Ramseys ante up to make Oscar Nominated eligible for Triple Crown
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Basking in the glory of winning the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park on April 2, owner Ken Ramsey announced a proposal to anyone willing to front a $200,000 supplemental fee to make the colt eligible to the Triple Crown: Do so, and he would split with his potential partner whatever Oscar Nominated earned in the series of races.
Although he said he received interest, including one offer within 24 hours of winning the race, no agreement was ultimately reached, Ramsey said via text Tuesday evening. So, Ramsey and his wife, Sarah, who own the colt together, are rolling the Derby dice with their own dough, having paid the $200,000 supplement themselves by Wednesday morning, the day of Derby entries.
At least they are playing with made money. A $75,000 claim last October at Belmont Park by trainer Mike Maker, Oscar Nominated has grossed more than $332,000 for the Ramseys in four starts since.
The $200,000 supplement is very much a high-risk play for a Derby longshot who has never raced on dirt and ran just an 82 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Spiral, but the Ramseys have more to gain than a typical owner if Oscar Nominated can pull off a Derby upset or merely hit the board in any of the Triple Crown races.
They stand his sire, Kitten’s Joy, and success from one of his sons in the Triple Crown would lead the stallion to become more valuable and regarded as capable of siring more than just elite grass horses.
Oscar Nominated becomes just the third supplemental nominee to the Triple Crown. Unshaded was the first in 2000 but was excluded from an overdrawn Kentucky Derby. Greeley’s Galaxy was the second and ran 11th in the 2005 Kentucky Derby.
