Daily Kentucky Derby Report, 5/1
by Emily Hufford and Laura Ferguson, Photos by Amelia Baldree and Laura Ferguson

This morning, Amelia and I could only stay for a few hours because the Turf Angels were on the local news promoting the Kentucky Derby Halter Auction that will benefit Kids to the Cup (it opens tomorrow at 6 pm!) However, we brought with us the Deputy Angel, Laura Ferguson, and left her with instructions on where to find Derby horses. She did well, I think!

When we arrived, everyone was waiting intently for Bellamy Road's workout. I still had not seen the big colt out of the barn since October, so I was looking forward to seeing how he grew up.

Wow.

I know he's the chalk, but just wow. So far, out of all the Derby horses, this is the one who made me say, Wow! the loudest, maybe especially because I saw him last year several times, and I've seen how he's progressed. He is massive but beautiful, a refined beast. He galloped up with a pony and right in front of us broke off on his own, neck bowed, mane and tail arched behind him, within himself and moving easily. Noble Causeway also came out before sunrise, and Greater Good followed shortly. Then it was time to run by the barns of Don't Get Mad, Closing Argument, and Sort It Out, before Amelia and I had to run.

Here is the Daily Derby Report from Laura Ferguson, who had never been on the backside of Churchill Downs before, but knows a thing or two about good racehorses. She can best describe to you what it's like to be at Churchill Downs during this magical time.

This dark blur is Bellamy Road and if you look closely, you can see his arched neck

There’s nothing quite like workouts at Churchill Downs the week prior to the Derby. There’s something inspiring about the twin spires (even now, post renovation, as they do their best not to get swallowed up by the luxury boxes rising above them on either side), and the thought that this is IT. It also helps to have a random balloon race going on in the other direction, including the silhouette of the very-non traditional Energizer bunny balloon. Things are just not the same old, same old. I got up early, and still half-asleep, drove myself to Churchill to await Em and Mia, nearly falling back asleep in the 10 minutes it took them to catch up with me.

We walked through the barns, the chill air slowly waking me up, and making me think regretfully of the gloves that were not on my hands, but somewhere back in the house (and I still haven’t figured out where they've hidden themselves). At the rail, I was awake, and it was just impressive. The background. The crowd of watchers, both horsemen and reporters, watching, waiting, judging, looking for that one thing that would help separate out the Derby winner from the chaff, the statement of here I am!

Greater Good

In theory, all of the Derby hopefuls are given nice bright yellow saddlecloths, and the Oaks hopefuls pink saddlecloths, with their names prominently on them, to help us poor souls, who, unlike Em and Mia, cannot recognize the horse at a glance. Of course, not all of the trainers cooperate by actually putting those saddlecloths ON the horse. Zito apparently sends his horses out early. Like, sun isn’t up yet early. But in the dawn, we saw him: Bellamy Road. I saw this colt at River Downs last year, and thought he would make noise on the Derby trail. But, wow! What a difference. He’s filled out, grown up. Beautifully muscled, neck arched, he powered through the backside, galloping out. I’m in love. Stablemate Noble Causeway also skimmed the rail, head held low. Not as imposing as Bellamy, but still well within himself. The pair go around twice and then return. Just as they’re exiting the track, Bellamy Road's neck still arched, his legs dancing beneath him, a photographer says something about when is Bellamy Road going to work? We point out that Bellamy Road is right there leaving the track - he’s missed the work. Even if you don’t know who’s who, you can usually find someone who does - stick near them, as they’re invaluable for giving you a heads up.

