2:00 p.m.
A Site to See
An electronic press release arrives in our in box. WinStar Farm announces they have set up a Web site for their Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) winner Colonel John. One of the favorites for Saturday's Kentucky Derby, fans can go inside the WinStar camp for daily information at www.coloneljohn2008.com
Sir, Yes Sir!
1:10 p.m.
Open Seating
Its 46 degrees in Louisville on Tuesday; after the first race, there's plenty of open seating outside
9:20 a.m.
The Dirt on Polytrack
Trainer Nick Zito is holding court with a ring of media members outside his barn. The two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer has two starters for Saturday’s running: Cool Coal Man and Anak Naktal. As outspoken as any other trainer in the game, Zito is talking about the subject of the year: synthetic surfaces.
We have a feeling he’s not a big fan.
Three weeks ago at Keeneland, even-money favorite Pyro, Big Truck, and Cool Coal Man all ran up the track in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) over Polytrack. All three will seek to bounce back in the Derby.
Zito has made his career by being the New York trainer whom the state of Kentucky has embraced. Throughout his great run in the Derby, that started with Strike the Gold in 1991, he has made a point to use Keeneland as steppingstone.
“I took my New York act to Keeneland and they adopted me in Kentucky,” Zito says. “For me not to run there, breaks my heart. But how can I run? I don’t have turf horses. I don’t have horses that like the Polytrack. It’s obvious. But I’ll do good over here (Churchill). I did good in New York and I did good in Florida. I’ll do good where there’s dirt and grass.
“You can’t even make it up – for those horses, not one of them to hit the board. But it’s a good subject. It keeps people talking. Racing needs that. Forget the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is an event. For the sport in general, you have to talk about things like this. It’s a big issue. You’ve got 200 years of breeding that is going to be affected. They never ran on those kind of surfaces. Right now the Triple Crown is on dirt…and that’s good.” –E.H.
Zito dishs dirt on synthetic surfaces
8:30 a.m.
Brown Town
Big Brown takes to the track at Churchill Downs Tuesday morning
8 a.m.
Ultimate Combo
Right by the main gap on the backstretch the Louisville Thoroughbred Club has set up a fundraising stand selling sausage and biscuits to the crowd on the backstretch. President, founder, and “benevolent dictator” of the club--Manny Cadima—mans the station. Taking a closer look, Manny shows us a bottle of “My Racing Heart" perfume.
Pork sausage and perfume…now that’s the ultimate combo.
We catch the scent from a spritz he puts on a piece of paper. Hey, not bad.
“We hooked with an outfit here in town called the Perfumery,” Manny says. “It’s $60 a bottle. It is also available in the Derby Museum and in the Churchill Downs gift shop.”
Cadima is now joined by Kate Wilt, executive director of My Racing Heart, a charitable foundation for retired racehorses.
“We have the Thoroughbred club, and we have our partnerships, which we call Thoroughbred Racing Nation, and the My Racing Heart Foundation, which is the latest edition” Cadima says. “So, we go from breeding them, to racing, and to retirement. We think we’re the first syndicate that has done that.”
“We realized we had our broodmares that were going to be aging out,” Wilt says. “We needed to start thinking about their retirement needs. It dovetailed into other interests that our charities had.”
“It’s one thing to talk about retirement, you have to actually be able to fund it,” Cadima said.
That’s where the perfume and sausage comes in.
During the course of the week, they hope to raise a few thousand dollars.
Sweet. –E.H.
Kate Wilt and Manny Cadima
7:37 a.m.
Quiet, Please
Trainer Graham Motion is available without any wait this morning, and there are no other reporters to share questions with. His barn has been quiet this week, which is fine with him. His starter, Adriano, has not raced since a March 22 score in the Lane's End Stakes (gr. II) over Polytrack. He's not exactly what you'd call a lock to win the Kentucky Derby.
And Adriano may not be quiet on Derby day. Although he's pleasant in the barn, he knows what happens at the races. And he gets excited about it.
"He's a very nice horse, very pleasant to be around in the barn, and anyone could get on and ride him when he's quiet, but he has a tendency to get very hot-blooded at the races," Motion says. "He gets riled up, so I try to be very repetitive about everything with him, and he's handling that quite well. I think it's a sign of class and maturity that he's responding well, he's growing up and still has a bit to do. He's only a May foal, so he's not really even three yet."
Motion says his colt will definitely school in the paddock, perhaps as many as three times, before the Derby. The pagentry of the crowd and the tension of the afternoon are definitely distracting, even to the most professional runners.
