Kentucky Derby

[Flea]

That faamous Irish temper takes hold again...
Kinane hit by seven-day ban
Top jockey set to miss ride on Johannesburg in Kentucky Derby
Mick Kinane could miss the ride on Johannesburg in the Kentucky Derby on May 4 after being banned from riding for seven days when found guilty of irresponsible riding of a major nature in the last race yesterday.
He may now go to court in an attempt to defer the ban until after the Kentucky Derby, a tactic he used successfully to keep the winning ride on Galileo in last year's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Kinane, riding Sahara Desert for Aidan O'Brien in the Boadicea Stakes, was clearly going best at the furlong pole but had little room to work with and tried to engineer a gap. He bumped Tumbleweed Charm on his right and then, with his whip in his left hand, gave Sahara Desert another crack. Kinane's mount then bumped Tumbleweed Charm again, who in turn collided with Western Verse, causing Richard Quinn to snatch up.
In the ring the bookies were going 4-1 that Sahara Desert would keep the race, but the incident looked even worse head-on and, after a 20-minute enquiry, the stewards decided that Kinane was guilty of irresponsible riding of a major nature. He was suspended for seven days, April 27, 29 and 30, and May 1 to 4.
Kinane must now decide whether to appeal against the decision, or attempt to resort to the law to defer the suspension to a more convenient period. Last year, he was banned by the stewards at Leopardstown for executing a similar manoeuvre to the one which caused so much trouble yesterday, and looked certain to miss the ride on Galileo as a result. However, he obtained an injunction in the Irish High Court which allowed him to take the ride at Ascot.
If Kinane does miss the ride on Johannesburg, Jerry Bailey, who is currently pencilled in to ride Castle Gandolfo, his stable-mate, at Churchill Downs, would be an obvious replacement.

[Horny Harry]

Last call for Derby preps
By MARTY McGEE
Horsephotos
Ethan Man, one of the favorites for Saturday's Lexington, trains Thursday at Churchill under Kevin Wylie.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Next stop, Derbytown. The last race to conceivably produce a starter for the May 4 Kentucky Derby is Saturday's Grade 2 Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, although the chances of a legitimate Derby horse emerging from the race seem dubious at best.
The trainers of the top three Lexington contenders - Easyfromthegitgo, Ethan Man, and Officer - have said they do not intend to wheel back two weeks later in the Derby, barring some extraordinary result.
Moreover, the trainers of the lesser lights in the field of nine 3-year-olds say they are taking a wait-and-see approach to the Derby, perhaps on the suspicion that their horses simply may not prove good enough Saturday to advance to Louisville.
With the purse of the 1 1/16-mile Lexington being $325,000-added, the winner will leapfrog onto the list of the top 20 graded earners, which is the final determinant for Derby eligibility. But according to Pat Byrne, who will saddle Ethan Man, that fact is probably moot.
"I don't see any horses coming out of this for the Derby," he said.
Even if that is true, Churchill Downs still appears highly likely to have to invoke its 20-horse limit for the 128th Derby. There are 33 horses in various states of consideration for the race, although maybe six - including some of the Lexington starters - are doubtful to run even if they are among the top 20 graded earners.
One other race that is ostensibly a Derby stepping-stone will be run Saturday: the $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico, which is not expected to yield a Derby starter.
The Lexington is so speed-laden that the results might have to be viewed in a jaded context. Ethan Man, Officer, and One Tuff Fox are all exceptionally fast, which could make for a wicked pace and set things up for an inside stalker such as Easyfromthegitgo, who could be a slight favorite.
"This is a lovely 3-year-old," said Steve Asmussen, trainer of Easyfromthegitgo. "He does everything we ask of him, lays everything on the line. But even if he runs big Saturday, I don't think we want to try the Derby. We're looking forward to having a nice, long year with him."
The Lexington and Tesio will be televised on a delayed basis on ESPN2. The one-hour broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern.

[Horny Harry]

Godolphin horses arrive
Three horses from Godolphin Racing, including Derby starter Essence of Dubai, were in quarantine at Keeneland after being vanned Wednesday afternoon from Louisville following a lengthy flight from Dubai. Essence of Dubai was accompanied by Tempera and Imperial Gesture, both of whom will run in the Kentucky Oaks.
Tempera, who will be ridden by David Flores, was campaigned on dirt in the USA as a juvenile last year. She was triumphant in an extended five-furlong maiden at Hollywood Park in July before going on to score in the Grade Two Sorrento Stakes over an extended six furlongs at Del Mar in August.
Her biggest success came in the Grade One Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies over an extended eight furlongs at Belmont Park in October when she defeated stable companion Imperial Gesture by one-and-a-half lengths. On her seasonal reappearance, the three-year-old A P Indy filly was the five-length runner-up to Infinite Spirit in the UAE 1000 Guineas over a mile on dirt at Nad Al Sheba on March 14.
Longshots hit Churchill
Ocean Sound arrived Thursday at Churchill to prepare for the Derby, and It'sallinthechase was scheduled to arrive Thursday night. Ocean Sound came from Keeneland, where he finished third in the Blue Grass last Saturday. Trainer Jim Cassidy said Thursday that Alex Solis will ride the colt in the Derby.
It'sallinthechase, ninth in the Arkansas Derby, was to be vanned in from Oklahoma. With Gerard Melancon unlikely to ride It'sallinthechase because of a licensing problem in Kentucky, James Lopez probably will get the mount.
[ April 19, 2002: Message edited by: Horny Harry ]

[cheesebeast]

This one's pretty good - the official site of the Kentucky Derby, should be able to find the winner in here somewhere.
Kentucky Derby.com (http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2002/)

[lepper]

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Don't count D. Wayne Lukas out of the Kentucky Derby picture just yet.
Proud Citizen got the win in the Coolmore Lexington.
The Hall of Fame trainer likely has his Derby horse following Proud Citizen's 3length victory Saturday in the $325,000 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.
The lightly raced son of Gone West ran to the lead in the first turn, and held off American Style at the top of the stretch before drawing away to win the 1 1-16-mile race on a muddy track.
"I don't have to make a decision now, do I?" Lukas asked. "We'll look at him, visit with the owners and go from there."
Lukas missed the Derby last year after a record 20 consecutive starts. That likely won't be the case this year, especially with no clear-cut favorite emerging for the May 4 event.
"If we're going to be in this game and put the kind of money we do, you've got to look that direction," he said. "We're fooling ourselves if we don't.
"(Owner) Christine Baker always said, `Get me a big hat horse,"' he said. "I think she's got a big hat horse."
Proud Citizen, who went off at 8-1 with Mike Smith aboard, covered the soft track in 1:44 2-5.
"I'm not trying to be a cheerleader or anything, but that track was pretty deep and wet and not very fast," Lukas said.
Crimson Hero, trained by Nick Zito, finished second, followed by second betting choice Easyfromthegitgo, saddled by Steve Asmussen.
"If everything goes good, we will likely go to the Preakness," Zito said. "This was only his fifth start. He's a lightly raced horse."
Favorite Ethan Man ran last most of the race but rebounded over the final two furlongs to finish fifth in the eight-horse field.
"I'm not making excuses, but he wasn't taking to the track," trainer Pat Byrne said of Ethan Man. "It was really, really deep."
This wouldn't be the first time Lukas used a last-minute prep victory at Keeneland to secure a spot in the Derby.
In 1999, he saddled unheralded Charismatic to a surprising victory in the Lexington. The colt then rebounded to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before suffering a career-ending leg injury while running to a third-place finish in the Belmont.
Proud Citizen's victory in the Lexington was even more of a surprise than Charismatic's.
Following a seven-month layoff in which he recovered from surgery to remove a bone spur in his knee, Proud Citizen's first start of the year came against many of the nation's best 3-year-olds in the Santa Anita Derby on April 2. He finished seventh in the field of eight.
"We got behind with him following the spur and he's just now getting where we want him to be," Lukas said. "I hate to admit this, but I used Santa Anita as a prep for the Lexington.
"But we've got a very fresh horse that has not gone to the well yet. There's still a lot of good things to come with this one."

