KENTUCKY DERBY NOTEBOOK: ZITO STRIKES AGAIN WITH BIRD TOWN.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the 1990s, Nick Zito Nicholas Philip "Nick" Zito (born February 6, 1948 in New York City, New York) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. Zito began his career as a hot walker and worked his way way up to a groom, to an assistant trainer, and to a trainer. was a 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. star on par with D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. and Bob Baffert Bob Baffert (born January 13, 1953 in Nogales, Arizona) is an American horse owner and trainer. He graduated from the University of Arizona's Racetrack Management Program with a Bachelor of Science degree. , the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of trainer winning the Derby with Strike the Gold in 1991 and screaming ``I love America!'' as Go for Gin Go for Gin (foaled 1991 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred racehorse most well known as the winner of the 1994 Kentucky Derby. He was sired by Cormorant out of the dam Never Knock. stole away to victory in 1994. Without a horse in the Derby today for the second year in a row, Zito did manage what he called ``a Kentucky moment'' Friday when he sent out 18-1 Bird Town and jockey Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (born June 12, 1967 in Lima, Peru) is a thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Now a resident of Hollywood, Florida in 2004 Prado became the 19th jockey in thoroughbred racing history to win 5,000 races. for a come-from-behind victory in the Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles (1811 metres) at Churchill Downs; carry 121 pounds (55 kg). in front of 100,523 at Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, Ky.: see Louisville. . Bird Town, owned by the venerable Marylou Whitney Marylou Whitney (b. Marie Louise Schroeder, December 24 1925, Kansas City, Missouri) is a prominent socialite. Whitney has many seasonal residences, first and foremost her "Cady Hill" estate in Saratoga Springs New York, a massive camp in the Adirondacks, a farm near , won by 3 1/4 lengths over Santa Catalina, with Yell third and Elloluv fourth. ``To win for the Whitneys is very special,'' Zito said. ``To me, I have the same feeling as winning the Kentucky Derby.'' The $573,800 Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies, is known as the distaff Derby. Bird Town came into it without a graded stakes victory. Elloluv's defeat stopped the Dollase's family dream of an Oaks-Derby double. Craig Dollase trains Elloluv and father Wally has Ten Most Wanted. --He's out: Sir Cherokee, the Arkansas Derby winner who was 15-1 on the Kentucky Derby morning line, has been scratched after injuring his right hind leg. Trainer Mike Tomlinson said Friday the colt showed signs of discomfort during a gallop Thursday morning and an X-ray found a small fracture in the ankle. The injury wasn't considered career-threatening. ``It's a bitter pill to swallow,'' Tomlinson said. ``We were excited about his chances.'' It would have been the first Derby for Tomlinson and jockey Terry Thompson. The Derby field shrank to 16. With Sir Cherokee out of post position 3, Supah Blitz (No. 1) and Brancusi (No. 2) will shift outward by one slot, Churchill Downs officials said, but their betting numbers will not change. --Day in: After missing three days to rest his injured back, Pat Day rode in eight races at Churchill Downs on Friday, winning the Crown Royal American Turf with Bob Baffert-trained Senor Swinger. Wally Dollase said he's confident Day will be fit to ride Ten Most Wanted in the Kentucky Derby. Day said he suffered a back strain at home Monday and that the injury wasn't a result of two falls in races last week. --They win again: The filly You ran away with the Louisville Stakes for Bobby Frankel and Jerry Bailey, trainer and jockey of Empire Maker. --Meteorology: Weather is not expected to be a factor in the Derby - although it has sprung a few surprises during a warm but occasionally wet past few days in Louisville. The forecast used by Churchill Downs calls for a high in the upper-60s, partly cloudy skies and light wind blowing across the track from the clubhouse turn to the far turn. --If it rains: Empire Maker's Wood Memorial victory on a ``muddy'' Aqueduct (N.Y.) track makes him the only Derby entrant to have won on a surface rated worse than ``good.'' --Long shot from the start: The Derby winner will be the survivor among 37,588 thoroughbreds born in 2000 in North America, according to Jockey Club statistics. That year's foal foal a junior horse from birth to one year. May be filly foal, colt foal. foal ataxia see enzootic equine incoordination. crop was the largest since 1992. At its peak in the 1980s, the continent's breeders produced more than 50,000 foals a year. DERBY HIGHLIGHT The Biggest Derby Upset The highest win payoff was Donerail's $184.90 for a $2 bet in 1913, but the biggest surprise was Dark Star and jockey Hank Moreno's $51.80 victory over Native Dancer and Eric Guerin 50 years ago this week. The loss by a head - after a troubled start and a wide trip - was the only defeat for Native Dancer in 22 career races. - Kevin Modesti CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes Photo: Bird Town, with jockey Edgar Prado, won the Kentucky Oaks by 3 1/4 lengths on Friday in front of 100,523 at Churchill Downs. Ed Reinke/Associated Press Box: (1) DERBY HIGHLIGHT (see text) (2) VIEWER'S GUIDE - Kevin Modesti |
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