By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 24, 2006; 4:53 PM
-- With the race for the Triple Crown underway, AP writers will be filing periodic, behind-the-scenes reports from all the important tracks across the country:
WEDNESDAY, March 24:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ Entering Gate 10 to Churchill Downs there sits an usher, someone taking tickets and a few stray fans.
But today there's something different: a 6-foot poster board with a picture of Barbaro across the top. By noon, more than 100 signed the board. Churchill Downs staff will send this to owners Gretchen and Roy Jackson, hoping it will cheer up the 3-year-old colt.
"To get well is love," said Diane Homnrich of Louisville. "I feel like that horse already knows he has a lot of love from his trainers because of what they did for him so quickly."
Jim McMillan of Louisville and others like him say their heart goes out to Barbaro, who has a broken cannon bone above the ankle and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle.
It's obvious visitors want to write long, meaningful messages, but after many signatures, there's no space. Lucky patrons like Julie Chesser of Louisville found enough space for their message.
"We basically told Barbaro that we're praying for a full recovery, and I signed it from my husband and I and our horse," she said.
Horse trainers and enthusiasts know under normal circumstances a racing horse would be put down. For the trainers, there's a stallion's chance, and for fans, Barbaro lives on. And for this, the animal-lover inside smiles.
Louisville fans expect a slow yet complete recovery, but don't know if Barbaro will ever run again.
The show must go on for Churchill Downs. Patrons continue to bet and riders push horses to the limit. However, a heart full of hope goes out to Kenneth Square, Pa., from Louisville.
_AP Writer Khristopher J. Brooks
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TUESDAY, May 23:
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. _ Suddenly, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about Barbaro's future.
From the daily updates that say the Kentucky Derby winner is getting better to the never-ending deliveries of apples and roses, there are smiles everywhere at the New Bolton Center.
Hard to believe it was only Saturday night when Barbaro was rushed here after shattering bones in his leg in the Preakness, a risky surgery awaiting the colt.
Fast forward to Tuesday morning when Barbaro was on his feet in his stall, scratching his left ear with his left hind leg and looking happy and alert. Barbaro still has a long road of recovery ahead and it will be months before he's allowed to leave if his rehabilitation goes as well as expected.
Much like the fans who flocked to Philadelphia Park two years ago to catch a glimpse of Smarty Jones, Barbaro has built quite a following of admirers. It's strange how a horse that most fans have never seen in person or will ever get to know can make such a powerful impact on people.
But they come with their signs and flowers anyway, even snapping a few pictures of a makeshift tribute at the entrance to the center. The lobby overflowed with so many roses it would have made the Rose Garden jealous and there were more apples than at your local grocery store.
In fact, so many apples were sent to the hospital they had to be shared with other horses in the ICU _ lest indigestion be the latest malady to afflict Barbaro.
Owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson finally got to see their horse yesterday for the first time since he underwent surgery. Gretchen gave him some carrots and Roy fed him peppermints.
"He was very glad to have those," Roy Jackson said. "He seemed to be doing fine and was healthy. It was a great relief."
Trainer Michael Matz also paid a visit to Barbaro today and said the doctor told him he was "so pleased" with the progress and the colt adjusted as well as could be expected to standing in his stall instead of galloping around tracks like he was only a week ago.
Hopefully, Barbaro can again cross the finish line of rehab like a champion.
_AP sportswriter Dan Gelston
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SATURDAY, May 20:
BALTIMORE _ It's the side of racing no one likes to see, but it happens. A breakdown. A magnificent thoroughbred, a Kentucky Derby winner no less, takes a bad step, breaks bones in a leg, and there's nothing to do but look on in horror.
It happened to Barbaro at Saturday's Preakness Stakes, on a cool, sunny day at Pimlico.
Barbaro, undefeated in his first six races, was being touted as racing's newest hero and a threat to become the first Triple Crown winner in 28 years. Winning the Preakness was a given, with the Belmont Stakes three weeks later set to be coronation of a champion.