[Horny Harry]

Godolphin announced on Saturday, April 20 that David Flores will ride Essence Of Dubai in the Grade One Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, USA on Saturday, May 4.
The California-based jockey will be partnering the three-year-old Pulpit colt for the first time in the American Classic.
The jockey will also have the mount on Tempera in the Grade One Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 3, while Godolphin's retained jockey, Frankie Dettori, will partner Imperial Gesture.
The Sagitta 2,000 Guineas takes place on the same day as the Kentucky Derby and Frankie Dettori will return to Newmarket to ride Naheef for owner HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum.

[Seabiscuit]

Here are some of old Seabiscuit's thoughts on some of the Kentucky Derby Contenders. I don't know who is going to win this year as it looks an open race and unfortunately I have missed some of the key lead ups.
- Harlan's Holiday - professional fellow of humble birth (ie Ohio bred). Only one Ohio bred has ever won the Ky Derby so it would be nice to see another plebeian win against the racing aristocratic blue bloods. He has a nice racing style for a Derby as he can settle behind the pace and stalk it or rally. He is the current favourite and has claims. However I was neutral on his last run. Time was slow and he seemed to lack the raw energy and power I like to see in a Derby Contender - the energy that will see him surge to the lead in the stretch and on to victory - he was a bit flat last time - a bit too professional - a bit too like an accountant or an actuary (ie no passion)
- Came Home - small horse who races on the pace. Winner of Santa Anita Derby but Beyer people slammed this win rating it a 96 Beyer Speed figure versus an average of 108 from last few years. He has shown fight in his last 2 runs which is good but is not crying out for the 1m 1/4. Still some hope but I won't be backing him.
- Buddha - Good horse - I was very impressed by his Maiden win in Feb At Gulfstream Park. Then won an Allowance very impressively and followed up with a win in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial. Unfortunately I missed the Wood but everyone seems to have been impressed by his fighting effort in the stretch where he beat the highly talented Medaglia d'Oro. Has a bit of street fighter in him which I like. My only queries are that he only has had 4 career starts and so may not be seasoned enough. Also is on on pace runner who might struggle with the 1m 1/4 if run at a fast pace. I will consider betting this one
Medaglia d'Oro - very similar credentials to Buddha. 4 runs including a super impressive Mdn win at Oaklawn Park in early Feb. Followed up with a G2 win at Santa Anita. Looked beaten for a second on the turn but fought back to draw away and win impressively. Then beaten a head by Buddha in a real dogfight (so they say) in the Wood. Same queries as with Buddha - seasoned enough? Can he run 1m 1/4 at a fast pace? Still, like Buddha I will consider him as a betting prospect as he is a fighter with talent.
Private Emblem - Won Arkansas Derby G2 which is traditionally not the best lead up. However win seems OK as he came from off the pace. Might have a better racing style than Buddha and co in terms of winning a Derby. He is still worthy of consideration at the odds on offer (about 20s I think)
Johannesburg - A girl with a weirdo European Prep. Prefer to risk at shortish odds. His stablemate Castle Gandalfo might be worthy of thought for tris if it starts at any old odds as Mr O'Brien has a good training record.
Essence of Dubai - Godolphin runner so deserves some attention. But how do you know as Dubai form. Could do anything. Has at least won over the distance but that Dubai track looks like it had been lifted from the set of Baywatch. It looks sandy like a beach. Nothing like Churchill Downs. I will risk him as Godolphin blow ins have done nothing in the Ky Derby as yet. I don't like to see the billionaires winning anyway. Let a battler win.
Request for Parole - fighter who lacks talent - might be a trifecta chance in the placings
USS Tinosa and Lusty Latin - both plodders who lack class and probably cannot win the race but have indicated they may be true marathon runners who will be running on at the end of a hectic 1m 1/14. Might run into the placing for your trifecta at big odds like Request for Parole.
These are some of my thoughts.

[Horny Harry]

Proud Citizen rules Lexington Stakes
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Don't count D. Wayne Lukas out of the Kentucky Derby picture just yet. The Hall of Fame trainer likely has his Derby horse following Proud Citizen's 3.25-length victory Saturday in the $325,000 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. The lightly raced son of Gone West ran to the lead in the first turn and held off American Style at the top of the stretch before drawing away to win the 1 1/16-mile race on a muddy track. Favorite Ethan Man finished fifth in the eight-horse field.

[imaufo]

If you bet the Kentucky Derby this year, don't wager on favorites Harlan's Holiday, Came Home, Medaglia d'Oro or Buddha.
There will be a full gate of 20 thoroughbreds and handicapping this race is like no other all year long.
Top trainers have a new plan to win America's favorite race. With so much riding on the Kentucky Derby, the plan is to have a runner peak not in a prep, but on May 4, 2002.
But the bettors looks at what these horses have done lately, and the last race is the one that instills the most confidence as they march to the windows. Not the best way to invest your money.
That is why betting on any of the top four favorites to win is the equivalent of parimutuel bungee jumping. These short-priced horses have, quite likely, already peaked, and yet they are about to meet faster rivals who could run the race of their lives.
Here are my knocks against the top four:
Harlan's Holiday has run too fast, too often and too soon in the campaign.
Buddha got the perfect trip, and should bounce off a tough Wood Memorial.
Came Home could surprise on heart and courage, but size and pedigree suggest a short price that is like buying stock in Enron: no value.
Medaglia d'Oro was gut-wrenching second in the Wood, but it seems to me that Bobby Frankel-trained horses need more time between the big ones.
With that in mind, here are a few suggestions for long shots to use by themselves or to fill out gimmick tickets that may turn out to be I.R.S. "signers":
Sunday Break: Did you see how Gary Stevens chose not to rough up this guy in the stretch drive of the Wood? When he cruised up to the leaders at the head of the lane, he looked like a sure winner. But Gary only smacked him seven times in the early stretch, and only hand rode him the last seventy yards. He finished third, beaten only half a length. No wonder trainer Neil Drysdale was happy after the race. The only question now is whether he'll get into the Run for the Roses. His low graded stakes earnings may keep him out.
Saarland: Don't give up on him. If I could pick a horse to win the Belmont Stakes, it would be this beautifully-bred son of Unbridled out of the great race mare, Versailles Treaty. But he could surprise in Kentucky. Trainer Shug McGaughey has not tightened all the screws down yet. Watch for a huge form reversal under the twin spires.
Castle Gandolfo: With Jerry Bailey on board, he will be a much shorter price than the 32-1 he closed at in the final Derby Future Pool, but he will still be double digits. Key here is that he trained all winter in Ireland with Johannesburg. Personally, I think the stable regards him as a better Derby prospect than last year's Juvenile champ after his win in that 1-mile prep at Lingfield in England.
Perfect Drift: Out of sight, out of mind. It will be six weeks between his victory in the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park and the Run for the Roses. Jockey Eddie Delahoussye fits this late runner -- a style that fits the Derby, especially this year.
War Emblem: Word is Sheik Ahmed paid a cool million for the front-runner after his tally in the Illinois Derby. The key is that he moves to the barn of Bob Baffert, who knows how to prepare a horse to win this race. Real Quiet paid $18.80 in 1998. Silver Charm paid $10 in 1997.
Essence of Dubai: Part of a three-horse Derby entourage from Godolphin. Stablemates Imperial Gesture and Tempera go in the Kentucky Oaks. "Essence" has already won at a mile and a quarter. That fact should not be overlooked when the others start to gasp at the final furlong marker.
Easy Grades: He's the biggest question mark for me. If indeed he did have an equipment problem in the Santa Anita Derby (as Gary Stevens claimed), then he has a valid excuse for not beating Came Home and shouldn't be ignored.
Private Emblem: He was as a pro every step of the way in Arkansas, overcoming the outside post and making it look easy. Trainer Asmussen will not bring a short horse to Louisville.
Well, that's how I see it until they draw the post positions on the first of May.
The job then will be to sort the many into the few, and box them!

