Maryland Riders Are A Force at The Derby

LOUISVILLE, May 5 -- Together, they have won 40 meet riding titles at Laurel Park and Pimlico since 1987, and on Saturday Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado, Ramon Dominguez and Jeremy Rose will ride into the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, an unprecedented show of force from a racing circuit long considered a breeding ground for top-flight jockeys.

Rose won only one of those titles, when named the Eclipse Award winning apprentice rider in 2002, but he understands the legacy he inherited from the others -- and before them, Hall of Fame rider Chris McCarron -- and passed on to Eclipse Award winner Ryan Fogelsonger.

"Maryland has always been known for jocks," said Rose, who will ride Afleet Alex for Tim Ritchey. "When I started with the bug [a weight allowance], there were five of us ranked in the top 10 in the country.

"Bug riders have always got a very good shot in Maryland. The trainers like the bug and give you a good chance to make a name for yourself."

Ritchey, on the backstretch Friday morning, said the reason Maryland is such fertile ground for riders is because of its proximity to so many other racetracks.

"There are so many tracks in that area, and they ride in Delaware or other places at night. There's like five tracks in the region they can learn on."

Desormeaux, who dominated Maryland racing in the 1980s, moved on to a successful career in California. He will ride Greeley's Galaxy in the Derby. Prado, who followed in the 1990s, is one of the top jockeys in the country and rides Sun King for Nick Zito. Dominguez, still riding at Maryland and Delaware Park, while gaining a national reputation, has the dangerous and fast High Limit for Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel Saturday.

Prado, relaxing between early races today, still keeps a home in Columbia, hoping Maryland one day gets slot machines and he can return to ride full-time.

"How can you forget a place that gave you such support?" said Prado, the sixth-ranked rider in the country. "Luckily, when I was in Maryland it was in its glory days. Unfortunately, things are going downhill. The people suffering are the real horsemen that have been in the game all these years."

Of the four riders, Prado expresses the most love for Maryland. He has never won the Kentucky Derby and has a good long shot's chance with Sun King. Still, the race is not his top priority.

"Winning the Derby means a lot because it's the major event for horse racing," he said. "But for me, it would mean more to win the Preakness because of all the things that happened to me there."

Racing Notes: Ritchey and Rose won Friday with the only other horse besides Afleet Alex they brought to Churchill Down this week. Always Noble, a 4-year-old gelding, came from off the pace in an optional-claiming sprint to win and pay $44.60 . . . Ted Atkinson, 88, a Hall of Fame jockey who rode 1953 horse of the year Tom Fool, died Wednesday after a lengthy illness at his home in Beaver Dam, Va.