It won't happen. About 12 seconds into the race, Barbaro fractured bones above and below his right rear ankle. It was painful to watch. Many sports writers, not to mention the crowd of 114,00 plus moaned, groaned and screamed. Some turned away. Others had tears in their eyes.
Trainer Michael Matz bolted from the stands to get to his horse. So did assistant trainer Peter Brette and onwer Gretchen Jackson. Edgar Prado did everything he could to stop Barbaro from running on three legs .... He did a great job, too. Finally, the equine ambulance showed up, even as Bernardini was winning the race and the rest of the field was running past the stricken Barbaro.
As the colt was being taken off the track, he could be seen standing in the ambulance, and hundreds of fans ran to the rail and began applauding, as if their cheering would make everything OK.
This was supposed to be a glorious day, one that would giving racing fans hope that a hero of a horse had arrived.
Instead, people are praying for Barbaro's survival.
_AP Racing Writer Richard Rosenblatt
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SATURDAY, May 20:
BALTIMORE _ There's a saying around Baltimore that goes, "If you don't get to the Preakness by 10 o'clock, you don't get to the Preakness."
Traffic is that bad.
On every other day of the year, Maryland racing fans can stroll into the track, step up to the betting window and put down their cash. On Saturday, there were lines outside the parking lot, lines at the entrances and lines at the windows.
All of which bodes well for Pimlico Race Course, which makes enough money on Preakness day to enable Maryland tracks to operate for the other 364 days of the year.
It's stuffy here in the press box, so as a chance of pace I ventured into the infield. What a circus! One guy I talked to said his group of seven brought six 30-packs of beer.
That's 180 cans of beer. He almost apolgized for the low total, explaining, "One of the seven is a girl, and she's not going to drink more than eight."
I got here at 8:30 this morning for a race that starts at 6:15 p.m. and lasts less than two minutes. Then, after it's over, I'll be here for three more hours.
By that time, the traffic just might be tolerable.
_AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg
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THURSDAY, May 18:
BALTIMORE _ The Alibi Breakfast provides trainers and owners a chance to mingle in the restaurant at Pimlico and speak about the chances their horse has of winning the Preakness.
Giving an alibi is acceptable, although most trainers wisely save their best excuses for after Saturday's race.
The breakfast is widely attended by the media, who dutifully get their quotes before launching a secondary mission: getting hold of the souvenir glasses that hold the alcoholic concoction called a Black Eyed Susan.
The glasses list every Preakness winner and feature the logo of this year's race. It's a must-have item, but the problem is that you can't drink the drink and still do your work. So most reporters spent the morning looking for a place to dump the potent vodka-rum mixture in order to get the empty glass.
Sure, it's wasteful. But anyone who drinks more than one risks falling asleep on his laptop. So any empty coffee cup or juice glass within sight gets filled with the drink, leaving the reporter with the coveted prize.
I got two. And since I'm writing this blog in the late afternoon, you can surmise that I found a place to stash the liquor.
If only I brought a Thermos. D'oh!
_AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg
WEDNESDAY, May 17:
ELKTON, Md. (AP) _ Michael Matz can only hope his horse, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, has an easier time in the Preakness than the trainer did in selecting a post position for Saturday's race.
Picking third Wednesday, Matz had 60 seconds to announce his decision. He discussed the options with Barbaro's owners, then stepped to the microphone and picked No. 4.
One problem: No. 4 had already been taken, by Greeley's Legacy with the first choice.
Oops.
"I wanted the 4 post position but they wouldn't give it to me," Matz said later. "I had in my mind I wanted 4, but they wouldn't let it happen, so I had to take 6."
He's lucky he got that. Each person has 60 seconds to announce his decision, and Matz barely made it under the wire.
