LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Bill Mott didn’t have to wait 22 minutes for this Kentucky Derby victory. And the decades-long quest for Kentucky Derby success is over for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Journalism was the mild favorite Friday evening in early wagering on the Kentucky Derby.
With about $4.5 million in the pool, Journalism, who scored a smashing win making his 3-year-old debut in the San Felipe Stakes and overcame trouble winning the Santa Anita Derby, was favored at 7-2. But will-pays for the Oaks-Derby double suggest Journalism will go to post a shorter price than that.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- It was Derby déjà vu all over again for Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher.
Grande, the Wood Memorial runner-up, was scratched from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby by Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation veterinarians due to a cracked heel on his right front foot.
It was two years ago that Repole-owned, Pletcher-trained Forte, the morning-line favorite for the Derby, was scratched the morning of the race. In 2011, Repole and Pletcher had to scratch favorite Uncle Mo the day before the race due to an intestinal issue.
ARCADIA, Calif. – So far, only two colts have finished in front of Journalism, the favorite for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
One of them, Smooth Cruisein, won an allowance race at Santa Anita last Saturday in a career-best effort that has left trainer Karen Headley and co-owner Marsha Naify hopeful he can become a stakes winner in coming months.
Journalism has started five times, starting with a third behind Smooth Cruisein and Mellencamp in a maiden race at Santa Anita last October. Journalism has not lost since.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The plaques listing the names of his six Kentucky Derby winners, three Kentucky Oaks winners, and a few other Grade 1 victors are back on the wall outside of Bob Baffert’s barn 33 at Churchill Downs.
Perhaps more importantly, Baffert himself is back, holding court in front of those plaques, which includes the names of American Pharoah and Justify, his two Triple Crown winners.
“My life is on that wall,” Baffert said. “My greatest achievements are on that wall. It’s good to see them.”
For Baffert, it’s good to be seen again at Churchill Downs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – At the annual trainers’ dinner Tuesday night, one of the many events that are part of the landscape of Kentucky Derby week, 32-year-old Ethan West, a first-time starter at the Kentucky Derby, found himself sitting at a table with 89-year-old D. Wayne Lukas, whose first of 50 Derby starters came in 1981.
“That was our table – me, my wife, my oldest son, and Mr. and Mrs. Lukas,” West said. “That was pretty special to us. I don’t know if they did that as a joke – the oldest and youngest in the room.”
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – You conduct a phone interview with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. You ask a question. A second or two, nothing happens, that thick silence that cloaks a paused telephone conversation. Mott speaks. His answer is short, cursory. Another pause. Something more coming? You begin another query, gently prodding, but Mott has started talking again. He builds on his initial response. Pause. This time you wait. Mott resumes. The sentences expand. The door has opened.
