Kentucky Derby Diaries: Derby Draw Day

Wednesday is, aside from Friday and Saturday, the busiest day of Derby week. There’s just so much going on: the Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders all come out to gallop at about 8:30 a.m., there’s a ton of busy work going on throughout the day, and then there is the all-important Kentucky Derby draw starting at 5:30 p.m. 
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but there really is nothing as beautiful to me as the backstretch of the racetrack in the morning. Between the horses, the light, the smells and the peace, it’s just about my favorite place in the world.

And of course, because it’s Derby week, some of horse racing’s biggest stars are out to shine. Here’s trainer Bob Baffert, who’s bringing two Thoroughbred powerhouses to the Derby in American Pharoah and Dortmund. 

I also spotted American Pharoah’s jockey Victor Espinoza; you may remember him as the pilot of last year’s Derby winner California Chrome. It was great to see him back at Churchill Downs, and he was smiling and joking as he granted interviews to an eager press corps.

Another superstar (at least in my mind!) I saw this morning is my friend Matt Watts. Matt always brings his sartorial A-game to the track, and he did not disappoint today. Check out his amazing pants!

Like I said: superstar. 
Derby week is always a busy time in Louisville and Churchill Downs, but I can honestly tell you that I’ve never seen a busy Derby week Wednesday in my life. It’s amazing to see all of the fans who come out for morning works, and as we waited for the Derby and Oaks horses to emerge the crowd grew denser and denser in the viewing area.

Also, one person in this crowd drove this highlighter-orange car to the races today; it was cleverly camouflaged amongst the parking cones but I managed to spot it regardless.

While I was waiting for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks horses to emerge onto the track, I spotted these two ladies rocking some awesome hats. It made me even more excited for the festivities on Friday and Saturday!

Suddenly, the moment came for the equine celebrities to strut their stuff. 
The first new Kentucky Oaks competitor I saw today was Oceanwave, she’s put in two strong second-place performances and seems to be coming into her own. I was visually very impressed with her this morning, as she was eager and pulling on her rider but remained in control as she galloped.

I also spotted Lovely Maria, who’s a pretty filly who will probably be one of the top choices in the Oaks. I think she’s a great-looking girl, and I loved the way she galloped under trainer Larry Jones this morning. 

I also spotted a sweet moment between Oaks runner Condo Commando and her trainer Rudy Rodriguez, who was riding her for gallop this morning. As she waited to begin her jaunt around the track, Rudy was giving her tons of pats and loving. 

Now for the Kentucky Derby horses! The first contender I saw today was El Kabeir; he’s a gorgeous gray horse, and I love his looks, but I think he’s going to have to give the performance of his lifetime on Saturday to win the run for the roses. 

Tencendur is a little guy; he may not have a ton of size, but he certainly has style and while I think he may have a hard row to hoe in the Derby he seems athletic. Also, fun fact: Tencendur was the name of Charlemagne’s horse; the name translates to “Strife.” The more you know! 

I kind of have to root for Itsaknockout on his name alone; it’s too much fun that his Kentucky Derby falls on the afternoon of the biggest boxing match of the century! He’s also a very good-looking horse, and seemed eager yet relaxed during his gallop today.

I know who lots of people are excited to hear about: American Pharoah. I’m happy to report that he looked fantastic this morning, galloping with his ears pricked forward and generally seeming to enjoy himself. 

Don’t worry, I’ll have more on him a little further down! 
I only saw Upstart as he headed out to his gallop, but I loved what I saw. He needs to improve a bit to make it to the front of this very talented Kentucky Derby field, but he is an incredibly good-looking horse. 

I was so excited to see top Kentucky Derby points earner International Star; he’s a very accomplished colt, but for some reason he’s fallen under the radar heading into the run for the roses. I’m pleased to report that he looked happy and relaxed galloping around Churchill Downs, and I think he’s a smart play to put in your Kentucky Derby bets if you want to take a chance and maybe make a little money. 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as impressed with Ocho Ocho Ocho. There wasn’t anything he did that was bad, but more that he just didn’t dazzle me like some of the other Derby contenders did this morning. I’ll keep an eye out for him again tomorrow and let you know if anything has changed to me. 

Frosted! I kind of love Frosted, who looked like a million bucks and seemed very energetic and enthusiastic as he galloped past. He’s another horse I think will be a factor in the race who may fly under the radar, so do with that what you will. 

Stanford is a horse who I just don’t have a ton of confidence about. He’s a beauty, definitely, but he seemed rattled by the crowd on the backside watching morning training and to me that does not bode well for the hubbub of Derby day.

Carpe Diem is a very interesting horse to me. He looks just stunning, and he seemed to really float over the surface of the track when he galloped by this morning. There’s plenty of buzz around about him already, but with Dortmund and American Pharoah firmly planted in the Derby spotlight he may be an enticingly high price at the betting windows on Saturday. 

Firing Line is a long shot for the Kentucky Derby, but my oh my is he an eye-catching horse. There’s something about him that makes you stare, and I hope to see a lot of him at racetracks beyond the run for the roses. 