[imaufo]

Hello,
I read up on the early odds for the Derby and they are a joke! Why is Johannesburg even in the top five? I'm going to laugh if he is one of the favorites in the Derby and flops. Especially if he has no prep race in the U.S. One victory, at one track no less, doesn't not warrant respect. Will he be able to handle the Churchill Downs surface? Can he go 1 1/4? The Belmont track was certainly in his favor that day, but that was one track. I have to shake my head at the current wagering. In my opinion, the lone horses at the the top right now should be: Harlan's Holiday, and Repent. I like Saarland, he looks like a horse who is better suited for the 1 1/4 distance. He was slowly gaining in the Gotham. An extra furlong and he would have left Myakowsky in the dust, a horse who is better off sprinting. I also think Siphonic is over-rated. Today was his redemption and he could do no better then 3rd. He's had 2 straight losses that will be hard to bounce back from. He took the lead early, was pressured, called it quits at the final turn. Shah Jehan should go back to Allowance company. He clearly doesn't belong. He finished last in the Santa Catalina, and last in today's San Felipe. U.S.S Tinosa is not a bad horse, he's been consistent. He might not be the most classiest but he's putting in really decent efforts. Medaglia D'Oro seems nice but he has the jinx of Labamta Babe's injury. I'd like to see what he does later on. Another good horse from Frankels barn. I'm beginning to dislike his hot streak.
Ok...
Repent, Harlan's Holliday, Saarland, U.S.S Tinosa.. honorable, and not so honorable mentions.... Nokoma, Yougottawanna, Blue Burner.
This year it's wide open, which is a very good thing. There are a lot of good horses this year. It should be more competitive.
I don't believe Officer is being pointed to the TC.. He's missed some key races. It's too late to find an opener.
Take Care
Melynda`

[imaufo]

Who will win the Kentucky Derby ? (poll)
Harlan's Holiday
24 votes (14%)
Came Home
23 votes (13%)
Buddha
19 votes (11%)
Medaglia D'Oro
14 votes (8%)
Other
96 votes (55%)
176 people have voted so far

[cheesebeast]

Came Home wows McCarron
By DAVID GRENING
Chris McCarron, barely moving a muscle, guides Came Home to a six-furlong workout in 1:12.60 Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs.
Chris McCarron was sitting on an airplane in Louisville late Tuesday morning, a plane that would take him to Cincinnati where he would then catch a connecting flight to his home in Southern California.
Judging by the enthusiasm in his voice over the phone, McCarron could have gotten home without the aid of a jet airliner.
McCarron had flown to Louisville to get on Santa Anita Derby winner Came Home, who Tuesday morning worked for the May 4 Kentucky Derby. After guiding him six furlongs in 1:12.60 around the Churchill Downs oval, McCarron was ecstatic with the way his horse is coming up to the race and is looking forward to try to win his third Kentucky Derby.
"He got across the ground beautifully," said McCarron, who barely moved a muscle on Came Home while keeping him in the three or four path down the lane. "He was very efficient. I was impressed with his work. I liked it very much."
Came Home was one of three Derby hopefuls to work at Churchill Downs on a crisp, sunny morning in Louisville. Wood Memorial runner-up Medaglia d'Oro and Blue Grass third-place finisher Ocean Sound also breezed.
In Ireland, the Aidan O'Brien-trained duo of Johannesburg and Castle Gandolfo put in five-furlong workouts over the turf at Ballydoyle. They are scheduled to have one more breeze in Ireland before shipping to Kentucky on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the list of Derby hopefuls was at 25 Tuesday, as trainer Nick Zito has not totally ruled out Lexington runner-up Crimson Hero should the opportunity present itself. "Right now, it's 75-25 heading to the Preakness, 25-75 heading to the Derby," said Zito, noting that Crimson Hero's late-running style would suit a Derby with plenty of speed.
Crimson Hero would rank 22nd on the graded stakes earnings list - the determining factor in narrowing the Derby field to its maximum of 20. Windward Passage (21), U S S Tinosa, Sunday Break, and Red Masque, in order, also remain on the outside looking in.
Came Home has won five graded stakes, the most of any Derby contender. His victory in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 6 looked like a rigorous effort. But what pleased McCarron most on Tuesday was the way Came Home felt underneath him.
"The good news is his work last Tuesday at Santa Anita and again this morning have shown me the Santa Anita Derby did not strip him," said McCarron. "There was some concern in the back of my mind - because he was a little short in the Santa Anita Derby - that that race may have taken its toll; rather than tighten the screws, it might have made him peak that day. All indications I'm getting are giving me a lot of confidence."
The knock on Came Home is that his pedigree suggests he will not be able to handle the 10 furlongs of the Derby. When it was suggested that Came Home might have the heart and courage to overcome a sprint-oriented pedigree, McCarron said, "You left out one important thing - talent. Heart, courage, and determination are all terrific. When you combine that with raw talent, it's lethal."
McCarron said trainer Paco Gonzalez would like him to return Monday to work Came Home.
About 20 minutes after he worked Came Home, McCarron climbed aboard Ocean Sound for trainer James Cassidy. McCarron guided Ocean Sound through a seven-furlong move in 1:28.20, a move that McCarron felt was lacking.
"He went okay, it wasn't a real stellar work," McCarron said. "He didn't feel like he handled the track as well as Came Home did. He worked 20 minutes later, and the track was pretty cut up by the time he got out there. From my vantage point, he was at a disadvantage because of the condition of the track. The track was in good shape immediately after the break. Later on, there was a lot of traffic out there. It was pretty cut up. The chances of him getting a fast work over the track were compromised."
Cassidy said he wasn't worried so much about the time, adding, "it was a good stamina work for him." Cassidy said Ocean Sound would likely blow out three furlongs next Wednesday or Thursday.
Medaglia d'Oro, who was beaten a head by Buddha in the Wood Memorial, went an easy five furlongs in 1:01.40 under exercise rider Marco Ramirez. Trainer Bobby Frankel said he was pleased with the move, adding, "I didn't want to do too much. He had a hard race the other day."
O'Brien runners may stay at Keeneland
In Ireland, Johannesburg, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and Eclipse Award winning 2-year-old, went five furlongs in 1:02 on the turf, according to O'Brien. Johannesburg followed a lead horse around the course, passing him in the stretch.
Castle Gandolfo, a group stakes winner on turf who is 1 for 1 on dirt, worked five furlongs in 1:04, according to O'Brien.
"We're very happy with the way they're working and training at the minute," O'Brien said.
With no quarantine facilities established at Churchill Downs, Johannesburg and Castle Gandolfo will have to do their quarantine time at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. O'Brien said "it's possible" both horses would remain at Keeneland until the day before or morning of the Derby. Unlike the Breeders' Cup, which stipulates horses be on the grounds of the host track 24 hours out, Derby horses don't have to be at Churchill until 10 a.m. Derby morning.
"We don't want to be shifting too much," O'Brien said. "They have a long flight on Tuesday."
O'Brien said both horses would put in their final workouts on Saturday.
* U S S Tinosa is scheduled to arrive from California on Wednesday or Thursday. Saarland and Blue Burner, who both came out of their Belmont Park works Monday in good order, are also due to arrive at Churchill on Thursday.
- additional reporting by Marty McGee
Harlan's Holiday maintaining
By JAY PRIVMAN
In his second-to-last work for the Derby, Harlan's Holiday drills five furlongs in a bullet 59.20 under Tony D'Amico Wednesday at Churchill. "He was very aggressive today," said his trainer, Ken McPeek.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It would be folly to equate fast works preceding the Kentucky Derby with fast races on Derby Day. It is the way a horse works here that is important, not necessarily the time, and workouts are only a piece of the handicapping puzzle.
That said, it is still preferable to see a horse working well as he nears the Derby. And it seems as though Harlan's Holiday, the expected favorite for the 128th Kentucky Derby on May 4, is training as well as ever.
On Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs, Harlan's Holiday had his penultimate work for the Derby. He is coming off consecutive victories in the Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes, and merely needs to retain his fitness for another week and a half. He will have one more work next week, and then his connections will hope he is outfitted with a blanket of roses.
Harlan's Holiday worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds with jockey Tony D'Amico aboard. The work was the fastest of 21 at the distance. He was one of three horses who worked Wednesday for the Derby. Both War Emblem, who is stabled at Churchill Downs, and Perfect Drift, who is at the nearby Trackside training center, also turned in encouraging workouts.
On Tuesday, Santa Anita Derby winner Came Home looked sharp in his workout, Wood Memorial runner-up Medaglia d'Oro appeared just fine, but Ocean Sound, the third-place finisher in the Blue Grass Stakes, struggled and was under urging.
The fast work seemed to take little out of Harlan's Holiday. At the barn following the workout, he cooled out quickly, and disdainfully refused his handlers' attempts to get him to drink some water.
"He's very sharp right now," said Ken McPeek, the trainer of Harlan's Holiday. "He went off fast the first eighth of a mile, then he settled down. He was very aggressive today. But that's okay. You don't want him lackadaisical at all."
McPeek said Harlan's Holiday would have his final workout on Tuesday, and that Derby jockey Edgar Prado would be aboard.
Harlan's Holiday was accompanied before the work by a pony. McPeek said Harlan's Holiday is usually more relaxed prior to a workout without a pony, but D'Amico requested the pony to make sure Harlan's Holiday would "not get away," McPeek said.
Harlan's Holiday is in much better shape than McPeek. The trainer is hobbling around the stable area on crutches after breaking a foot in a pick-up basketball game last week. Over his foot he has a soft cast, which he said he has to wear for six weeks.
War Emblem also was eager to work. Dana Barnes, his exercise rider, was nearly standing straight up in the saddle early. War Emblem flew through six furlongs in 1:12.40. It was his second work since being transferred to trainer Bob Baffert.
Baffert has been through the Derby enough times that he laughed when someone asked how War Emblem worked. Before answering, Baffert wondered aloud if any trainer had ever admitted that his horse looked bad. War Emblem, Baffert said, "is pretty aggressive."
"He wants to get it on," Baffert said. "He's tough. Not mean, but tough. He was a little wild when Dana first turned him loose. We put a good, stiff work into him."
War Emblem is a near-black colt, rather lean, with a narrow blaze down his face, and small feet. He looks like he could pass for a younger version of Sunday Silence. Whether he has the talent of the 1989 Derby winner is another matter.
"He's got a big, long stride on him," Baffert said.
Not as big, though, as Perfect Drift. The Spiral Stakes winner has a long, loping stride that was just getting warmed up when he finished his half-mile breeze in 49 seconds at Trackside, a six-furlong training track about five minutes from Churchill Downs.
Few stakes-class horses are based at Trackside, so the sight of several reporters and cameramen piqued the interest of the locals Wednesday morning. Perfect Drift was distracted, too. During a pre-race jog, he gawked at a handful of reporters standing along the outer rail near the furlong pole.
Once he worked, though, Perfect Drift settled into a rhythmic stride. His ears were straight up, as though he was going along easily. "He finished up well. That's the main thing," trainer Murray Johnson said.
Both War Emblem and Perfect Drift are scheduled to have their final Derby works on Tuesday.
- Because there is a chance that Sunday Break will not get into the Derby field because he may not have enough earnings in graded stakes, jockey Gary Stevens is making contingency plans. Stevens could end up on Wild Horses or Windward Passage if Sunday Break is excluded, jockey agent Brian Beach said.