After the show, the trainers spoke to the media in another room inside the ESPN Zone. While Matz was surrounded by a mob of reporters and cameras, Glenn Lostritto, assistant trainer of long shot Platinum Couple, received less attention than the guy who was cutting beef at a nearby table.
"It's a privilege just to be here with the caliber of people who are standing in this room," he said. "We're just so happy to be here. It's a family operation, and when my dad saddles that horse Saturday, it will be one of the happiest days of my life."
_AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg
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TUESDAY, May 16:
ELKTON, Md. (AP) _ A bunch of Barbaro groupies showed up Tuesday at Fair Hill Training Center, the Kentucky Derby winner's hangout in the two-week break before he tries to win the Preakness on Saturday.
There was Fran, who said she lives about a 15-minute drive away. She said she told her husband she wanted to visit Barbaro on Mother's Day.
Wish granted, she said. Not only did she get to see Barbaro on Sunday, she met trainer Michael Matz and Peter Brette, the colt's exercise rider.
Fran couldn't stay away, though. She was back again Tuesday, chatting up Matz and taking pictures at every turn, mixing in with the writers, photographers and TV folks.
"I just had to see this horse. He can win the Triple Crown," Fran said.
At Fair Hill, about 60 miles from Pimlico, press credentials are not needed, there are no guards and no one asks questions. It's a private training center with hundreds of acres of riding trails, tracks and plenty of room for grazing.
About 50 people showed up to watch Barbaro go for a 1 1/2-mile gallop around the dirt track _ about half from the media, the other half locals out to see a famous horse.
"What can I say, we're Barbaro groupies," Fran said before turning to the track and snapping off a few more photos.
Then there was Lana, and her 4-year-old daughter, Charlotte.
After 20 years of living in Lexington, Lana and her husband and their kids moved to Elkton. That was eight years ago, and Lana had never visited Fair Hill.
"We used to go to Keeneland all the time," she said Tuesday. "I thought this was the time to come over and see a Derby winner."
It was Charlotte's lucky day. Matz took to her and gave her a peppermint to feed his pony, Messaging. After petting his forehead for a few seconds, she tried to give the horse the mint _ but missed his mouth.
Fran to the rescue. She grabbed it and fed it to Messaging.
Barbaro, by the way, will continue to hang out here in the hills until Friday, when he gets a van ride to Pimlico. What a life.
_AP Racing Writer Richard Rosenblatt
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SUNDAY, May 14:
Pat Chapman still can't get over the backlash she, and her husband, Roy, received for retiring Smarty Jones after he fell short in the Belmont and was denied the 2004 Triple Crown.
The Chapmans had promised to race Smarty as a 4-year-old only to retire the horse because of chronic bruising in his hooves. The decision arguably cost Smarty the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, which instead went to Ghostzapper.
Pat Chapman was hurt at the suggestion they retired Smarty Jones simply to cash in. Chapman apologized to one reporter for venting because she had just logged off the computer where she had read more critical stories about them on the Internet.
"I was reading some of things that had been written. I knew we were unpopular," she said from her home in Boca Grande, Fla. "We were really hurting."
Chapman said the horse was one of the few things that kept Roy going before he died in February after a long battle with emphysema.
"That was the best medicine he had," Pat Chapman said. "I got so upset after we retired Smarty that anybody would think we poured out good medicine. I'll work through those feelings some day. He fought a long hard fight, a good fight."
Chapman, who turns 65 this year, is rooting for Barbaro, another Philly-owned horse. She still visits Smarty Jones on occasion, and is still involved in the business with some horses under the Someday Farm banner.
"It was such a wonderful experience to live through," she said. "I really want to think about the good times."
_AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston
WEDNESDAY, May 10:
ELKTON, Md. _ Took a ride in the country today to see Barbaro at the Fair Hill Training Center, the lovely home of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.
No, I didn't talk to the horse, who was too busy frolicking in the paddock to get in front of my tape recorder.