Flower Alley

After Em and Mia had to leave, I did exactly that. There were two Pletcher horses circling in the distance waiting for the break to end for their workouts, wearing the usual TAP saddlecloths. I knew one of them was Bandini, so I took pictures of both, just to be safe. I listened, and heard someone say the rider with the beige fleece was on Bandini. Of course, when I returned the camera to Em, she looked at the photo of the other horse and immediately identified the horse as Ashado. Nice. Greater Good was easy to spot; he was wearing his Derby saddlecloth. He also carries his head low as he gallops, and by the second lap, his legs flashed forward in that long easy grinding stride of his. He’s been my Derby pick for months, although I really like Bellamy Road's chances, and would like them even more if he’d had one more prep race.

Ashado

Ghostzapper

Lukas and Frankel also neglect the Derby saddlecloths. But, again, if you find the right people, they aren’t really necessary. So, I’m not sure who they’re trying to fool by not putting the Derby saddlecloths on. Although, Zito has the market cornered on secrecy. He’s erected an actual fence, complete with "Keep out", around his barn. It puts the Smarty Jones crime scene tape to shame. We saw Going Wild, and then several other people were convinced that this other horse, who was not Going Wild, as it was a chestnut, was him. There’s a great amount of entertainment watching everybody in constant red alert mode. "Who’s that?" The commotion feeds on itself. If something’s going on, cameras clicking, then everyone else swoops in to see what’s going on. It may be nothing, it may be a false alarm, but no one wants to chance missing out.

The other cool thing about mornings at Churchill, besides the Derby and Oaks horses, besides all the famous trainers, is just the number of good horses here for the undercard. Intercontinental was there, Ghostzapper, Limehouse (ever posing for the camera), and Ashado (although I didn’t know it). We spotted Friendly Michelle getting a bath. The sun was finally out for once, even if it was cold, and the horses felt terrific, sometimes frisking, sometimes playfully spooking as they went by the clockers’ stands, which were crammed with journalists, photographers, horsemen and interested spectators. The sun felt good on my back, especially with temperatures hovering around 40, so I could understand why the horses felt especially full of themselves.

Bandini

Spanish Chestnut

We weren’t just there to watch the workouts. Kids to the Cup is auctioning off Derby halters as a fundraiser, and I toted Closing Argument’s around most of the morning. On our to do list this morning was Afleet Alex, Closing Argument and Sort It Out. We pause on our way to take pictures of Greeley’s Galaxy, a beautiful chestnut, as he makes his way onto the track, then head deep into the Derby barns. Afleet Alex has grown on me, and the trip to the barn finished me off. Ritchey was super-nice, giving us hats and just very personable. Add me to the already crowded bandwagon. I actually served a useful purpose, as I could identify Kieran McLaughlin, having seen him enough times through Team Valor. He was also wonderful. Bob Baffert joked with us, and was also helpful, while Robert Frankel autographed a picture of High Limit (or High Fly, I can’t keep them straight, to the point where I call them High Frankel and High Zito to make my life easier). We also got to talk to Ron Ellis, after Don’t Get Mad’s super impressive Derby Trial win. All of the trainers were extremely generous with their time. It’s a good thing I’m ostensibly a grown-up, and used to meeting somebodies, because it would have been easy to get overwhelmed.

Greeley's Galaxy

Now, to deputy photographer-dom. Mia needed her camera for the polo match, which is probably just as well, because I’ve used Em’s camera before, and you’ve never seen a photographic challenge like Churchill after the break. Circling, waiting, like sitting ducks for this photographic hunter, were Memorette, High Limit, Ghostzapper, Bandini (and Ashado) and Flower Alley. All went onto the track at the same time, so people are taking pictures as fast as they can. Just as those horses began their works on the backside, triggering still more pictures, here come Spanish Chestnut, Afleet Alex and Closing Argument. I can barely tell whether they’re galloping well or poorly, because I’m so focused on getting pictures. To my left, you get the warning as those cameras shoot off in rapid-fire succession, letting you know someone important is headed your way and into your lens (assuming a horse going in the other direction doesn’t get in front of the camera and ruin the shot). Exciting, fun, and a little overwhelming - that’s Churchill morning workouts on Derby week. I can’t wait to get up early again.