The heavy rain forecast for this weekend’s Kentucky Derby threatens to turn the dirt track into a sloppy mess and has opened the door for a longshot to capture the Run for the Roses, trainers said on Friday.
Eleven of the 20 entries have more experience on turf or synthetic tracks and few have raced on a wet and muddy dirt track.
“Any time the track gets like that, every longshot has a chance,” said trainer Bob Baffert whose race favorite Lookin At Lucky (3-1) won the Rebel Stakes in his only dirt start.
PHOTO: EPA
Rain was forecast to fall yesterday, lasting for about four hours before turning to scattered showers through the post time.
Second favorite Sidney’s Candy (5-1) has raced only on the synthetic surfaces at Santa Anita and Del Mar, so how he handles the conditions is a mystery.
While Sidney’s Candy performed well on a wet track during a workout at Churchill Downs on Saturday last week, stablemate Line Of David (30-1) does not like those sort of conditions.
“I might consider not running him if it were to get really bad here tomorrow,” Line Of David trainer John Sadler told reporters. “But it would have to be something extraordinary.”
Eoin Harty, trainer of American Lion (30-1), was uncertain how his colt would perform, while Alexis Barba, who will saddle Make Music For Me (50-1), was unconcerned about the weather.
Barba, hoping to become the first female to saddle a Kentucky Derby winner, disagreed with Baffert that poor weather aided the outsiders.
The lone woman trainer at the Derby is angered that her gender is an issue.
Barba, the trainer of Kentucky-bred Make Music for Me, will be the 14th woman to saddle a horse in the Derby, where none have made it to the winner’s circle.
“We should be beyond that,” Barba said on Friday. “I hate that gender thing. It’s great for anyone — boy or girl — to be in the Derby.”
Trainer Shelley Riley’s second-place finish with Casual Lies in 1992 is the top Derby result for a woman, while Kristin Mulhall came third with Imperialism in 2004.
Make Music for Me became eligible for yesterday’s race when Sunland Derby winner Endorsement broke an ankle after a workout and trainer Todd Pletcher opted not to run Interactif.
Barba, speaking at her Churchill Downs barn, said horse racing was a “male-dominated profession,” but said it would be no more of an honor to win the race as a female than a male.
“Women are very interested in this business,” the 57-year-old Barba said. “It’s just a matter of getting a lucky break with an owner. The women who have gotten that lucky break have gone on to run horses in the Derby.”
Make Music for Me, a bay son of Bernstein who was to be ridden yesterday by Derby newcomer Joel Rosario, is a 50-1 morning-line longshot.
Mine That Bird, however, was 50-1 a year ago, but won by an eyebrow-raising six-and-three-fourths lengths in one of the Derby’s greatest upsets.
If Make Music for Me wins the Derby and Barba becomes the first female trainer to win there, she fully expects her daily routine to remain the same.
“My life will change for a little while,” said Barba, who runs a nine-horse stable in Southern California. “Then it all goes back to normal. Let’s face it. I’m back to work on Monday regardless if he wins on Saturday or not.”
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