What a fortnight ago appeared to be the pinnacle of Gary Young’s career now has the potential to be added to his lengthy list of crushing disappointments at Churchill Downs. But while the prospect of Medina Spirit being disqualified from the Kentucky Derby is a significant blow, it doesn’t detract from Young’s body of work, including plucking the colt at a 2-year-old sale for $35,000 and seeing him go on to win the Robert Lewis and finish second in the Santa Anita Derby before heading to the Kentucky Derby. “It’s been an up-and-down week,” Young said earlier this week. The joy of being associated with a Derby winner is now tempered by the very real possibility that Medina Spirit could be disqualified owing to a medication violation. Young – a longtime respected clocker who uses those talents to find horses at auction – this week is in Maryland, where he hoped to watch Medina Spirit keep his Triple Crown hopes alive in the Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico while also scouting the Fasig-Tipton 2-year-old sale at Timonium. That sale’s breeze-ups were this week, with the auction next week. Ever on the lookout for new talent, Young, 59, was at Timonium, stop watch in hand, trying to find the next nugget. :: DRF's Preakness Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more He’s mined plenty of Grade 1 talent. Brocco won the 1994 Santa Anita Derby. Evening Jewel won the 2010 Ashland before losing that year’s Kentucky Oaks by a nose to Blind Luck. Most recently, on behalf of owner Amr Zedan, Young purchased Medina Spirit and the filly Princess Noor, who last year won the Del Mar Debutante. When not on the road, Young is a daily morning presence at the Southern California tracks, clocking horses, either in his regular spot at Santa Anita – Box 329, which he calls his “office” – or the fourth floor at Del Mar. It’s a gathering spot for a number of trainers each day who seek his opinion of workouts or merely want to be entertained by one of racing’s great characters as he analyzes in real time what is transpiring before him, including colorful nicknames for local trainers. There’s “Lumpy,” and “Fonzie,” “Forrest Gump,” and “Lex Luthor,” and dozens more. “Lumpy team at the half on a 50, look at this team coming to the wire – not what Doc Strub had in mind when he opened the gates – got Fonzie on a 23 and 2,” is a typical Young dialogue. He tapes his comments as they happen, then plays them back later, matching the horses with the official tab, formulating opinions on the quality of the workouts for use when those horses race. He first used his work for gambling, and has taken down a number of major pick six scores. Though he’ll still play – and do quite well -- bloodstock work has usurped gambling as his primary focus. Young grew up in the Chicago suburb of Lockport, “three miles from where Belushi gets out of prison in the opening scene of ‘Blues Brothers,’ ” Young said.He first went to the races with his parents as a youth at Arlington Park, where as a teenager he went to work walking hots for Arnold Winick, the prominent owner and trainer who also wintered in Florida. Being allergic to hay made advancing to be a groom problematic for Young. “They had a guy at Hialeah who clocked for them who recommended horses to buy or claim,” Young said. “They decided to give me a chance.” That changed his career trajectory. Young relocated permanently to Southern California 40 years ago, working with Winick and then Winick’s son, trainer Randy. It was through that association that Young got his first big break as a horse buyer, as the Winicks had Albert “Cubby” Broccoli – the producer of the James Bond movies – and his wife, Dana, as clients. “They gave me my first chance,” Young said. Two-year-old sales are his preference, because he can time the horses and judge their mechanics at speed. His first major acquisition for the Broccolis was the filly La Spia, who won the 1991 Del Mar Debutante and later that year was nailed in the final strides of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, foreshadowing future heartbreak at Churchill Downs. Brocco won the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and 1994 Santa Anita Derby and was the second choice in the 1994 Kentucky Derby. “I was convinced he couldn’t lose,” Young said. He lost, finishing a gallant fourth after breaking poorly. Evening Jewel’s narrow loss in the Kentucky Oaks, and Life At Ten’s refusal to compete that fall in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic added to Young’s woes at Churchill Downs. :: Join DRF Bets and get ready to watch and wager on the Preakness with a $250 first deposit bonus  All that seemed washed away on May 1 with Medina Spirit, who was one of three 2-year-olds Young purchased at auction in 2020 for Zedan. Two – Medina Spirit and Princess Noor – are graded stakes winners. The third horse, a Candy Ride colt named Lulos, has yet to race. “As Meat Loaf said, ‘Two out of three ain’t bad,’ ” Young said. Medina Spirit was one of 12 horses on his short list following previews at OBS last July. Zedan independently asked about the colt, being as his friend Oussama Aboughazale raced Protonico, the sire of Medina Spirit, and stands him at Castleton Lyons. “I thought he’d go for about $50,000,” Young said. “We got to $35,000 and no one answered. I’m just glad this is one we fell on.”