Ramseys Go It Alone with Oscar Nominated

Ken Ramsey, after watching his Oscar Nominated win the Spiral Stakes (gr. III) April 2 to gather enough points for a starting berth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), made the racing world an offer, since the colt was not nominated to the Derby and would need to be supplemented for $200,000.

“He was Oscar Nominated, but not Derby nominated,” quipped Ramsey, who owns the horse with his wife, Sarah, and also owns Ramsey Farm near Nicholasville, Ky.

Apparently, unlike “The Godfather,” it was an offer that others could refuse.

Ramsey offered half of Oscar Nominated’s earnings through the Triple Crown races to anyone who wanted to pony up the $200,000 entry fee. Right after he made the public pronouncement at the press conference following the Spiral, Ramsey said an agent for an owner approached him and said his man was in for the deal. But that was a month ago, and this week, after lengthy negotiations, that party dropped out. A second party then expressed interest, but that didn’t come to fruition either.

Ramsey, who has steadfastly refused to reveal the potential mystery partners, will now race Oscar Nominated with his wife.

"We’ve transferred enough funds and had enough horses claimed, so that we’re good to go with our account at Churchill Downs," he said. "We’re not gonna let a little thing like not being nominated keep us from the Derby. We got the points and we’re in, barring misfortune." (A late injury kept the Ramseys’ International Star from running in the Derby last year.)

Complicating matters is that Oscar Nominated, a son of Ramsey’s fine stallion Kitten's Joy  , only ran on turf in his first six races before shifting to the Polytrack at Turfway Park for the Spiral. But Ramsey isn’t about to let a Derby opportunity slip by, even with a longshot.

"I just celebrated the 10th anniversary of my 70th birthday," Ramsey said. "I’ve served my time and I should be allowed to cross over to the other side of the track for that trophy presentation after the Derby."

Oscar Nominated, a winner in three of his seven starts, will be the Ramseys’ seventh try for the roses. Their best result was with their first starter, when Ten Cents A Shine checked in eighth in 2003.

Ramsey, an excellent handicapper, was somewhat muted on Oscar Nominated’s chances of bringing home the glory, but he was trying to find a silver lining in the horse’s turf pedigree.

"He can get a mile and a quarter; the problem is how long it takes him to get the mile and a quarter," Ramsey said. "I think he’ll be closing in the stretch and I’ll predict he’s going to finish in the first half of the field. (Trainer) Mike Maker says he’s the best Kitten’s Joy he’s had on the dirt. We’ve had three Kitten’s Joys in the Derby and haven’t been too successful thus far."

Oscar Nominated would not be in the race at all had the Ramseys not claimed him last October out of $75,000 maiden claiming event from trainer Bill Mott and owners John and Jerry Amerman, who bred Oscar Nominated after paying the Ramseys Kitten’s Joy’s $100,000 stud fee. Ramsey said he hoped to increase the value of their mare Devine Actress by running Oscar Nominated in the Triple Crown series.

"We’re training well. We’re in the Derby, one’s gonna win, so what more is there to say?" said Ramsey, a Kentucky native who would like nothing more than to add a Derby win to his long list of achievements in the racing game.