main track in sloppy condition for the first race. The track had been sealed Friday night, so when the rain stopped before noon, the track was quickly upgraded to good, and then fast long before the Preakness.

On that fast track, War Emblem was timed in 1:56.36 for 1 3/16 miles.

The early fractions of 22.97 seconds for the opening quarter and 46.10 for the half were set by Menacing Dennis, but War Emblem was right outside of him. Medaglia d'Oro was just behind those two, with U S S Tinosa to his inside. Booklet was outside that group, with Proud Citizen wider still.

As the field advanced down the backstretch, Menacing Dennis continued to lead narrowly, but War Emblem always was going the stronger of the two. Victor Espinoza, riding War Emblem, had a firm hold on the reins, and War Emblem was running aggressively, a sign the colt would have plenty to offer when asked. They passed the six-furlong mark in 1:10.80, with Menacing Dennis still in front by a head.

"He is aggressive when someone takes his place," Espinoza said.

Espinoza allowed War Emblem to roll along as the field reached the far turn, and he quickly opened daylight on his opposition. War Emblem passed the mile mark in 1:35.22 with a 1 1/2-length lead.

Proud Citizen, who was forced wide on both turns, bravely made a run at War Emblem at midstretch, but War Emblem turned away his challenge.

There was one more to come. Magic Weisner, a Maryland-bred gelding trained, owned, and bred by Nancy Alberts, finished well, but too late. As the field galloped out past the wire, War Emblem never let Magic Weisner get past him.

"Victor, please make the Triple Crown," Salman said to Espinoza on the victory stand.

Baffert said the key to victory in this race was getting War Emblem to try and relax, "key him down a little bit.

"I told Victor to be prepared if someone goes out there," Baffert said. "Opinions die and records live," said the man who had just won his fourth Preakness. "This horse is for real."

War Emblem has now won four straight races and is 6-for-9 lifetime. He is unbeaten in two starts since Salman privately purchased his majority share of the colt from Reineman following the Illinois Derby.

- additional reporting by Matt Hegarty

Horsephotos

Sarava (left) wins the Belmont over Medaglia d'Oro, paying $142.50 in the biggest upset in Belmont Stakes history. War Emblem, who was going for the Triple Crown, stumbled at the start and finished eighth.

War Emblem stumbled badly coming out of the gate, was caught in traffic behind horses for the first five furlongs, made a bold move to vie for the lead down the backstretch, but wilted in the stretch run and finished eighth in the field of 11, 19 1/2 lengths behind Sarava.

"It was gut-wrenching to watch the whole race," said War Emblem's trainer, Bob Baffert, who lost a Triple Crown bid for the third time in the last six years. "He got behind horses. He can't run like that. He's a free-running horse."

Baffert also missed the Triple Crown with Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998. As with those two colts, War Emblem won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but could not handle the final leg of the Triple Crown.

"I wanted to do it, but it's tough," Baffert said, getting emotional, in a post-race press conference. "Next time I win the Derby," he joked, "I'm heading home."

Victor Espinoza, who rode War Emblem, said the stumble "cost a lot."

"I was lucky to stay on," Espinoza added. "The second stride, the ground broke out from under him."

Baffert said he could not fault Espinoza for the circumstances in which War Emblem found himself.

Had War Emblem won, he would have earned a $5 million bonus from Visa, the Triple Crown's sponsor.

Affirmed was the last Triple Crown winner, in 1978. Since then, eight horses have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown but could not complete the sweep in the Belmont. War Emblem's owner, Prince Ahmed bin Salman, did not attend the Belmont. He was home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, because of a family commitment, according to his representatives.

In contrast to the disappointment felt by Baffert and the connections of War Emblem, the victory capped an emotional week - and spring - for Ken McPeek, who trains Sarava. Earlier this year, McPeek had two top Kentucky Derby prospects in Repent and Harlan's Holiday. Repent was injured and missed the Derby. Harlan's Holiday failed as the favorite in the Derby, then lost again in the Preakness, and on Monday, owner Jack Wolf removed Harlan's Holiday from McPeek's care, transferring him to trainer Todd Pletcher.

"You know what that means," McPeek mused on Wednesday after the post-position draw. "I'm going to win the Belmont."

On Saturday, McPeek's improbable hope came true. Sarava was making his first start in a graded stakes race. He was sent off as the second-longest shot on the board, and gamely held off Medaglia d'Oro through a prolonged stretch drive to win by a half-length under Edgar Prado.

Sarava paid $142.50 to win. The exacta with Medaglia d'Oro paid $2,454.

Medaglia d'Oro, who was one of only three horses to run in all three Triple Crown races, ran his best race in the series, but came up just short. He did finish 9 1/2 lengths in front of third-place Sunday Break. Magic Weisner was fourth.

Proud Citizen, who was second in the Derby and third in the Preakness, finished fifth, but was pulled up after the race by jockey Mike Smith. Dr. Larry Bramlage, of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, said Proud Citizen had "swelling on the inside of his left front ankle." For precautionary reasons, Proud Citizen was removed from the track in a horse ambulance.

Wiseman's Ferry led early, and set fractions of 24.11 seconds for the opening quarter and 48.09 for a half-mile. War Emblem made a bold run at the lead passing the six-furlong mark in 1:12.38. Sarava was in fifth, in the clear, behind Wiseman's Ferry, Medaglia d'Oro, War Emblem, and Proud Citizen.

The field passed the mile mark in 1:37.01, with Medaglia d'Oro narrowly in front of War Emblem. But War Emblem began to weaken just as the field reached the top of the stretch, with a quarter-mile remaining, after 1 1/4 miles was completed in 2:03.50. That fraction belonged to Medaglia d'Oro.

Sarava pounced on Medaglia d'Oro with a little more than a furlong to go. He and Medaglia d'Oro began to pull away from the field, but Sarava maintained a narrow advantage through the final furlong. He covered 1 1/2 miles on the fast main track in 2:29.71.

Sarava, a son of Wild Again, was winning for only the third time in nine starts. He won the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard on May 18 for his first stakes victory. McPeek has trained Sarava for his last four starts, in which Sarava has won twice and finished second twice. Prado has ridden him to both victories, including the Belmont.

The New Phoenix Stable, a partnership headed by Gary Drake of Louisville, Ky., owns Sarava.

- additional reporting by Karen M. Johnson