[imaufo]

Rating the top horse right now is a crap shoot at best. Repent hasn't lost, but can't figure out how to run. Harlan's Holiday wins easily in Florida, but needed suicide fractions to get it done He also has RAN in the broodmare sireline. Johanessburg, who knows what the hell's going on with this horse. Saarland, only two preps. Siphonic has something wrong with him. Came Home has serious distance limitations. Blue Burner, just not as good as Harlan's Holiday. Request for Parole, hasn't faced anything yet.
Up and comers: Equality looks impressive in two straight against weaker company, also has RAN in the broodmare sireline. Medaglia D'Oro looked good today, but I can't trust Bobby Frankel.
Right now, I'm looking at Repent as the horse to beat, but the Florida horses are definately the toughest this year, and that makes HH look all the better. Also watch for Take Charge Lady to get into the mix. McPeek might not want her in there, but it's going to be very hard for the owners to pass up when they have a very legitimate shot to win the thing. What's really scary is all three of those horses are in McPeek's barn.
Horse that went real south real fast. High Star, Nokoma, & Booklet

[masun]

I am surprised that subject of Dosage Index hasn't come up in this discussion of the Kentucky Derby yet. Wonder how well the theory has held up in recent years?

[imaufo]

Dosage Lives! Why?
Secretariat has been named a chef-de-race.
Does anyone care?
Well, yes. The Daily Racing Form devoted two-thirds of a page to the news, in the form of a "Bloodlines" column by Ed Fontaine. So there must be some handful of people out there who are still laboring to work out dosage calculations, all the way to the second decimal place.
It's no secret that breeders will wander far into the outer regions of the occult in their search for the Magic Bullet of Mating (note the great popularity of nicking), but this dosage thing is out on the other side of that.
As it is presently practiced, dosage was developed by Dr. Steven A. Roman, Ph. D., of Richmond, Tex., who otherwise appears to be a sensible and reasonable man.
The heart of the dosage business is the roster of chefs-de-race, the 139 sires whose distance-siring tendencies provide the foundation of the program. The Dosage Index and Center of Distribution are calculated from the mix of chefs in the first four generations of a horse's pedigree.
Roman maintains a list of chefs and periodically adds a new name, whenever he has determined to his satisfaction the distance tendencies of the descendants of an influential sire. The goal of dosage, Roman points out, is not to determine how good a runner a horse will be but to determine his best distance.
Thus, if dosage works and you get the numbers right, you could wind up with a runner that gets the desired distance, but slowly. (Of course, any horse can get a classic distance if he runs slowly enough.)
The best use of dosage, in other words, is to check the mating you've already chosen on the basis of quality to make sure you don't breed a four-furlong flash or a two-mile plodder.
Fair enough, if you accept Roman's calculation of the probably best distances for the descendants of those chefs de race.
You can believe that Roman has worked at it. He's a scientist, and he doesn't install a new chef until he's satisfied that the sire stamps his descendents' stamina in a consistent pattern.
Having made that calculation, Roman then places the chef in one of five categories ranging from "brilliant" (sprinters) to "professional" (routers). Sometimes Roman assigns a chef to two categories. Such is the case with Secretariat, who is classified as both "intermediate" and "classic."
A great deal depends upon Roman's ability to make accurate category assignments. Since the final calculation is carried out to two decimal places, there's no room for guesswork or estimates.
So far so good, maybe.
However, the next step--the first in the actual calculation--is more likely to produce hysterical laughter than respect.
As in, "You do what?"
What you do next is ignore (a) all the females and (b) all the non-chef sires in the first four generations of the horse being dosed. That instantly eliminates a minimum of 50 percent of the horses contributing to the subject horse. Since most horses' pedigrees aren't jammed with chefs, it also eliminates a fair number of the sires in the pedigree.
For example, a dosage calculation for Bertrando, an Eclipse Award winner now at stud in California, would consider just five of the 30 horses in the first four generations of his pedigree.
On the other hand, a calculation for the royally-bred A. P. Indy would consider 11 of the 30, consigning only 19 to a state of influenceness.
Point values are assigned to the chefs in the pedigree--more to the close-up sires--and the result is calculated to the second decimal place.
How can anyone take this seriously?
European vs USA dosage theories
http://www.chef-de-race.com/dosage/us_euro_dosage.htm
The heat shock response and molecular basis of genetic dominance
http://post.queensu.ca/~forsdyke/dominanc.htm
Pedigree articles/ links to lots of dosage sites
http://www.dmtc.com/pedigree/links/msub15a.htm
Breeding links...enough to keep your hands on the keyboard for hours.
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/eross/
DMT dosage...for those who like a smoke
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt_dose.shtml

[cheesebeast]

Here's some more links on Dosage with lots of stats
Kentucky Derby Stats (http://www.chef-de-race.com/the_classics/derby_contenders_2002.htm)
Kentucky Derby Links (http://www.horse-races.net/library/links-derby.htm)

[masun]

Imaufo, obviously you are knowledgeable in breeding. Do you find that your knowledge has been useful in HK racing?
In Hong Kong, we have Apollo Ng, Chinese race caller of HKJC, who likes to pretend that he's the foremost expert in breeding and relates everything to pedigrees. At first people were awed by his knowledge but now most treat him as a clown.
As far as HK racing goes, what are the resources -- books, websites -- that are most relevant? From time to time I read about stats of the progenies of certain sires in HK, e.g. win%, prizemoney won, average distances. Any idea where the stats come from?