"He tends to get hot, that's something he's always done even around the barn, so hopefully it'll stay cooler," the trainer remarks. "I think he'll be managable, though." -C.N.
7:35 a.m.
Blanket Security
Roger Franklin and Dennis White are very, very happy as they close up their folding chairs and pack blankets into backpacks. It's the end of their eight-hour security shift at barn 42, where trainer H. Graham Motion keeps Adriano and four others prepping for the weekend's races.
"I can't wait to go home and get into a nice, warm bed," Franklin says. "It was pretty cold there around 4 a.m."
Franklin passed the dull hours by watching DVDs on his portable player. Showing this morning: Open Season and The Notebook.
"It's just something to pass the time," says Franklin. "The horse was fine, I got up to check on him every 10 minutes. Then I'd get back under my blanket."
Next time, we'll know to bring popcorn. -C.N.
7:30 a.m.
Parade Rest
Trainer Eoin Harty stops outside of Barn 41 to talk about Colonel John, his Derby starter. The Colonel is walking the shedrow after taking a light morning jog once around the track. He is not cranked up, but his strides are rapid and fluid as he swings along. He's definitely feeling his oats.
"He had a really easy morning, and he was full of himself," Harty sid. "I was just glad I got him around in one piece without him doing something stupid. When you combine a day off with this cooler weather, it puts them on their toes."
Colonel John worked impressively Sunday, blowing through five furlongs in :57 4/5. This morning, he's on parade rest. -C.N.
7:20 a.m.
Towers of Power
Television satellite towers near the media center on the backstretch
7:10 a.m.
Standing Tall
In the stand by the main gap on the backstretch, Elliott Walden, the vice president of WinStar Farm is standing with the crew from the IEAH Stables. The IEAH crew got into town yesterday – they figure to cut wide swath through Louisville as owners of two Derby starters: Big Brown and Court Vision. WinStar is in on Court Vision and also owns Colonel John.
Richard Schiavo of IEAH braces the 38 degree weather. Michael Iavarone, wearing a borrowed jacket, braces the fact he’ll have 104 people to take care of Derby weekend.
“We came here unprepared for the cold, “Schiavo says. But they are prepared for the festivities: trainer’s dinner tonight, draw downtown Wednesday. “Thursday, we have most of our people coming in," he says.
“To come here is exciting, to be lucky enough to run one, let alone two, is beyond belief.”
Court Vision gallops by. Colonel John is on the track. It doesn’t get any better than this. –E.H.
6:50 a.m.
Barn 23
Big Brown, the “big horse” for this year’s Kentucky Derby stands in stall 12 in Barn 22. The whole area around his stall has been cordoned off with yellow police tape. A security guard is doing her best to keep away the evil doers.
Across the way, in Barn 23, trainer Steve Margolis is working with his stable of 30 horses. One of his charges, Change Up, may run in Saturday’s Humana Distaff (gr. I). Margolis used to be stabled in the new “House of Brown,” but is now across the row in a bigger barn.
He got a good look at Big Brown this winter while he was at Gulfstream Park.
“He’s a beast to look at,” Margolis says. “He’s a big, monster looking horse. He’s a beautiful horse; he has a lot of presence to him.”
However, Margolis won’t make a Derby prediction until they draw post positions Wednesday night.
“I’ll tell you what, though, I happened to be over there when Colonel John worked the other day (Sunday), because I was working a few of my own, and that horse, man, he didn’t even look like he was going that fast. He went in 57 and change. I saw him come from the eighth pole home and he looked good.” –E.H.
6:10 a.m.
I Heart Proud Spell
Outside of Larry Jones' barn, assistant Casey York keeps an eye on Eight Belles and Proud Spell. Jones is nowhere to be found. He's taking it easy this morning, won't be at the track until around 7 a.m.
"This is about the only vacation time he gets," York says. "After we go back to Delaware, he's back to getting on 12 head a day. This morning, he only has to gallop two after the break."
Those two would be the fillies, Eight Belles pointed toward a start in the Derby and Proud Spell heading to the Kentucky Oaks.
"I'll tell you one thing, if Proud Spell was the size of Eight Belles, then they'd really be in trouble," York remarks. "Eight Belles is big, she's built like a linebacker. Proud Spell's only knock against her is her size. That's one of the reason we're running her in the Oaks - if she got smashed around a couple times, it would just take the air right out of her. Eight Belles can handle a couple knocks and keep on running. But let me tell you something about Proud Spell - she may be little, but she's got heart." - C.N.
