Tuesday, April 27
Churchill Downs
Weather: Sunny
Track: Fast
Temp: 67
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The gang’s all here.
All 20 Kentucky Derby starters are now on the grounds, 17 of whom went out to train in one form or another under balmy skies Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs. Unfortunately, the pleasant conditions may be short lived, with rain in the forecast for the local area on Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Charlotte Weber was at Churchill Downs 39 years ago when her Live Oak Plantation silks made their Kentucky Derby debut atop a late-running colt named Laser Light. Only the winner, Gato Del Sol, was ahead of Laser Light at the end of the 1982 Derby.
“It was the happiest second of my life,” Weber recalled recently from her home near Ocala, Fla. “I remember it well. It was an exhilarating race. We were kind of lugging behind and I thought, ‘Oh well, we don’t stand a snowball’s chance.’ And here he came, a-loping along. And it was thrilling.”
It began last November when few people were watching. With the focus of the racing world at that time on the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, Kendrick Carmouche went on a hot streak, winning nine races over three days at Aqueduct.
Sure, he took advantage of the absence of the big-name riders such as Irad Ortiz Jr, Jose Ortiz, Luis Saez, and Joel Rosario. But when those guys returned, Carmouche did not stop winning. He capped a terrific Aqueduct fall meet by winning the Cigar Mile, his first career Grade 1 victory. He won the meet riding title.
ARCADIA, Calif. – This year’s Kentucky Derby is not trainer John Sadler’s first rodeo, only his best. As in, best chance.
Rock Your World, the undefeated Santa Anita Derby winner, marks Sadler’s first Kentucky Derby runner in seven years. Four of his previous starters finished off the board, and the California native has not been back since 2014.
“I’ve learned you don’t go back without a contender. You want to go back with a good shot,” Sadler said. “I wouldn’t be going just for the trip. I’m going with a better horse.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When the rescheduled Kentucky Derby was run last September with the pandemic at a peak, and the vast majority of horseplayers were placing their wagers via phone or computer, Churchill relented on longstanding policy by allowing 10-cent increments on all superfecta wagers.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Concert Tour, third last out in the Arkansas Derby, has been training at Churchill Downs in his yellow Kentucky Derby saddle towel, and while trainer Bob Baffert decided shortly after the Arkansas Derby that Concert Tour would pass the Derby, the colt still is bound for a Triple Crown race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Rock Your World and Hot Rod Charlie, two of the Kentucky Derby favorites, made simultaneous first appearances on the racetrack Monday morning after arriving here from California the previous afternoon via equine charter. Both were out for very light exercise after having their final pre-race workouts Saturday at Santa Anita.
Rock Your World, whose front-running victory in the April 3 Santa Anita Derby upped his career record to 3 for 3, has settled in without incident in Barn 43, said trainer John Sadler.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The cameras and tape recorders were waiting, and Bob Baffert was ready. His last horse scheduled to train Monday morning, Charlatan, returned from the track, clomped back into the shed row, and Baffert framed himself in front of the cameras, setting a backdrop of six plaques hung on the barn wall bearing the names of the Kentucky Derby winners he has trained.
The racing action in Louisiana gets a little spicy this week, with Evangeline Downs opening Wednesday night, Louisiana Downs launching its meet Saturday, and native son Gerard Melancon nearing 5,000 career riding wins in North America.
Evangeline will pop the top on its meet with new announcer Rob Tuel calling an eight-race card. Evangeline is scheduled to run 84 dates on a Wednesday-through-Saturday basis through Sept. 18. First post is 5:50 p.m. Central.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – “The Kentucky Derby is a more difficult race to win than I first believed,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum mused to ESPN in 2001.
The ruler of Dubai, whose Godolphin operation has won many of the major events the world over and has earned multiple Eclipse Awards in the U.S., couldn’t have known how right he was. Two decades later, he is still looking for his first Kentucky Derby win, despite the amount of effort and resources committed to the goal. Godolphin has sent 11 horses to the Derby since 1999, with none finishing in the top three.