[imaufo]

Nice link Cheesy...here is one of the pages off your site with all the info on dosage ala Kentucky Derby contenders.
http://www.horse-races.net/library/derby-contenders.shtml
Breeding is a science unto itself Masun and I dont really pay too much attention to it..apart from a few cases where knowing a wet track sire or two might prove to be an edge. My post below is sheer plagerism and I cant confess to having much understanding of what is written...however it is interesting and may further everybodys knowledge on the subject. With horses you never stop learning...isnt that the saying?
As far as books, websites etc...there are lots of links on this page and under International ( lets travel aroundbit) that may prove useful to your quest. I did spot a book on Telisio once in the horsemans bookshop and gallery, Kensington ( Randwick) and an interesting book called the X factor..which mentions Secretariat as having one of the all time great hearts( and by this I mean size)so it is no surprise to see him listed below as a " chef de race" .
[ April 26, 2002: Message edited by: imaufo ]

[Seabiscuit]

Breeding based approaches to handicapping are usually wise after the event not before it. I am not saying they are useless just be careful. Establish how useful a factor such as dosage is and pay it the respect it deserves - no more no less. I remember one year before a Derby reading an article by a breeding "expert" that Horse X could not run the Derby distance based on breeding (he went through its pedigree to show how this was the case). Well Horse X duly won the race and after the race I heard the trainer say he was always confident the horse would at least run the distance of the race because of its breeding!!!
Below I paste a snippet from a Steve Davidowitz article on www.trackmaster.com (http://www.trackmaster.com) - he points out that dosage is no magic formula.
STEVE DAVIDOWITZ
Not too many years ago, the 'Dosage' system was being touted as the magic Derby winning formula.
Last time I looked, Dosage was still trying to figure out how Strike The Gold (1991), Real Quiet (1998) and Charismatic (1999) managed to win the Derby after nearly 60 years of failure. Last time I looked this much seemed to hold all the truth you need to handicap the world's most difficult race.
* It takes a very good horse to make it into the starting field with a legit winning chance.
* While three or four prep races probably are preferable, a truly good horse can win the Derby by any reasonable training route or series of prep races, so long as he (or she) has been not been compromised by injury or illness and has progressed noticeably throughout the winter to reach Louisville in the peak of health.
* Horses that miss serious training, or suffer seemingly minor setbacks more than once are complete throwouts.
*The very best trainers-especially those with a previous positive Derby experience---who utilize their own unique ideas deserve to be given the benefit of doubt about what they are doing to prepare for a winning bid. (If Saarland should dominates the Wood Memorial, for example, some benefit of doubt will be due Shug McGaughey, or at least I will give it to him in my Derby analysis.)
* Only the Blue Grass stakes, Wood Memorial , Santa Anita Derby, Arkansas Derby or perhaps the newly repositioned Illinois Derby, all at 1-1/8 miles, with very lucrative purses, should be viewed as TRUE PREP RACES. All the other prep stakes should be viewed as races unto themselves, or as prep races for the few true Kentucky Derby Preps.

[hobbes]

Saturday, April 27, 2002 RACING
Kinane's Derby ban confirmed
NICK PULFORD
Mick Kinane yesterday failed in his last-ditch bid to win back what he had described as the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to ride Johannesburg in the Kentucky Derby.
Kinane, who was suspended for major irresponsible riding at Newmarket, England, last week, had his appeal against the ban rejected yesterday at a special hearing of the Jockey Club stewards.
The seven-day suspension includes the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs a week today, when Kinane had been due to partner the Aidan O'Brien-trained Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner.
seabiscuit you were positively agreeable in that last post -- what happened to the "grumpy old man"?? ;) :p ;) :p ;)

[Horny Harry]

i think the valium and the rub down by the in-house nurse must have done the trick!

[Seabiscuit]

I think I am always agreeable, Hobbes. It is just that other less clear thinking people don't like being shown the errors of their ways. It embarasses them. I am a modern day Socrates, Hobbes. You should know who he was being a philosopher and all yourself, Hobbes.
And no Harry I don't have a nurse. It is just me and my dog, Fido, here. I have trained Fido to bring me my tablets so I don't have to get out of my chair.

[Homer J.]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A torrential downpour at Churchill Downs on Saturday resulted in the scratch from the featured Derby Trial of morning-line favorite Mayakovsky, the only horse in the race who could run back in next Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
Patrick Biancone, the trainer of Mayakovsky, made the decision to scratch his colt midway through the card, after watching steady rain soak the track into sloppy condition.
"He's never even trained on a sloppy track," Biancone said, while standing on a viewing platform just outside a fourth-floor dining room while watching the rain come down. "We had the driest winter in California."
Biancone said it was "very doubtful" Mayakovsky would run in the Derby, but said no final decision would be made until Tuesday. He said if Mayakovsky passes the Derby, he likely would be kept in sprints for the time being.
Entries for the Derby are taken on Wednesday, and Mayakovsky's status could impact the starting field. A maximum of 20 horses can be entered in the Derby, though more than that number want to run. If more than 20 are entered, the field is comprised of the highest earners in graded stakes races. Mayakovsky is among the top 20, so if he is entered, a bubble horse such as Windward Passage would be excluded. There is no also-eligible list.
Mayakovsky is owned by Michael Tabor, who also is a co-owner of Johannesburg with John Magnier. Castle Gandolfo is owned by solely by Magnier. If Sunday Break - who is below Windward Passage and U S S Tinosa on the earnings list - does not run in the Derby, Gary Stevens will ride either Johannesburg or Castle Gandolfo in the Derby.
In the Derby Trial, Sky Terrace set fractions of 22.69 seconds, 45.58, and 1:10.73 en route to a front-running victory in 1:36.87 for one mile on the sloppy track. He went off at 7-1 and paid $16.80 to win. Sky Terrace, who was third to Cashel Castle in the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland in his last start, has now won 3 of 7 starts. Craig Perret rode Sky Terrace, who is trained and co-owned by Vickie Foley.
Cashel Castle suffered the first loss of his career after five victories. He finished one length in front of third-place finisher Ide Be Spencers.
In other Derby developments Saturday:
* Straight Gin, most recently fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes, worked five furlongs in 59.40 seconds at Churchill Downs, equaling the second-best time of 26 at the distance. Straight Gin has just $52,500 in earnings in graded stakes races, making him a longshot to get into the Derby. U S S Tinosa and Sunday Break are among the horses ahead of Straight Gin. Trainer Nick Zito said that if Straight Gin does not get into the Derby, he would be pointed to the second leg of the Triple Crown, the May 18 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
* U S S Tinosa, most recently fifth in the Santa Anita Derby, had his trip from northern California to Kentucky postponed by trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. U S S Tinosa is still not assured a starting berth in the Derby, even if Mayakovsky were to be taken out of the equation. U S S Tinosa needs another defection from the horses ahead of him on the earnings list to get in. Hollendorfer said U S S Tinosa would be flown to Kentucky on Tuesday, and that if he does not get into the Derby field, he could await the Hawthorne Derby on turf on May 11.
* Richard Migliore has picked up the ride on Windward Passage, who most recently finished in a dead heat for third in the Arkansas Derby, according to Barry Irwin, the president of the Team Valor syndicate that owns Windward Passage.

[Horny Harry]

Australian Murray Johnson has been quietly making his mark in the training establishments of none other than Churchill Downs Louisville, Kentucky.
Not only has he recorded over 194 winners in just three years, he has a three year-old gelding that is being touted as a genuine chance in the Kentucky Derby this Saturday May 4.
Johnson has a background that would be the envy of many a trainer. He not only has the experience of working alongside trainers such as Shug McGaughey, Carl Nafzger, John Gosden, Charlie Wittingham, and Australia's own, Bart Cummings, Johnson is the great-great grandson of W S Cox,who founded the Moonee Valley racecourse in 1883 and who the Group One Cox Plate is named after. True racing blood without a doubt runs in the veins of M Johnson!
Johnson has never forgotten his Aussie background; he started his own stable in 1988 called appropriately ‘Teamroo’ with wife Kim in California. In 1991 they made the move to Kentucky and have never looked back.
In the same year Johnson trained the winner of the California Derby, Green Alligator. Green Alligator also finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby. Johnson has won 18 black type stakes races with horses including: Laura's Pistolette, Sherzacat, Debit My Account, Nantucky, K.C. Blues, Dawnelo, Mr. Wonderful, Wedded Bliss and of course Perfect Drift, to name just a few.
Perfect Drift is the one though that looks like he may be able to give Johnson his biggest career win to date if he is successful in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
Perfect Drift is by Dynaformer out of Nice Gal, by Naskra.
The three year-old won his first race at Turfway at the MdSpWt level in December 20001 and then went on to win the USD$50,000 Turfway Prevue Stake on May 1.
Johnson is a firm believer in perfecting the art of identifying a potentially good horse before he hits the track and that means developing his already keen eye for a young horse at yearling sales.
Johnson likes to have a horse from his early days so that he can manage the horse with the knowledge of exactly how the horse has been since day one.
Perfect Drift is according to all reports one of the calmest horses with an exceptional temperament. In his lead-up to Saturday he galloped two miles on Friday and will have possibly another two gallops before the big race.
Where most trainers look to get their horses over to Churchill Downs to train them on the track in the lead-up, Johnson prefers to keep his horses at Trackside. The horses at Churchill don’t get a chance to become accustomed to the actual race day track, as this is not open other than race day. Their only benefit is that the horses can get used to the surroundings.
Johnson however prefers to keep his horses happy and content at home and believes they will be more relaxed travelling to Churchill on the day.
It will be an incredible feat for Johnson if he can win the Derby

