DERBY TIE STIRS OWNER'S DESIRE.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI We begin Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. week with affirmation that the United States' oldest sports classic is still big enough to reach from one side of the country to the other and grab a man by the heart. The 131st Derby has stretched a foreleg all the way from Louisville to Lancaster. It has pulled in Gregg Anderson. ``Gosh, the Kentucky Derby,'' Anderson said a couple of days ago. ``I've watched the Kentucky Derby, or listened to it on the radio, since I was a kid, and that was a long time ago. This is really exciting to me.'' Is Anderson a trainer or a jockey? Is he the owner of a Derby horse? Does he know the owner of a Derby horse? No, the Palmdale developer's connection to one of the contenders in next Saturday's race at Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, Ky.: see Louisville. is more tenuous than any of that. Anderson is the co-owner of Northern Afleet, the sire of Afleet Alex Afleet Alex (born May 9, 2002 in Florida) is an American thoroughbred race horse who, in 2005, won two of America's classic races, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. , the Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Arkansas Derby is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt. winner who likely will be the bettors' second choice behind George Steinbrenner's Bellamy Road. Now, in racetrack society, being the owner of the sire of the second choice in a big race is like being the second cousin second cousin n. 1. A child of a first cousin of one's parent. 2. A child of one's first cousin; a first cousin once removed. once removed to the father of the bride at a big wedding. But Anderson plans to be at Afleet Alex's Derby, with wife Janice and son Rob traveling to Louisville by way of Lexington so the group can pay a visit to Northern Afleet at Taylor Made Farm. He has never met his Derby horse's owners, a five-man group from Philadelphia that races under the nom de course Cash is King Stable. But Anderson has secured seats near the finish line he hopes Afleet Alex is the first to cross in the twilight on the first Saturday in May. He has no guarantee he'll get to be one of the smiling people in the winner's circle win·ner's circle n. pl. winners' circles An enclosed area at a racetrack where the winning horse and jockey are brought for awards and publicity. Noun 1. if the right horse wins. But Anderson is going to give it a shot. Even if that means dropping broad hints to the trainer, owners and breeders - right after he introduces himself. ``Oh, you're not kidding,'' Anderson said with a laugh on the phone from his Rancho Vista housing development in Palmdale. He doesn't want to appear desperate or pushy push·y adj. push·i·er, push·i·est Disagreeably aggressive or forward. push  i·ly adv. , of course. ``We're not going to crash the party,'' Anderson promised. This will be the first time Anderson sees the Kentucky Derby in person. For that matter, it will be the first time the 76-year-old Oklahoma native sees Kentucky in person. His success in horse racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with has occurred almost exclusively in California, roughly paralleling the growth of his notable developments in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , Burbank (Cabrini Villas condominiums), Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. (Trousdale Estates) and Palm Springs (Canyon Sands). Northern Afleet, co-owned by Anderson and Ron Waranch, won the 1998 San Fernando Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile victory over the best 4-year-olds at Santa Anita. Anderson and Waranch also made splashes with horses named Palmdale and Miss Rancho Vista. In the Lancaster-Palmdale community, where Anderson's charity has lifted educational and athletic programs, his enthusiasm for the Sport of Kings has proved infectious. Toward the end of Palmdale's nearly 100-race career, that animal's appearances at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar guaranteed huge crowds at the Lancaster fairgrounds' simulcast betting facility. Anderson donated purses from Palmdale's and Miss Rancho Vista's races to local charities for needy families and anti-gang counseling. A Kentucky Derby victory would be no surprise for Afleet Alex, a product of the mating of Northern Afleet, who stands at stud for a $12,500-per-foal fee, and Maggy Hawk, a daughter of 1 1/2-mile world-record holder Hawkster. Afleet Alex's eight-length victory with jockey Jeremy Rose in the April 16 Arkansas Derby was the colt's sixth in nine starts for trainer Tim Ritchey. His only bad effort was a sixth-place finish in the March 19 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. That clinker clink·er n. 1. The incombustible residue, fused into an irregular lump, that remains after the combustion of coal. 2. A partially vitrified brick or a mass of bricks fused together. 3. was blamed on a lung infection. It is not lost on Anderson that a Kentucky Derby victory by Afleet Alex would raise demand for Northern Afleet's bloodline blood·line n. The direct line of descent; a pedigree. and push up the stallion's stud fee. But if this were just about money, Anderson probably wouldn't feel the way he does about Afleet Alex six days from the Derby. ``I think,'' Anderson said, ``it's almost as exciting as owning the horse yourself.'' KENTUCKY DERBY HOPEFULS The 21 horses aiming for Saturday's Kentucky Derby, listed with their most recent races and finishes: Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. : Bandini, 1st; High Limit, 2nd; Closing Argument, 3rd; Sun King, 4th; Consolidator, 5th; Spanish Chestnut, 6th. Arkansas Derby: Afleet Alex, 1st; Flower Alley, 2nd; Andromeda's Hero, 3rd; Greater Good, 5th. Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. : Buzzards Bay, 1st; Wilko, 3rd; Giacomo, 4th. Lexington Stakes: Coin Silver, 1st; Sort It Out, 2nd; Going Wild, 5th. Florida Derby: High Fly, 1st; Noble Causeway, 2nd. Wood Memorial Bellamy Road, 1st. Illinois Derby: Greeley's Galaxy, 1st. Derby Trial: Don't Get Mad, 1st. --Twenty horses will be allowed to start in the Kentucky Derby; entries will be determined Wednesday. --Don't Get Mad finished sixth in the Santa Anita Derby before winning Saturday's Derby Trial. CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) KENTUCKY DERBY HOPEFULS (see text) (2) 131ST KENTUCKY DERBY |
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