Happy Star Wars Day and Derby Day! May the Fourth be with all the fine young padawans racing today! 💥🏇
This year's Derby field is a big one, with a full 20 horses! Our picks are Fierceness (the favorite) and Chasing Freedom, but we will also be keeping an eye on Just Steel (who will be ridden by the son of Track Phantom's trainer!) and Forever Young, Japan's best shot yet for the Derby. And of course, we can't help rooting for West Saratoga, the only gray in this year's field and the first Derby contestant for cancer-battling trainer Larry Demeritte! 🐎
Now if I can just figure out how to turn on my lightsaber, can we have a lightsaber joust after the Derby? ⭐️⚔️🏇🤔
This is an original 1953 photo of Native Dancer and Bernie Everson (on the outside) taking the Grey Ghost around the track before the Kentucky Derby.
Trainer Bill Winfrey is on a lead pony on the rail watching the Dancer’s antics.
Mage won the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday.
The 3-year-old chestnut colt, trained by Gustavo Delgado, edged out Two Phil’s, who crossed the line to finish in second place, and Angel of Empire finished third, in front of the over 150,000 fans in attendance.
Mage’s win came after heavily favored Forte was scratched from the race earlier in the day after a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian found the horse had a bruised right front foot, Churchill Downs said.
Took this in the paddock at Churchill a few years ago, at the Oakes I think. They parade the derby horses through the paddock to get them used to the crowds - they are such beautiful animals...I may get down for the spring meet - the Derby and Oakes are just too crazy, but a weekday in May can be a lot of fun.
The most exciting two minutes in sports is anyone’s guess this year, after a week full of drama and five scratches already (the most since 1936!), including heavy favorite Forte just this morning! Out of the 18 horses still in the running, five are grays! 🤍😮
Mom’s soft spot for grays means we are obviously rooting for new favorite Tapit Trice, but my contemplative horse friend and I will also be cheering for freckled gray Reincarnate and keeping an eye on rather inconsistent Verifying and intriguing longshot Mandarin Hero. 🐎🐢
🔙 Who remembers when I first met my white-socked horse friend nine (!!) years ago? Back then, I could ride on my horse friend’s back!!
🐢 Psst . . . Old Forester, what happened to the Kentucky Turtle Derby this year?! 🥺