An Elvis Presley song from the 1970s -- "Kentucky Rain" -- would have been appropriate background music for the horses training early Thursday at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
It felt more like winter than early spring when the track opened at 5:45 a.m. EDT with temperatures in the upper 40s and a light, steady rain falling. Conditions are expected to improve with readings in the low 80s under sunny skies by Saturday's 5:34 p.m. CDT post time for the 142nd Kentucky Derby.
The 20-horse field of Wednesday remained intact with two also-eligibles, Laoban and Cherry Wine, hoping to draw into the race before today's 8 a.m. CDT scratch time. The mile-and-a-quarter classic is worth $2,391,600 if all 20 start with $1,691,000 to the winner.
Louisville resident Dale Romans entered Brody's Cause, a multiple Grade 1 winner at Keeneland, and Cherry Wine, third in the Grade 1 Blue Grass April 9 after placing fourth in Oaklawn Park's Grade 2 Rebel March 19.
"A lot is being made about me being from Louisville. But it wouldn't mean any more to me than anyone else in this game," said Romans, whose only Triple Crown victory came with Shackleford in the 2011 Preakness. "Once you come into this game, walk through the gate at any racetrack and start taking care of horses, you've got to be thinking about Kentucky Derby."
Texan Matt Bryan feels the same way. Bryan is co-owner of Exaggerator, Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby winner in his last out and early 8-1 second choice to 3-1 favorite Nyquist. Keith Desormeaux trains Exaggerator and brother Kent, a racing Hall of Famer and three-time Derby winner, is the jockey.
"You dream about this," Bryan said. "It is a blessing. If you're in the horse business, this is where you want to be. Just to be in the Derby is great. And then to have a horse that has a real chance to win, that is so special."
Romans said a Derby victory would be as warmly received in Japan as in Kentucky. Lani, winner of the Group 2 UAE Derby overseas last time out, has Japanese connections in trainer Mikio Matsunaga and jockey Yutaka Take. Lani is an early 30-1 longshot, prompting Matsunaga to say, "Someone has to make the odds, but that doesn't matter to me."
Whereas Matsunaga is a Derby rookie, Nyquist trainer Doug O'Neill is back with the favorite after winning the Derby and Preakness with I'll Have Another in 2012. Nyquist, 7 for 7 lifetime, may have controlling speed from post 13 with two likely frontrunners, Outwork and Danzing Candy, breaking farther outside.
Derby experience, O'Neill said, "has allowed me to not be overwhelmed this time. We found out that time that we had success doing what we'd been doing all along. It worked. So we're just doing that again -- same patterns, same style. We just want to stay on course. That's what's going to work. We know that now."
After winning his first five starts, Mohaymen looks to atone his April 2 loss to Nyquist in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, when the O'Neill trainee led all the way over a wet track. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, whose best Derby finish came with longshot runner-up Closing Argument in 2005, has studied the pace scenario carefully.
"The outside horse (Danzing Candy) and Mike Smith are probably going to have to go to clear," McLaughlin said. "Hopefully, we break good and follow Nyquist and him and see how it unfolds. We won't be too far away -- stalking from fifth-ish, hopefully."
Dallas Stewart, trainer of longshot Tom's Ready, predicts "Mohaymen is going to rock and roll. ... If you work in 46, 47 (seconds) in the morning, you can look for that in the afternoon, in my opinion."
About his own horse, Stewart said, "The horse just needs to get out of the gate good, get a position, hopefully not get in trouble. A lot of things can happen with a 20-horse field. Don't kid yourself."
The three Derby starters coming from Oaklawn Park know about the importance of a good trip. Creator won the April 16 Grade 1 Arkansas Derby with a last-to-first move going a mile and an eighth while runner-up Suddenbreakingnews and third-place finisher Whitmore had traffic problems before finishing strongly.
"If we get the trip, they're going to know who we are after the race," said Whitmore trainer and co-owner Ron Moquett.
Moquett lined up three-time Derby winner Victor Espinoza to ride Whitmore, who had three different jockeys during the Oaklawn meeting. Ricardo Santana Jr. stays aboard Creator, who like Derby starter Gun Runner (the Louisiana Derby winner) is trained by Steve Asmussen, and Luis Quinonez keeps the mount on Suddenbreakingnews.
"Luis has proven to be a very good jockey," said trainer Donnie Von Hemel, making his first Derby appearance since 1989. "He has a good, level head. He can tell you a lot about a horse. He's always been known as a strong finisher, which fits well with this horse. This race won't be too big for him."
Sports on 05/06/2016