[hobbes]

I am a modern day Socrates -- was he history's most famous cocktail quaffing queer ?? ;) :p ;)

[Seabiscuit]

I am a modern day Socrates -- was he history's most famous cocktail quaffing queer ??
That Shapke is a really naughty boy. He has been giving all my secrets away. I will have to buy my cocktails elsewhere from now on.
But Hobbes your lack of knowledge on this subject really disappoints me (get rid of that Aristotle line and try "ignorance is bliss" as your signature). Socrates is only history's second most famous cocktail quaffing queer. History's most famous cocktail quaffing queer is Hobbes. Of course I refer to Thomas Hobbes. Is he any relation to you Hobbes? He wrote such garbage as On Matter whatever that means.
If you want to see the most famous cocktail quaffing queer in history go to www.knuten.liu.se/~bjoch509/philosophers/hob.html (http://www.knuten.liu.se/~bjoch509/philosophers/hob.html)

[hobbes]

Thomas Hobbes > 1588 - 1679
Temperance and diet.
He was, even in his youth, (generally) temperate, both as to wine and women. I have heard him say that he did believe he had been in excess in his life, a hundred times; which, considering his great age, did not amount to above once a year: when he did drink, he would drink to excess to have the benefit of vomiting, which he did easily; by which benefit neither his wit was disturbed (longer than he was spewing) nor his stomach oppressed; but he never was, nor could not endure to be, habitually a good fellow, i.e. to drink every day wine with company, which, though not to drunkenness, spoils the brain.
as i guess you know seabiscuit my nick came via Bill Watterson not the above and somehow i doubt he was a Thomas Hobbes admirer. looks like an ugly old git and if the bio above is to be believed not a "queer".
[ April 30, 2002: Message edited by: hobbes ]

[cheesebeast]

All Socrates ever accomplished was questioning and probing the democratic beliefs of his day. He refused to define proper behavior and what should be done by government. Socrates built nothing, wrote nothing; instead he strove to destroy the legitimacy of free men ruling themselves, brown-nosed to concepts of authoritarian rule, and thus was never more than a moral vandal and graffitti-tagger to the social-order Parthenon of fifth century Athens, perhaps the most brilliant civilization ever seen on this planet.
http://users.mo-net.com/mlindste/socrates.html

[imaufo]

http://www.platosrepublic.com/trudeau.html
I think that this is the correct Doonesbury...interesting that both links relate to the Peloponesian wars. :p
however for a really great queer story, look no further than Alexander The Great.
http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/sex.htm
[ April 30, 2002: Message edited by: imaufo ]

[Horny Harry]

Castle Gandolfo flattered by Italian 2000 Guineas
By ALAN SHUBACK
Castle Gandolfo's chances in the Kentucky Derby received a boost Wednesday when Dupont, who had finished third place behind Castle Gandolfo in the Fosters-International Trial at Lingfield, won the Group 2 Premio Parioli (Italian 2000 Guineas) at the Capannelle in Rome.
Dupont, the 7-1 Bill Haggas-trained son of Zafonic just got up to beat Fisich by a nose while getting the mile in 1:37.80 on good ground. The 5-2 favorite Salselon was sixth in the field of 18.
The Group 2 Premio Regina Elena (Italian 1000 Guineas) went to the 6.40-1 Sadowa. Ridden by Mirco Demuro and trained by Bruno Grizzetti, she traveled the mile in 1:38.50 to defeat Sweetsoutherngirl by half a length.
Keltos bounced back from a dull eighth-place finish in the Dubai World Cup to take the one-mile Group 2 Prix du Muguet at Saint-Cloud on Wednesday. The Gary Tanaka-owned 6-5 favorite came with a late rush under Olivier Peslier to defeat Cornelius by two lengths to win for the fifth time in nine career starts. Trained by Carlos Laffon-Parias, the 4-year-old son of Kendor had beaten Cornelius by a nose in the Group 3 Prix Perth in his last start of 2001 and is a candidate for the big European weight-for-age miles this summer and fall. His time on good ground was 1:39.90.
* On Friday at Newmarket, Kutub seeks his fifth win in a row in the 1-1/2-mile Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes. The Godolphin-owned 5-year-old son of In The Wings will face High Pitched, also looking for his fifth straight score, recent Group 3 winner Zindabad, and stablemate Marienbard, who is coming off a fast closing fourth in the Dubai Sheema Classic

[imaufo]

War Emblem wires Kentucky Derby
By JAY PRIVMAN
Horsephotos
War Emblem ($43) and Victor Espinoza cross the wire in front in the 128th Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - War Emblem, allowed to coast alone on the lead, led from start to finish to capture the 128th Kentucky Derby at 20-1 on Saturday at Churchill Downs, giving trainer Bob Baffert his third Derby victory.
War Emblem was purchased less than a month ago by Baffert on behalf of Prince Ahmed Salman's The Thoroughbred Corporation. None of the dozens of 2-year-olds that Baffert began with one year ago panned out, forcing Baffert and Salman to buy their way into the Derby.
They found a willing seller in owner Russell Reineman, who raced War Emblem for the first seven starts of his career, in which he was trained by veteran Midwest horseman Frank "Bobby" Springer. War Emblem won four of those races, most recently the Illinois Derby, in which he ran a Beyer Speed Figure of 112, highest in the Derby field. After that race, War Emblem was purchased privately for $900,000, plus commissions, according to Salman, a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family.
Also signing off on the purchase was Richard Mulhall, Salman's racing manager, who accompanied Baffert to Keeneland the second week of April to negotiate the purchase of War Emblem.
The pace was expected to be contested, but a number of horses did not go out with War Emblem. He was able to set moderate fractions of 23.25 seconds, 47.04, 1:11.75, and 1:36.70 for the first mile. War Emblem completed 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track in 2:01.13.
War Emblem kicked clear in the stretch and won by a widening four lengths. Proud Citizen, who also was close to the pace early, held on for second, three-quarters of a length in front of third-place Perfect Drift.
Salman got the Derby trophy he coveted one year ago with the best horse he has ever bred and raced, Point Given. That colt finished fifth as the favorite in the Derby, but came back to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. He also was named Horse of the Year for 2001.
"I told the prince 'I owe you a Derby after last year,' " Baffert said.
"It's an honor to win the Kentucky Derby. It's always been my dream," Salman said. "I'd like to thank Bob Baffert. He is a genius."
Jockey Victor Espinoza rode War Emblem for the first time, and recorded his first victory in America's greatest race. Espinoza placed Perfect Drift in tight quarters with a quarter-mile remaining, but Eddie Delahoussaye, who rode Perfect Drift, said the incident did not alter the outcome, so he did not lodge an objection.
War Emblem paid $43 to win. The exacta with Proud Citizen paid $1,300.80, and the Oaks-Derby double coupling Kentucky Oaks winner Farda Amiga with War Emblem returned $1,395.40.
The Derby was run on a gorgeous spring afternoon. Temperatures were mild, with a high in the low-70's. An unprecedented show of security surrounded this Derby, with SWAT team members on the roof, National Guard members throughout the facility, and a regular contingent of uniformed security. The crowd was announced as 145,033, which would make it the fifth-largest in Derby history.
With 18 runners, the Derby's purse was $1,175,000, with $875,000 going to the winner. Salman also will pick up a $1 million bonus, offered by Sportsman's Park, by virtue of War Emblem winning the Illinois Derby and any Triple Crown race.
There were several disappointments in the race. Harlan's Holiday, who came into the race having finished first six times and second four times in his 10 career starts, wound up seventh. Harlan's Holiday went off at 6-1, making him the highest priced favorite in Derby history.
"As soon I got the horse in the clear, I had to start riding to keep my position," said Edgar Prado, who rode Harlan's Holiday. "They were going easy on the front end. If I had had horse, I'd have been right there."
Came Home, the Santa Anita Derby winner, finished sixth after a wide trip.
"He came up empty," said Chris McCarron, who rode Came Home. "The trip I got was really not the reason. Maybe everybody was right and I was wrong. Maybe he doesn't want to go a mile and a quarter."
Saarland, who was bet down to 6-1 and was the second choice in the race, finished 10th. Johannesburg, last year's champion 2-year-old colt, continued the inglorious record of Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners by finishing eighth.
A field of 18 went to the post in the Derby. Danthebluegrassman, a last-minute entry by Baffert on Wednesday, was scratched from the race Saturday morning. Buddha, the Wood Memorial winner, had been scratched Friday morning.
The scratch of Danthebluegrassman removed one of the probable front-runners from the race, which made War Emblem's task easier.

