LOUISVILLE (WAVE) – It was over really, at the top of the stretch, when Always Dreaming took the lead in the 143rd Kentucky Derby and began his glorious run down victory lane, delighting those in the Churchill Downs crowd of 152,000 that had made him a lukewarm favorite.
Behind him, dreams were shattering all over the place. It was almost like a waiter dropping a tray of mint juleps in cheap glasses. The Derby that was supposed to be wide-open turned out to be a tour de force for the chestnut colt, jockey John Velasquez and trainer Todd Pletcher.
The winner owners were Brooklyn Boyz Stables, Teresa Viola Racing, and various other partners that bought a piece or so along the way. They turned the winner’s circle into rush hour on the New York subway. It may have been the best moment for Brooklyn since the Dodgers left town in 1958.
After pelting Churchill with rain, sometimes heavy, throughout the day, Mother Nature finally smiled on our Old Kentucky Home at around 5:30 p.m., delighting the fans who had been hiding their Derby finery under ponchos.
(Photo from Churchill Downs)
The track was far from perfect, but it also wasn’t bad enough to compromise anybody’s chances, although a couple of trainers may differ. Of all the excuses for losing, the overwhelming favorite is, “He didn’t like the track.”
While the highly Classic Empire and McCraken were banging into each other out of the starting gate, Always Dreaming got the same dream trip he got in his last three races, which he won by a total of 20 lengths, including the Florida Derby.
Velasquez made a shrewd move coming out of the first turn, moving Always Dreaming away from the inside, the deepest part of the track, and to the outside flank of the pacesetting longshot State of Honor. He took the lead shortly thereafter and then waited for the phalanx of late closers to gather themselves and take their shots.
Irish War Cry, the impressive Wood Memorial winner, looked positioned for a terrific charge at the top of the stretch, but flattened out and finished 10th. At the eighth pole, the only horse running at the leader was Lookin At Lee, who finished a fast-closing fourth to Classic Empire in the Arkansas Derby.
But it was too little, too late. In the last few strides, Velasquez only showed Always Dreaming his whip, shaking it with his right hand. The final time for the mile and a quarter was 2:03 4/5 and the winning margin was almost three lengths.
Always Dreaming paid $11.40, $7.20 and $5.80. Lookin At Lee paid $28.60 and $15.20 to place, while another longshot, Battle of Midway, paid $20.80 to show.
The win gave Velasquez a second Derby trophy to go with the one he got after guiding Animal Kingdom to victory in 2011. It also was the second for Pletcher, who earned his slice of immortality with Super Saver in 2010.
With three horses in this year’s 20-horse field, Pletcher tied his mentor D. Wayne Lukas’ record of 48 entrants. His 1-for-45 record going into this Derby made him an object of scorn among bloggers and talk-show hosts who know little or nothing about racing.
No telling how many of Pletcher’s entries didn’t belong in the Derby. But when an owner wants to be part of the big race, there’s little a trainer can do to discourage them.
Although Pletcher remained stoic when asked about his Derby record, he knew what was being said behind his back. And it stung, which probably is why he shed a few tears as he celebrated Always Dreaming’s victory with Tracy, his wife of 25 years, and friends.
“There’s been a lot of talk about my Derby record,” Pletcher told NBC, “so this is all the more sweet. I was a little wired down the backstretch, when I thought he wasn’t in the bridle the way he should be. But John knew what he had.”
The trainers of the losers will have all sorts of creative excuses. They always do, and sometimes they’re even valid. But nobody will pay much attention because Always Dreaming clearly was the best of this field.
But, as the winner’s name says, the losers will get over and get back to always dreaming of having a horse who wins the world’s most famous race the way Always Dreaming, a son of Bodemeister bred in Kentucky by Santa Rosa Partners, dominated Derby 143.
So local favorite Dale Romans, who literally grew up at Churchill Downs, will have to wait at least another year.
And Calumet Farm, which didn’t hit the board with any of its three entrants, will have to seriously considering dumping owner Brad Kelley’s black-and-gold silks and go back to the iconic devil’s red-and-blue that eight horses have carried to Derby victory.
One of the Calumet horses, Patch, was bet too low by those members of the public who love animals and heart-warming stories. He has only one eye, which touched so many that he went off as sixth in the betting, which his record didn’t merit it.
And let’s not forget the Maktoum family of Dubai, which has invested millions the game over the last 40 years, will have to seriously consider a change in tactics. Their Thunder Snow, running in the U.S. for the first time, began bucking like a rodeo bronco soon after the start and was never a factor.
Assuming he came out of the Derby in good shape, Always Dreaming will try to repeat his performance in the May 20 Preakness, second jewel in racing’s Triple Crown. Some of the Derby field will no doubt join him at Pimlico in Baltimore, but others will have seen enough and look for softer spots.
Billy Reed is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the Transylvania University Hall of Fame. He has been named Kentucky Sports Writer of the Year eight times and has won the Eclipse Award twice. Reed has written about a multitude of sports events for over four decades, but he is perhaps one of media’s most knowledgeable writers on the Kentucky Derby