Pop the Cork
5:55 a.m.
Trainer David Carroll is in high spirits this morning. Yesterday, he learned that his horse will make it into the Derby field on the graded earnings list, thanks to the defection of Padua Stables' Behindatthebar. Denis of Cork worked well Monday morning, skipping over the Churchill Downs surface in :48 flat for a half-mile. Today he will walk the shedrow.
A longtime favorite of online Blood-Horse readers has been the "Derby Names" story, about the origins of each Derby contender's title. Carroll gives us the history behind Denis of Cork's.
"Mr. (William) Warren loves to name his horses after people, and he's good friends with priest in Ireland from County Cork whose name is Father Denis Casey, so he named the horse after him."
How appropriate is it, then, that Irish-born Carroll be assigned the traiing duties for the colt?
"Ah, it's ironic. I'm from County Meath and we don't like Corkmen," he says. "But I sure do like Cork horses." -C.N.
Monday Evening
John With a Capital “E”
What is the Monday night before the Derby without dinner at John E’s Restaurant? The horsemen’s hangout has been a staple on this evening for years. With the sponsorship of Woodford Reserve and most of the Derby trainers on hand for a live radio broadcast with Paul Rogers, Caton Bredar, and Chris Lincoln, that makes for an instant Daily Double with the Thoroughbred set.
Some of the notable people and quotes from the evening:
First up was trainer Carl Nafzger, winner of the Derby last year with Street Sense and in 1990 with Unbridled. Last week, it was announced that Nafzger will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
“You think of who you are in there with: Whittingham, Nerud, you name them all…but then you think of the responsibility this sport has put on you,” he said. “Now, you’re representing the sport. It’s a humbling experience…and then you just keep your mouth shut.”
As for winning the Derby twice, he said: “I thought winning the Kentucky Derby the first time was the greatest trip I ever took,” he said. “It changed me from Carl ‘Who’ to Carl ‘Says.’ The second time around, it was…you know the train you’re on, you just slow down, and say, ‘I’m going to enjoy this.’ It’s a powerful ride.”
Ronnie Lamarque, co-owner of Recapturetheglory with trainer Louie Roussel, stole the show with his comments, remembering his glory ride 20 years ago with Preakness and Belmont (both gr. I) winner Risen Star.
“Twenty years ago, we were here with the greatest horse in America, Risen Star,” he said. “This year, we’re under the radar. We get no respect. 50-1-, 80-1, who cares? Anything can happen on the racetrack.”
"Our horse won a race called the Illinois Derby. They call it a ‘merry-go-round’ race,” he says. “They went around the track and no one improved their position. Maybe they were in the wrong place because we were standing at the finish line and it looked like a great merry-go-round to me.”
Then, as if on cue, Lamarque broke into song: “Way down yonder in New Orleans/Risen Star was the king of kings/Star was the talk of the town there/Oh, you know what I mean…”
Steve Asmussen is asked about both Pyro and Z Fortune.
“Pyro has a lot of experience; knows what is expected of him,” the trainer says of the Louisiana Derby (gr. II) winner. However, in his next start, Pyro ran 10th over the Polytrack in the Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I).
“As far as the synthetic surfaces go, I’ve figured out how to train on them, but you have to figure out how to race on them.”
Assistant trainer Mike McCarthy subbed for Todd Pletcher, who will send out Monba and Cowboy Cal (one-two finishers in the Blue Grass) next Saturday.
“Todd has been sick for the last four or five days,” McCarthy reports. “I guess he has strep throat. He’s fairly happy about that because the last time he had strep throat, he won a classic with Rags to Riches. He’s hoping lightning strikes twice.”
Jockey E.T. Baird (Recapturetheglory) was the only rider on hand, and he spoke out about his late father, R.L. “Bobby” Baird, who rode Raymond Earl in the 1978 Derby with Affirmed and Alydar and was fifth to Needles aboard Pintor Lea in the 1956 running.
“When he rode against Steve Cauthen, who was the youngest rider (Affirmed), at the time, my father was the oldest rider,” he says. “They were side by side in the gate, and he went to the lead. Sensitive Prince went by him down the backside and Affirmed ended up winning it.
“My dad told me he really thought he had a chance in 1956,” Baird says. “He always told me he might have won it that year, but the horse took a bad step and ended up breaking a foot. The day he passed away, he said that was his Derby to win.” –E.H.
E.T. Baird with Erica Nordean