[tunginbum]

2002 Kentucky Derby Sets Wagering Records
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 4, 2002) - Although totals are not complete, wagering on the 2002 Kentucky Derby will establish betting records for both the race and the overall Derby Day card. A total of $79,094,806 was wagered on the Kentucky Derby, with overall betting on the entire 11-race card at $123,315,302.
The total for the 2002 Derby Day program at Churchill Downs sets a North American record for single-day wagering. The previous high was $108,603,040 wagered on the 2000 Breeders' Cup Championship, which was also held at Churchill Downs.
Overall wagering on the Kentucky Derby race grew 11.11 percent over the previous record of $71,189,142 set last year. The on-track total for the day - which included an additional race - rose 9.73 percent to a record $19,400,818. The previous Derby Day record, established in 2000, included wagering on 10 races as compared to 11 races for this year. Overall betting on the entire 11-race card grew 14.51 over the previous best of $107,598,904 established in 2001.
On-track wagering on the race was $8,630,408, as compared to last year's $8,360,273, an increase of 3.23 percent, but fell just below the record of $8,737,659 established in 2000.

[tunginbum]

By, William F. Reed
May 4, 2002
"You need to leave the Derby to horses who belong there. If you don't belong, then stay the hell away. So the Derby is probably one thing we don't want to do."
- Russell Reineman
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 4, 2002) - War Emblem's shocking wire-to-wire victory in the 128th Kentucky Derby (GI) caused a lot of heartburn around the racing world. There was a lot of serious gagging at Churchill Downs when trainer Bob Baffert changed instantly from Derby goat to Derby hero, some retching in Illinois at the sight of jockey Victor Espinoza waving his whip in triumph, and some royal anti-acid guzzling in Ireland and Dubai at the sight of Prince Ahmed Bin Salman leading his colt into the winner's circle.
When War Emblem rolled to a 6 1/4-length victory over Repent in the Illinois Derby (GII) on Apr. 6, owner Reineman shocked just about everyone by declaring immediately, in a statement that will go down in Derby lore, that War Emblem would pass the Kentucky Derby and maybe point for the Preakness (GI) two years later. This surely was a disappointment to trainer Frank R. Springer and jockey Larry Sterling, Jr., who had never been in the "Run for the Roses".
What made Reineman's decision especially surprising was that, at 84, he doesn't figure to have many more chances to win the race he has coveted for years. In addition, this was the first year that Sportsman's Park ran the Illinois Derby as a Kentucky Derby prep and offered an enticing $1 million bonus to any horse winning both the Illinois Derby and one of the Triple Crown races.
So when Baffert found out that War Emblem might be for sale, he got on his cell phone and began working on the deal that culminated when his main client, Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia paid Reineman a reported $1 million for the dark bay colt, a son of Our Emblem, out of Sweetest Lady, that was bred in Kentucky by Charles Nuckols, Jr. and sons. From the moment the Prince signed the check, it was understood that Baffert would train him for the Derby.
Salman has been battling the powerful Godolphin Stable of Dubai to see which could be the first to win America's grandest prize. So, while Godolphin's Essence of Dubai finished a distant ninth on May 4, Prince Salman's recent acquisition shot to the lead, controlled the pace, never was seriously challenged, and drew off in the final furlong for an easy four-length victory over Proud Citizen in the respectable time of 2:01.13 for the mile and a quarter.
"By the way," said Prince Salman with a sly post-Derby smile, "I am the first Arab owner to win the Kentucky Derby."
Last year the Prince had the Derby favorite in the Baffert-trained Point Given, but that colt finished a dull fifth in the race won by Monarchos. But Point Given bounced back to win the Preakness (GI), Belmont (GI), Haskell (GI), and Travers (GI) to nail down Horse-of-the-Year honors.
"I told the Prince I owed him one for last year," Baffert said. "Now he's got his Derby. We were fortunate to be able to buy this horse and bring him here."
A lot of Baffert's critics roasted him for coming to the Derby with a horse that he didn't develop. Said trainer D. Wayne Lukas after his Proud Citizen's victory in the Lexington Stakes (GII) at Keeneland, "He'll be in the Derby, and nobody had to buy him for me, either."
The Baffert bashers wrote off War Emblem's chances in the Derby, saying it was only a matter of Baffert's lust for the spotlight getting the better of him. But that was nothing compared with the criticism he received for waiting until the very last minute to enter the longshot Danthebluegrassman in the Derby, knocking Windward Passage out of the 20-horse field.
"Entering him wasn't so bad," said one veteran Derby trainer, "it was the way he did it. He should gave gone over to Steve Asmussen (trainer of Windward Passage) and told him what he was thinking about, so Asmussen could alert his owners about the possibility of being knocked out."
The Derby field shrunk to 19 on May 2 when a minor foot injury caused Wood Memorial (GI) winner Buddha to be scratched. Then it became 18 the morning of the Derby when Baffert scratched Danthebluegrassman because of muscle spasms after a jog. By winning the Derby, however, Bobthederbyman muted a lot of the criticism that would have been heaped on him.
Even Baffert's promise to give half the million-dollar bonus to Springer probably didn't keep War Emblem's former trainer from having a sinking feeling as he watched Espinoza, who won his first Derby in his second attempt, run such ballyhooed contenders as Harlan's Holiday (seventh), Saarland (10th), Medaglia d'Oro (fourth), Private Emblem (14th), and Came Home (sixth) into submission.
"I had some disappointment, sure," said Springer from Illinois, where he was contacted by the Churchill media staff. "But what can you do? I didn't have much control over the situation. I'm tickled to death for that horse. There is still a lot of pride in it for me. This is like having one of your children succeed."
After all, horsemen such as Springer and jockey Sterling do their work on racing's fringes, far from the big crowds and big purses. They are as anonymous as Baffert is famous. Baffert's probably quoted and photographed more in a week than they've been in their careers. So as they watched War Emblem pound down the long Churchill stretch, they probably saw the first, and maybe only, chance at immortality slipping away.
On a bright, sunny, and not-too-warm afternoon at everybody's old Kentucky home, the Derby drew a crowd of 145,003, proving wrong the dire predictions that increased security measures would cause attendance to drop precipitously. The crowd was down only about 9,000 from last year.
From the precipices of Millionaire's Row to the raucous depths of the infield, the movie stars, celebrity stalkers, and beer-addled college kids bet their cash on the entrants being touted by the "experts" in the pressbox, but let War Emblem get away at odds of 20-1. He paid $43, $22.80 and $13.60. The $2 exacta paid $1,300.80 and the winning trifecta paid a whopping $18,373.20.
The Irish-based horses, Johannesburg (eighth) and Castle Gandolfo (12th) ran as if they'd had only one prep race on the grass in Europe, didn't cross the pond until Derby week, and stayed so long in quarantine at Keeneland that they didn't even see the twin spires until Derby morning.
Which, of course, is exactly how the two horses came into the Derby.
Because he was ill, their trainer, Aidan O'Brien, didn't attend the Derby or even the 2,000 Guineas (Gr.I) in England, where his horses finished 1-2. Surely, however, he now understands that he needs to come up with a new game plan if he's ever going to win the Kentucky Derby (GI).
Unlike most runnings of the Derby, No. 128 was suprisingly devoid of drama. While the other jockeys were saving their horses and waiting for War Emblem to fold like a cheap accordian, Espinoza was all alone on the lead. The pace was respectable, not killing, and Espinoza had plenty of horse as the field turned for home.
In the last furlong, War Emblem was Tiger Woods at the Masters, waiting for somebody to challenge him. Nobody did, allowing the colt to become the Derby's first wire-to-wire winner since Winning Colors in 1988.
"We sort of came in the back door," said a jubilant Baffert, "but we're leaving by the front door."
You could almost hear the upset stomachs growing in the background.