Fair Hill, located 60 miles north of Baltimore, is all country. It's lined with tall trees and contains acres of thick grass. Barbaro is particularly fond of chomping on the buttercups, which are plentiful at this time of year.
The facility lacks all the hustle of a race track, which is why Barbaro trainer Mike Matz _ and his colt _ love the place.
"Four days ago he was running in front of 150,000 people, and today he could go out in the paddock and eat grass and be a horse," Matz said. "He's used to doing it. It doesn't suit everybody, but it suits him."
When Barbaro isn't eating grass or working out, he's housed in a wide stable within a barn that has skylights, sliding windows and a satellite dish. I don't think the TV is for the horses, but I didn't get a chance to look inside.
I can just imagine Barbaro watching old reruns of "Mr. Ed." Now that would be sight to see.
_AP Sports Writer Dave Ginsburg
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TUESDAY, May 9:
MIDWAY, Ky. (AP) _ Everybody loves a Kentucky Derby winner, but nobody seems to care about his father.
That's my conclusion after a trip today to Three Chimneys Farm. Two stallions there fetch $100,000 every time they help conceive a foal _ 2004 Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones and Dynaformer, the sire of the latest Derby champ, Barbaro.
Barbaro's victory Saturday leaves little question Dynaformer will far surpass Smarty next year when it comes to breeding fees charged by the farm. But money can't buy you love, apparently.
Smarty is still the draw at Three Chimneys. Probably always will be.
"The casual fan doesn't go to see the sires," said Phyllis McDaniel, herself a casual fan from Jacksonville, Fla.
No, McDaniel and some 20 other tourists made their reservations more than a year ago to visit the farm and see Smarty. Sure, she was interested in checking out Dynaformer too after Barbaro's Run for the Roses, but she calls that an "added bonus."
Hits on Three Chimneys' Internet site seem to confirm Smarty is still the undisputed king of the farm. In a typical day, Smarty's page gets 200 to 300 visitors while Dynaformer's gets between 50 and 100. On Derby day, Dynaformer's page jumped to 512 hits, but Smarty still passed him with 893.
Chances are Dynaformer will get more interest if Barbaro wins the Preakness and even more if he takes the Belmont. Just not as much interest as Smarty.
_AP Writer Jeffrey McMurray
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ A brief but humorous conversation took place Sunday morning between trainer Michael Matz and a reporter, barely 12 hours after Matz's Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby.
The background: Barbaro won his first three races on the turf. He won his next three races, including the Derby, on a dirt track.
Matz still says he still doesn't know if Barbaro is better on the turf or the dirt.
"He does have a turf action," the reporter said.
"He does?" Matz asked.
"Yeah," the reporter insisted.
"All right, if you think so that's fine. I'm not going to argue with you," Matz said before adding with a smile: "He didn't look too bad yesterday."
A good laugh was had by all.
_AP Racing Writer Richard Rosenblatt
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THURSDAY, May 4:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ The guy with the big shoulders looked kind of familiar, like somebody you went to high school but whose name you can't remember because he was too cool to hang out with you.Or at least too cool to hang out with me.
It wasn't until he made his way to trainer Bob Baffert's barn that I realized the loping stride of Olympic skier Bode Miller.
Must have been the lack of that slightly bemused smirk on his face that threw me off.
Miller laughed it up with Baffert, who said he named his young son after the Olympian. They seem like an odd couple, the scruffy skier and the well-heeled trainer, but they just blended into the chaotic chorus of the backstretch during Derby Week.
You had O.J. Simpson at one barn, saying he liked Derby contender Lawyer Ron because well, he liked lawyers.
You had hordes of media and fans swarming from barn to barn, trying to get a read on the 20 horses who will run for the roses in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
And, perhaps most importantly, you had three guys arguing over what time to go to the Playboy party in downtown Louisville on Friday night. The celebrity-packed party starts at 11 p.m., which begs the question _ do you have to be a celebrity to be fashionably late to a Derby party?
