Always Dreaming a Derby Come True for Bonomo

As Always Dreaming  neared the finish line 2 3/4 lengths in front in the 2017 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), track announcer Larry Collmus shouted, "And the dream comes true."

That was exactly what happened for Anthony Bonomo and the other connections of the Bodemeister  colt.

"To be standing next to one of my best friends in life, and our wives and kids, and realize we just did something together that we always dreamed of—that was just amazing," Bonomo recalled.

Bonomo's Brooklyn Boyz Stables was a majority owner campaigning Always Dreaming, whose partnership included Teresa Viola Racing Stables, MeB Racing, St. Elias Stables, Siena Farm, and West Point Thoroughbreds.

"The walkover is surreal, because you're walking over with your ownership group, which is your family and our best friends, who were the other majority owners, the Violas and their family. We've been friends for 57 years," Bonomo said. "You're with the people you love walking to watch a race that you've always dreamed about being in with the people you dreamed about being in it with—(Siena Farm's Anthony) Manganaro, who is a phenomenal person, Terry (Finley of West Point)—you're just soaking it in.

"You sort of lose all regard for your clothes because it was a muddy day. You really don't care because you're just taking it all in."

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Always Dreaming came into the Derby with three consecutive wins, culminating in a five-length victory in the Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1), so hopes were high that he would be successful in the 1 1/4-mile classic.

"'My Old Kentucky Home' now has a totally different meaning to me, but you hear that song come on and you're just nervous and you're just hoping that your horse competes and comes back healthy," Bonomo said. "The horse is so aptly named, you're always dreaming you're going to win, but I don't think the winning part struck me as opposed to being in it until the top of the stretch when I said, 'We got a chance. We are doing good here.'"

Always Dreaming broke near the front and raced comfortably near the rail on a wet/fast track. He was on the lead as the field turned for home, and never relinquished the advantage. Bonomo recalled "bedlam" afterward as Always Dreaming added a second Derby win for Pletcher, who also won the race in 2010 with Super Saver .

REPLAY: Always Dreaming Wins Kentucky Derby 143

"We were all screaming and yelling, and then it stopped for a second. And we all just looked at each other and said, 'Did this really just happen?'" he recalled. "I don't think you could adequately describe the emotions going through you at that time or even afterwards."

Bonomo's gratitude to all the people involved—from the grooms and hot-walkers to the people who raised, bought, and prepped the horse—is still evident to this day.

"The win was for them and the neighborhood we came from that loved horse racing," he said. "The joy that win brought to that neighborhood—it was just an amazing all-around thing."