There has been no more compelling story at this year’s Kentucky Derby than that of Mucho Macho Man, whose trainer Kathy Ritvo is a heart-transplant survivor and whose former rider, Eibar Coa, has made a remarkable recovery since being left temporarily paralyzed from a riding mishap at Gulfstream Park.
Trainers who win the Kentucky Derby usually do so because they make the race their single-minded focus. With every promising young colt in their barns, they think, long-range, about the first Saturday in May. That’s why Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, and Nick Zito saddle contenders at Churchill Downs almost every year and will be prominent again Saturday. And that’s why Graham Motion will probably never be a dominant Derby trainer.
Jimmy Shircliff and Harvey Diamond were inspired one day when staring at a particularly historic part of the Churchill Downs architecture when they came up with a name for a horse they owned. A gray colt by Harlan’s Holiday became Twinspired.
On the morning of the Santa Anita race, running in the Kentucky Derby was the last thing on Arnold Zetcher’s mind. It was only in the immediate wake of Midnight Interlude's narrow win over Comma to the Top that Zetcher turned to trainer Bob Baffert and dared give voice to the words: “Does this really mean we’re going to the Kentucky Derby?”
Master of Hounds arrived at Churchill Downs at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday morning following a flight from Ireland.
Tuesday morning was wet, cold and quiet at Churchill Downs where only one Kentucky Derby contender, Archarcharch, turned in a recorded workout and fewer than a dozen prospective Derby starters even trained over a sloppy racetrack.
List of contenders for the 2011 Kentucky Derby, updated every day and ranked by graded stakes earnings. The Kentucky Derby field is limited to 20 horses; if more than 20 enter, the entries are determined by the amount of graded stakes earnings each horse has accumulated.
Toby's Corner, the Wood Memorial winner and a likely top-five betting choice for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, was withdrawn from consideration for the race with a non-specified issue involving his left hind leg, trainer Graham Motion said Tuesday morning.
On Monday, five of the 20 horses expected to run in the Derby had their final workouts at Churchill Downs, completing the serious preparations for the race.
