After winning the Arkansas Derby, mid-southerners were primed for Bodemeister to win the Kentucky Derby on Saturday May 5. Through the majority of the race, the Bob Baffert-trained colt let the way until nearly at the finish line. He ran the first quarter in 22.32 seconds, the first half mile in 45.39 seconds, and the first three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.80 - the fifth-fastest pace in Kentucky Derby history! In the Derby’s 137 previous runnings, only ten horses have sped the first half mile in 45.4 seconds or less.
When the starting gates opened, Bodemeister broke more sharply than his rivals. “He was flying leaving there. He was two lengths in front leaving the gate,” jockey Mike Smith said. He led the field of twenty 3-year-olds through the first turn and opened a clear lead, several lengths ahead of the pack on the far turn. Then I'll Have Another rallied and began to close the gap headed down the homestretch. In the final few yards, Mario Gutierrez, in his first Derby ride, guided I'll Have Another past Bodemeister to take the win.
“I’m very disappointed, but at the same time I’m just so proud of him. He’s brilliant. He really is,” said Bodemeister’s jockey Mike Smith. “He didn’t finish first, but he’s still the winner. He’s such a free running horse that I couldn’t take that away from him. At the top of the stretch, I really thought we had it, but I knew we were in trouble when I saw Doug’s horse coming.”
Trainer Bob Baffert praised Bodemeister: “He ran his race. He was there and he just got tired a little bit. He's only run four times. I was really proud of him. He's a super impressive horse.”
I’ll Have Another, the Doug O'Neill trainee, provided jockey Mario Gutierrez with his first Derby winner on his first try, finishing 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track in 2:01 4/5. Gutierrez settled his horse on the outside in seventh place coming down the backstretch, before sending him up between horses nearing the turn. I’ll Have Another was wide rounding the turn and took off after Bodemeister entering the lane. He just kept moving down the center of the track and just caught the pacesetter at the wire to score his third straight graded win. I’ll Have Another is owned by J. Paul Reddam.
On May 10, 2012, The New York Times reporters Joe Drape and Walt Bogdanich followed up their investigative report on doping in horse racing (published March 24, 2012) with a piece on trainer Doug O’Neill’s history of using illegal drugs on his race horses. In “A Derby Win, but a Troubled Record for a Trainer,” Drape and Bogdanich wrote: “Last summer, the trainer Doug O’Neill was formally sanctioned after one of his racehorses at Hollywood Park in California tested positive for illegal drugs. In 2010, O’Neill was punished for administering an illegal performance-enhancing concoction to a horse he ran in the prestigious Illinois Derby — the third time he had been accused of giving a horse what is known as a milkshake. Four months later, he was accused again of giving a milkshake to a horse in California. Over 14 years and in four different states, O’Neill received more than a dozen violations for giving his horses improper drugs. O’Neill’s horses also have had a tendency to break down. According to an analysis by The New York Times, the horses he trains break down or show signs of injury at more than twice the rate of the national average.”
The Mid-South Horse Review (MSHR) asked veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Dunlap about milkshakes. She replied, “Milkshakes attempt to combat lactic acid build up in muscles by tubing with bicarb and attempt to provide extra energy with sugars. The result is a horse that may not have as much lactic acid build up in his muscles (which can be the body's signal to slow down/stop exercising = muscle burn) so this horse could exercise or run past the point of fatigue, leading to a higher risk of an injury or catastrophic breakdown. The other issue with milkshaking is it can mask other drugs that the horse might have been given, such as cocaine. Bottom line: it is used to run horses past the point of fatigue and hide dangerous illegal drug administration.”
Photos: Jockey Mario Gutierrez rides I'll Have Another to victory in the 138th Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 5, 2012, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
DSC_4208derby party: Derby Parties are traditional in the south, where folks gather to socialize and watch the race on TV if they can’t make it to Louisville, Kentucky. Greg and Dianne Chappars graciously hosted a Derby Party for many friends at their antebellum home in Macon, TN on May 5, 2012. All the ladies wore their favorite hats and dressed as if they were attending the event in person at Churchill Downs.
When the starting gates opened, Bodemeister broke more sharply than his rivals. “He was flying leaving there. He was two lengths in front leaving the gate,” jockey Mike Smith said. He led the field of twenty 3-year-olds through the first turn and opened a clear lead, several lengths ahead of the pack on the far turn. Then I'll Have Another rallied and began to close the gap headed down the homestretch. In the final few yards, Mario Gutierrez, in his first Derby ride, guided I'll Have Another past Bodemeister to take the win.
“I’m very disappointed, but at the same time I’m just so proud of him. He’s brilliant. He really is,” said Bodemeister’s jockey Mike Smith. “He didn’t finish first, but he’s still the winner. He’s such a free running horse that I couldn’t take that away from him. At the top of the stretch, I really thought we had it, but I knew we were in trouble when I saw Doug’s horse coming.”
Trainer Bob Baffert praised Bodemeister: “He ran his race. He was there and he just got tired a little bit. He's only run four times. I was really proud of him. He's a super impressive horse.”
I’ll Have Another, the Doug O'Neill trainee, provided jockey Mario Gutierrez with his first Derby winner on his first try, finishing 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track in 2:01 4/5. Gutierrez settled his horse on the outside in seventh place coming down the backstretch, before sending him up between horses nearing the turn. I’ll Have Another was wide rounding the turn and took off after Bodemeister entering the lane. He just kept moving down the center of the track and just caught the pacesetter at the wire to score his third straight graded win. I’ll Have Another is owned by J. Paul Reddam.
On May 10, 2012, The New York Times reporters Joe Drape and Walt Bogdanich followed up their investigative report on doping in horse racing (published March 24, 2012) with a piece on trainer Doug O’Neill’s history of using illegal drugs on his race horses. In “A Derby Win, but a Troubled Record for a Trainer,” Drape and Bogdanich wrote: “Last summer, the trainer Doug O’Neill was formally sanctioned after one of his racehorses at Hollywood Park in California tested positive for illegal drugs. In 2010, O’Neill was punished for administering an illegal performance-enhancing concoction to a horse he ran in the prestigious Illinois Derby — the third time he had been accused of giving a horse what is known as a milkshake. Four months later, he was accused again of giving a milkshake to a horse in California. Over 14 years and in four different states, O’Neill received more than a dozen violations for giving his horses improper drugs. O’Neill’s horses also have had a tendency to break down. According to an analysis by The New York Times, the horses he trains break down or show signs of injury at more than twice the rate of the national average.”
The Mid-South Horse Review (MSHR) asked veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Dunlap about milkshakes. She replied, “Milkshakes attempt to combat lactic acid build up in muscles by tubing with bicarb and attempt to provide extra energy with sugars. The result is a horse that may not have as much lactic acid build up in his muscles (which can be the body's signal to slow down/stop exercising = muscle burn) so this horse could exercise or run past the point of fatigue, leading to a higher risk of an injury or catastrophic breakdown. The other issue with milkshaking is it can mask other drugs that the horse might have been given, such as cocaine. Bottom line: it is used to run horses past the point of fatigue and hide dangerous illegal drug administration.”
Photos: Jockey Mario Gutierrez rides I'll Have Another to victory in the 138th Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 5, 2012, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
DSC_4208derby party: Derby Parties are traditional in the south, where folks gather to socialize and watch the race on TV if they can’t make it to Louisville, Kentucky. Greg and Dianne Chappars graciously hosted a Derby Party for many friends at their antebellum home in Macon, TN on May 5, 2012. All the ladies wore their favorite hats and dressed as if they were attending the event in person at Churchill Downs.