[cheesebeast]

War Emblem Set the Pace, Won the Race
By Andrew Beyer
Monday, May 6, 2002; Page D01
LOUISVILLE
Just as generals are always fighting the last war, jockeys frequently ride the last race. Everyone in the Kentucky Derby was acutely aware of what happened in 2001, when several horses gunned for the gate and set a fast pace that was suicidal for all of them.
Riders were so determined to avoid such a fate in Saturday's race that the 2002 Derby was like no other. Nobody moved. Allowed to set a slow pace, War Emblem and jockey Victor Espinoza led all the way to score a 20-to-1 upset that gave trainer Bob Baffert his third triumph in America's greatest race.
War Emblem's victory was a repeat of his front-running win in the Illinois Derby that spurred Baffert's client, Prince Ahmed Salman, to purchase him. The colt had benefited from some extraordinary luck that day when the other good speed horse in the field was scratched shortly before the race because of an arcane administrative rule. War Emblem was able to open a commanding lead without a challenge and romped home by more than six lengths. Though the victory was an overpowering one, most handicappers dismissed War Emblem at Churchill Downs because they knew he would never enjoy such a perfect setup again.
He did.
Two or three horses had seemed capable of outrunning War Emblem for the lead or at least subjecting him to heavy pressure. Proud Citizen is a front-runner, too, but his jockey, Mike Smith, was content to sit second. "If I gun," Smith told the Louisville Courier-Journal, "he might gun, too, and we might run each other out." Came Home is quicker than War Emblem, but his stamina and pedigree were so questionable that jockey Chris McCarron was intent on getting him to relax and save some energy for the stretch. Medaglia d'Oro has speed, too, but when the gate opened he broke a length slow and then was jostled -- just the beginning of a terrible trip. "Instead of being close to the pace like I wanted," jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. said, "I found myself behind a lot of horses." Buddha could have been one of the pace setters, too, but he was injured and scratched Friday morning.
Because the leader was not considered a serious contender, the jockeys chasing him assumed he would tire on his own and thus didn't feel a need to go after him early. Therefore, War Emblem was able to lead after running a half mile in 47.04 seconds. The pace was moderate though not ridiculously slow, but the key was that nobody challenged anybody else and the leaders were allowed to relax. Moreover, the Churchill racing strip had been favoring speed all day. In other races on the card, front-runners got involved in seemingly suicidal head-and-head duels and still managed to hold on.
Unlike most Derbies in which horses make big moves on the turn and in the stretch, the leaders never changed positions. War Emblem, Proud Citizen and Perfect Drift were running 1-2-3 at the first turn, and they were still 1-2-3 at the finish. The only horse gaining at the end was the unlucky Medaglia d'Oro, who got into gear in the final furlong and rallied to finish fourth.
Yet even though War Emblem was blessed by the racing gods, it would be wrong, or at least premature, to dismiss his victories in Illinois and Kentucky as flukes or to suggest that he is an unworthy addition to the roster of Derby winners. Plenty of horses benefit from favorable trips but don't run fast. War Emblem did. His time of 2 minutes 1.1 seconds translated into a Beyer Speed figure of 114 -- the third-best Derby effort in the last decade. In the Illinois Derby he had earned a 112 -- by far the best effort of any horse in the field.
At the postrace news conference, Baffert cited that 112 as one of the reasons for his purchase of War Emblem. When I approached him for an interview early in the week, the first words out of his mouth were: "If this horse loses, I'm blaming you."
In view of the horse's superiority on the basis of the figures that bear my name, I have been asked by approximately 145,000 people since 6:04 p.m. Saturday if I bet the winner. I did not. Why would I bet on the fastest horse in the race when I could blow my bankroll on Essence of Dubai, the latest of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum's ill-prepared invaders from Dubai? I had shunned War Emblem for reasons that were straight out of Handicapping 101: When a horse wins a race or earns a big figure with the aid of a favorable trip, he should be viewed with skepticism. And there is no better trip than an unchallenged early lead in a slow pace.
Can War Emblem run as impressively when other rivals put pressure on him early in a race? Most horses don't, and War Emblem has never done so in the past, but the question should be answered definitively in the Preakness. The generals will be fighting the last war, and none of them will permit War Emblem to steal away from them this time.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company

[imaufo]

Trainer lives with decision to let War Emblem get away
CHRIS DUNCAN of Associated Press in Louisville, Kentucky
Three weeks ago, selling War Emblem seemed the right thing to do for trainer Bobby Springer and owner Russell Reineman. It sure doesn't look that way now.
Indeed, Springer and Reineman have spent most of their time since War Emblem's stunning wire-to-wire victory in the Kentucky Derby explaining how they let him get away. "The phone calls haven't stopped," Springer said. "It's been chaotic."
Instead of travelling to Louisville, both he and Reineman had small Derby parties at their homes in suburban Chicago. So they were left to watch on TV while War Emblem became trainer Bob Baffert's third Derby winner in six years.
Springer has never had a Derby entrant. Reineman, an owner since 1960, has run only one horse in the race: Wise Times, who was ninth in 1986. "The way it turned out, we absolutely regret it," Springer said. "But we have no regrets on why we wanted to do it and the reasons it was done."
On April 6, War Emblem easily beat favourite Repent to win the Illinois Derby at Sportsman's Park. Still, that performance wasn't enough to convince Springer that his front-running bay colt was ready to compete at Churchill Downs.
"Mr Reineman and I felt like the only way a horse needs to be in the Kentucky Derby is if he's got the potential to win it," Springer said. "He beat a good horse in the Illinois Derby, but the Kentucky Derby is a whole different ballgame."
War Emblem likes to charge to the early lead, and Springer didn't think that style would hold up in the 1.25-mile Derby. His doubts sprouted from last year's race, when a fast track yielded the speediest half-mile and three-quarter mile fractions in Derby history. Monarchos won in one minute, 59.97 seconds, slower only than Secretariat in 1973.
"If the fractions would've been like last year with the pace as it was, it would've been very questionable whether he'd even be in it," said Springer, a trainer for more than 25 years.
He also worried about the big Derby field. "The Illinois Derby was seven horses. The Kentucky Derby - you're talking about 18 or 20," he said. "If he doesn't get away clean, then what happens?"
A week after the Illinois Derby, Baffert called Springer, and Prince Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corp. offered US$900,000 for 90 per cent ownership of the colt. Reineman retained 10 per cent. Springer bought the colt for US$20,000 at the 2000 September Yearling Sale.
The trainer told Reineman that Prince Ahmed's offer was a good deal. The 84-year-old Reineman, who owns Chicago-based Crown Steel, didn't hesitate. "The steel industry's been so lousy the last couple of years, I decided I could use the money," Reineman said. "Bobby told me to sell the horse, so I sold the horse."
Baffert talked to Springer shortly after the sale was completed. "The first thing I told him was War Emblem was a handful to deal with," Springer said.
After winning the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, Baffert said Springer "told me every little bad thing and he really helped me get to know this horse in a hurry. He gave me all his thoughts, all the things that he told me about. So we worked with the horse, and I just changed a few things."
Once the Derby began, it didn't take long for Springer to realise his former horse was going to win. War Emblem burst cleanly out of the gate and went straight to the lead. He reached the half-mile in 47.04 seconds - almost three seconds slower than Songandaprayer's record pace last year, but good enough to lead.
"I could see it then. The way they were letting him go, I knew they weren't going to catch him," Springer said. When War Emblem charged to his four-length victory over Proud Citizen, Springer had mixed emotions. "You always hope for a win like that, but it was bittersweet," he said.
Baffert called him 30 minutes after the race. "He just said, 'Congratulations'. We were both happy. It's like one of your children succeeding," Springer said.
Reineman also stands to get a chunk of a US$1 million bonus promised by Sportsman's Park if a horse won both the Illinois and Kentucky races. Springer won't walk away empty-handed, either. Baffert promised Springer half of his take from the bonus.