Apparently, the answer is yes.
One of the men talked about showing up around midnight, until one of his friends reminded him that A: it's a Playboy party and B: it's a Playboy party.
They'll be getting there around 10.
_AP Writer Will Graves
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WEDNESDAY, May 3:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ The Kentucky Derby Draw may have been a routine event for an old vet like Bob Baffert, trainer of three Kentucky Derby winners.
But James Hines III, participating in his first Derby Draw, was giddy like it was the Friday before spring break.
"This is normal to them," he said. "This is a once in a lifetime experience for us."
Hines represented the estate of his father, James Hines Jr., who drowned in February. Hines Jr. was the owner and breeder of Lawyer Ron.
The younger Hines, wearing a Lawyer Ron hat, grinned through the entire ceremony. He was smiling even more when he hung Lawyer Ron's placard on the No. 17 post.
And when ESPN broadcast a sweeping crowd shot, he waved his arm high in the air.
"Can you see me? That's my hand," he said into his cell phone. "Maybe I was hamming it up a little bit."
Of course, the excitement of the Kentucky Derby can't replace a parent.
"We're wishing my dad was here," Hines said choking up a bit. "He's not, so we're here living his dream."
The draw was held at Louisville's 4th Street Live! downtown entertainment district, and was open to the public for the first time. Thousands showed up.
"The idea was to give the public an opportunity that they've never had," Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher said. "The draw is probably the best known but least seen event in the Kentucky Derby."
_AP Writer Malcolm C. Knox
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MONDAY, May 1:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ Derby week has started _ and the weather was wonderful (it won't be for long).
Despite the doom and gloom forecast of rain Monday, there was sun, a few clouds and a cool breeze as the Churchill Downs backstretch began filling up with more than just horses, riders and trainers.
Today, dozens and dozens of journalists were on the backside _ from print reporters to photographers to local TV and radio stations with on-location sets. Oh, and did we mention the hundreds _ and soon to be thousands _ of plain ol' racing fans wandering around aimlessly before gravitating to the rail to watch the horses work out in the morning?
Let Derby Week begin!
The biggest media crowd assembled for Dan Hendricks, the trainer of Derby favorite Brother Derek. Hendricks is paralyzed from the waist down following a 2004 motocross crash, but gets around in a six-wheeled motorized chair. He drove up a ramp to a podium set up near Barn 42 for what will be a daily question-and-answer session.
The smiling-trainer from California reported that his 3-year-old colt had put in a splendid four-furlong workout in 49.20 seconds just a few minutes earlier over a muddy track. Plus, regular rider Alex Solis had flown in from L.A. for the breeze.
Hendricks, speaking into a microphone, said Solis told him, "Muy bueno," after the work, then gave the trainer a thumb's up and returned to the track a filly _ Diplomat Lady _ he'll be riding in Friday's Kentucky Oaks.
Asked what the toughest part of his first Derby week is, Hendricks didn't hesitate: "Dealing with the media. We're set. We've come in, we've won four in a row, the horse is healthy. He's here now and it's just doing all the Derby stuff. It's fun, but that's the hardest part. We're set."
Hendricks figured it might be a good idea to hire some PR help, so he brought in J.J. Graci and his partner, Sam. The two will help set up interviews and trying to manage the flow of writers, photographers, TV people and racing fans around the barn.
Also, there's also something called the Kentucky Derby Festival, which runs all week in Louisville ... In case you can make it, Tuesday's big event is the Run for the Rose (as in wine) followed by the steamboat race Wednesday.
_AP Racing Writer Richard Rosenblatt
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SATURDAY, April 29:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ For someone that had spent the last two hours walking through the rain, Jen Braddock certainly looked happy.
The 37-year-old was walking along Central Avenue just outside Churchill Downs on Saturday morning having just passed the nine-mile mark of the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon when she stopped to talk.
