A colt previously trained by him, Reincarnate, will be in the starting gate. He was punished after Medina Spirit flunked a post-race drug test.īaffert’s shadow still looms large over the Twin Spires. The Hall of Fame trainer with a record-tying six victories is soon to complete a two-year ban by Churchill Downs Inc. Florent Geroux, who was on Mandaloun, is on Jace's Road.įor the second straight year, the Derby is without Bob Baffert. Luis Saez rode Maximum Security in 2019 and received a 15-day suspension for interfering with others he's seeking his first Derby win aboard Tapit Trice. This colt is really doing well.”Ī couple of jockeys are looking for similar satisfaction.
“They would like to cross the wire first and stay up,” Cox said. The Wests sued unsuccessfully to have the stewards' decision reversed. Country House was awarded the garland of red roses. Their horse, Maximum Security, crossed the Derby finish line first in 2019, but was disqualified for interference after a 22-minute delay while stewards reviewed video. Gary and Mary West, who own Hit Show, are seeking retribution of their own.
“I’m sure it would be a feeling like no other,” he said. “There's no celebration, there's no winning picture.”Ĭox has a leading four chances to make the winner’s circle in person this year: early 8-1 third choice Angel of Empire Hit Show Verifying and Jace's Road.
“There’s no thrill of winning the Derby through a phone call," he said. Louisville-born Brad Cox won his first Derby belatedly when Mandaloun was elevated to first place after Medina Spirit's disqualification nine months after the 2021 race. “You could say it’s the deepest squad we’ve brought so far,” Pletcher said. Tapit Trice is 4 for 5 and Kingsbarns is 3 for 3.
The Todd Squad includes Kingsbarns, and it’s an impressive trio.įorte was last year’s 2-year-old champion and has six wins in seven career starts, including five in a row. The dark brown colt is trained by two-time Derby winner Todd Pletcher, who also has the second favorite in Tapit Trice, at 5-1. A crowd of about 150,000 is expected to jam Churchill Downs to wager and watch the 1 1/4-mile Derby.
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