Picking the winner of the Kentucky Derby is never easy, but it may be harder than ever this year. Rarely has there been so little information on which to base a decision, and rarely has that information been less helpful in separating contenders from pretenders.
Garrett Gomez would just as soon forget the 2010 Kentucky Derby, if that’s okay. That was the day he tried to win the race breaking from the No. 1 post aboard the well-regarded Lookin At Lucky and was thwarted at every possible turn. Lucky lived to tell the adventurous tale – he finished sixth to Super Saver – but Gomez lost the mount and had to watch as the colt went on to win the Preakness, the Haskell, and the 3-year-old championship.
So it goes.
Forgive Jerry Moss if he enters upon Churchill Downs this week with mixed emotions.
On the face of it, the sight of the place should trip nothing but blissful memories. Moss and his wife, Ann, took their first turn on the national stage in 1994 when their filly Sardula won the 120th running of the Kentucky Oaks. In 2005, they were back with Giacomo, who upset the 131st Kentucky Derby at 50-1.
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.
Some time after midnight, early last Monday morning, Arnold Zetcher and his wife Ellen stepped away from the news of Osama bin Laden’s death coming from their hotel room television set to look down from the balcony upon historic Boston Common, where a huge, mobile crowd had gathered to wave the flag and mark the occasion.
Derby Week is officially upon us, and Nick Zito was a little bit confused. Not about Dialed In. Not hardly. As far as Zito was concerned, the Florida Derby winner was living up to his name, tuned to his trainer’s satisfaction and ready to rumble for the roses.
Zito was more amused than confused, really, as he packed up his stable on Thursday afternoon at the Palm Meadows training center in South Florida. On Saturday, Dialed In was scheduled to head for Louisville with nine of his best friends, while the rest of the Zito string would reassemble in New York.
If you’ve been wondering about the timing of all the recent calls for medication reform in American racing, the reason became clear last Thursday: That’s when The Associated Press obtained a draft copy of legislation, expected to be submitted to Congress next week, that would establish federal regulation of racing, including harsh penalties for horses and horsemen who violate the new federal standards and a ban on many raceday medications, including furosemide (Lasix).
With all things Kentucky Derby sucking the last drop of oxygen from the room, it is hard to believe that somewhere out there, beyond Saturday’s opening-night festivities at Churchill Downs, Thoroughbred racing hums along, oblivious to the unfolding drama in Louisville.
Blame it on the Bird.
Ever since that Louisville afternoon in 2009 when Mine That Bird turned the Kentucky Derby upside down, the syndrome has had a name, or at least a patron saint.
Since that day, it seems nearly everyone waking up with a 3-year-old in the barn or the backyard thinks they can win the Kentucky Derby. And let’s face it, given Mine That Bird’s tale, it’s hard to blame anyone believing they can tap into the same fantasy.