Mubtaahij! Finally! I fell in love with this horse when he won the United Arabic Emirates Derby in Dubai back in March, so I was so excited to see him today. He’s made quite the trip, arriving from Dubai by way of Arlington Park near Chicago. I’m delighted to tell you that he doesn’t seem a bit jetlagged, and I think he’s a true threat in Saturday’s race. I am very, very interested to see what he does in the Derby. 

Dortmund was back out again, and I swear my horse crush here just keeps growing. He’s such a big Thoroughbred, but he moves with incredible grace for a horse of his size and I really think he could be a star. I like him more and more each time I watch him gallop.

Also, I took this photo of Dortmund back when I was in California just before he won the Santa Anita Derby, and it still makes me laugh. Check out the expression on his face – Dortmund is *not* a horse who likes to be passed! 

The look in his eye. Oh my gosh. 
But I get the feeling he’s a bit of a sweetheart in person; his groom was constantly patting him throughout his bath time today, and he was soaking up the affection the whole time.

So, I know I promised you more American Pharoah, and I’m here to deliver! He showed up at the frontside of the racetrack today to paddock school. That’s when horses are lead into the saddling area as a kind of dress rehearsal for actual races: they’re exposed to a raceday environment with crowds, the noise of the loudspeaker and other horses milling around, so it’s a great way to train a horse not to be anxious in that environment.

Well, while it was wonderful to see American Pharoah again with the afternoon sun warming my back, I don’t think he much needed the training. He was poised, professional and calm the entire time he was in the paddock. He stopped a few times to look around but never once seemed upset or thrown off by the crowds of people around him.

I also spotted Carpe Diem schooling; he also looks fantastic, and while he was a bit more on his toes than American Pharoah was, I was still impressed with his demeanor.

Trainer Todd Pletcher did something interesting: he had a rider get on Carpe Diem as he walked around the ring of the saddling area, which isn’t always the case during paddock schooling. But Carpe Diem looked happy and quiet, and it’s always a good idea to give horses as much of a raceday-type experience as possible during schooling.

Finally, after a full day, it was time for the Kentucky Derby post position draw. The Derby draw is the all-important ceremony that determines the post positions for the run for the roses. A horse’s post position is very important in the Kentucky Derby; because the field is so large at 20 horses, no one wants the inside post (#1) because horses tend to hustle to the rail to save ground and the No. 1 horse can get pinched right after the start. Therefore, owners, trainers and jockeys wait with bated breath for their horses to receive their stall assignments. One official has pills numbered 1-20 in an opaque bottle and shakes one pill out which assigns the post position. Another official randomly selects a Derby horse’s name from a group of papers, which determines which horse is assigned to that post position. It’s all down to chance, and post positions can make or break a horse’s Derby trip.
Presiding over the scene was the Kentucky Derby trophy itself, which is solid gold and one of the most elusive trophies in sports. After all, the race is literally once in a lifetime for horses, since only Thoroughbreds 3 years of age are allowed to enter the race.

And the stars of the Sport of Kings were out in full force for the draw; I saw trainer D. Wayne Lukas (AKA “The Coach,” who’s had more top-rated trainers work under his tutelage than you can shake a stick at.)

Rick Violette, trainer of Upstart:

Kaleem Shah, owner of Dortmund:

Ken Ramsey, who owns top Kentucky Derby points qualifier International Star:

An jockey Victor Espinoza, who rode last year’s Derby winner California Chrome and who will be aboard this year’s favorite, American Pharoah.

Trainer Todd Pletcher was the center of a media scrum – not surprising when you realize that he has four horses entered in the Derby!

The room was absolutely packed and the nervous tension of the crowd billowed about almost tangibly as the minutes ticked down to the draw. 

Then, John Asher of Churchill Downs kicked off the ceremony to begin the assignments of post positions. 

I was livestreaming the draw on Periscope for the @ABRLive Twitter account (for those of you who don’t know, Periscope is the new app that lets you livestream anything via Twitter; it’s awesome and we’re going to be using it a lot from here on out to give you the inside view of the races!) so I didn’t get a ton of photos of the actual draw. Sorry! But here’s a photo of the final post positions: 

I know that’s incredibly hard to read, so fortunately we have a handy-dandy cheat sheet for you with all of the post-position and morning-line odds info for you plus a whole lot more!
After the post position draw was over, the owners, trainers and jockeys present at the draw posed for a group photo, which is a Kentucky Derby tradition.

After the draw was over, there was only one thing left to do: sample to appetizers! My amazing friend Jamie quickly located fried lobster-mac-n-cheese balls. Yep. You read that right. We dove in:

@PenelopePMiller Man, those lobster mac 'n cheese balls are gonna go down in legend. pic.twitter.com/TLYgh9V748
— Jamie Newell (@wowhorse) April 29, 2015

It was the perfect end to a truly amazing draw day. So, how did your favorite horse do in the draw? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll be back with more Kentucky Derby action tomorrow!