Hey, there were still four miles to go in the 13.1-mile race and Braddock said she was in no hurry.
Besides, how many morning walks allow you to walk through the infield of one of the world's most famous horse tracks? This year the race added a loop through the infield at Churchill Downs as part of its meandering course through various parts of the city.
"How cool was that?" Braddock said. "When it started raining, I just wanted to get this thing over with, but then you walk into the infield and you see the grandstand and you're like, 'wow.'"
Had Braddock been among the leaders, she could have watched some of the dozen Kentucky Derby contenders put in their final workout before the Run for the Roses on May 6.
"Maybe next year I'll run a little bit so I can see them," Braddock said with a laugh before making a left on 4th St. and heading north to the finish line. "Or maybe I'll just bring my Derby hat and hide for a week until the big race."
_AP Writer Will Graves
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THURSDAY, April 27:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ When an estimated 150,000 pack the track at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, they'll likely generate more than 100 tons of trash.
Until this year, all that garbage has gone to a landfill.
So now, in its 132nd year, the Kentucky Derby is becoming a little more environmentally friendly.
Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and Churchill Downs have announced a first-time recycling effort at the track.
The aluminum cans and plastic bottles will be picked up by ARCO Aluminum. The company also plans to place 50 recycling bins at Churchill Downs, but here's the catch: they won't be installed until after Derby week.
So, the mayor and track officials are getting a group of kids _ members of a local high school track team _ to sift through the trash the day after the big race to find bottles and cans that can be recycled.
The teens will sort trash from the track's grassy infield, which becomes a giant, chaotic party during the Kentucky Derby.
Churchill Downs officials say they'll use any revenue from recycling for the charities the company supports.
_AP Writer Elizabeth Dunbar
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WEDNESDAY, April 26:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ This year's Kentucky Derby post position draw could be more like a street party and less like a televised bingo game.
The draw, when starting gate positions for the Derby horses are selected, will be open to the public and held at Louisville's downtown Fourth Street Live! entertainment district May 3. The draw has previously been held at Churchill Downs and closed to the public.
The date of the draw is the same as the annual Great Steamboat Race on the Ohio River, which is a few blocks north of the Fourth Street Live! venue.
The draw will also be televised live on ESPN.
Fourth Street Live! is home to an assortment of night spots and restaurants, including a pool lounge, comedy club and bowling alley. It has also been the site for public boxing workouts by Mike Tyson and Laila Ali, a University of Louisville Final Four pep rally and a variety of concerts since it opened in summer 2004.
_AP writer Malcolm C. Knox
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THURSDAY, April 20:
STANTON, Del. _ I ran into Tim Ritchey at Delaware Park the other day. Remember Tim? He trained a horse by the name of Afleet Alex, who won last year's Preakness and the Belmont Stakes after finishing a close third in the Kentucky Derby.
Afleet Alex has been retired since December. His victory in the Belmont last June 11 was the final race of his career.
Ritchey is still training and recently returned from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., for the Delaware Park meeting that opens this weekend.
While Ritchey doesn't have a Derby contender this year, he did offer an update on Afleet Alex, who stands at Gainesway Farm near Lexington, Ky.
"He's doing great on the farm," Ritchey said. "He's covered 95 mares, with most of them in foal after just one cover."
Here's some math for you: Afleet Alex's stud fee is $40,000; multiplied by 95 and the 4-year-old retiree raked in $3.8 million for Gainesway _ and Cash is King Stable, the colt's owners who retained a part interest when Alex was syndicated.
By comparison, Afleet Alex won eight of 12 races and earned $2,765,800 in his two seasons on the track.
Not bad for hanging out on a farm in the heart of Bluegrass country and entertaining mares.
Ritchey, meanwhile, has been following the Derby contenders. His pick? He liked Arkansas Derby winner Lawyer Ron, but now says he's leaning toward Point Determined or A.P. Warrior.
_AP Racing Writer Richard Rosenblatt