The gang’s all here. All 20 Kentucky Derby starters are now on the grounds, 17 of whom went out to train in one form or another under balmy skies Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs. Unfortunately, the pleasant conditions may be short lived, with rain in the forecast for the local area on Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
Charlotte Weber was at Churchill Downs 39 years ago when her Live Oak Plantation silks made their Kentucky Derby debut atop Laser Light. Only the winner, Gato Del Sol, was ahead of Laser Light at the end of the 1982 Derby. After three more Derby starters that didn't fare as well, Weber, now 78, will be back Saturday at Churchill for a fifth try at the roses.
Kendrick Carmouche will ride his first Kentucky Derby aboard Bourbonic, whom he guided to a 72-1 upset in the Wood Memorial. Bourbonic will be somewhere just short of that price on Saturday. That doesn't faze Carmouche, who also gets to ride his first Kentucky Oaks on Friday aboard longshot Maracuja.
This year's Kentucky Derby is not trainer John Sadler's first rodeo, only his best. As in, best chance.
Essential Quality was assigned post 14 in a full gate of 20 3-year-olds set to race Saturday in the 147th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Essential Quality will have Luis Saez aboard as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/4-mile race.
The last of the heavy lifting as far as the 2021 Kentucky Derby is concerned took place Monday on two fronts, including here at Churchill Downs where Midnight Bourbon turned in a little more serious work than expected during the special Derby/Oaks training session.
Bob Baffert revels in the media spotlight, and he gets plenty. Monday morning the quips rolled, the cameramen laughed on cue, and Baffert, no need to sugarcoat anything at this stage of the game, spoke frankly about the horse he has sent to Louisville, Medina Spirit.
More than two decades after sending out Wordly Manner to finish seventh in the 1999 running, Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum is still looking for his first Kentucky Derby win, despite the amount of effort and resources he has committed to the goal. His Godolphin operation has sent 11 horses to the Derby since 1999, with none finishing in the top three. This year's Derby favorite Essential Quality represents Godolphin's best chance yet.
It's a recurring question as the 147th Kentucky Derby nears – are three previous starts enough? Four horses in this year's race will be making just the fourth start of their careers – Rock Your World, Sainthood, and the Mark Casse pair of Helium and Soup and Sandwich. It's easily the largest such group in race history, according to Churchill Downs records.
The Phipps family, which has long raced horses under their own banner and won the 2013 Kentucky Derby with Orb, partners in this year's classic with Vinnie Viola and Mike Repole on Wood Memorial runner-up Dynamic One.
