Louisville, Ky. – Nobiz Like Shobiz, the last Kentucky Derby contender to arrive at Churchill Downs, set foot on the muddy track for the first time Thursday.
Overnight rain curtailed workouts for most of the 20 Derby horses. Nobiz Like Shobiz had an easy jog, spent a few minutes in the starting gate and toured the paddock before returning to a dry stall.
Trainer Barclay Tagg is following the same routine that brought victory to Funny Cide in 2003: Arrive in Louisville as late as possible and keep a low profile.
Tagg nearly cut his arrival too close. He barely made the post position draw downtown Wednesday night, when the flight carrying him and Nobiz Like Shobiz was delayed.
“We had a wonderful host meet us at the airport,” Tagg said. “I think it was A.J. Foyt. He got us there on time.”
Nobiz Like Shobiz bedded down in Barn 48, the same stall Funny Cide occupied. The barn, away from most of the other Derby horses, offered Tagg some isolation.
“I like this barn because it is usually quieter,” he said. “Usually it’s easier.”
This will be Tagg’s third Derby starter. Showing Up ran sixth last year. Nobiz Like Shobiz is 8-1 on the morning line.
Looking for a mudder
The steady showers were forecast to continue through Saturday, raising the prospect of a wet track on Derby Day.
If the rain continues, handicappers will zero in on horses with proven ability in the mud, such as Hard Spun, Scat Daddy and Teuflesberg.
Hard Spun (15-1 on the morning line) won the Port Penn Stakes – his second career start – by 5 lengths last summer at Delaware Park.
“Not to say I want an off-track, but he does have good mud numbers,” trainer Larry Jones said. “Churchill is probably the best wet track there is, from a safety standpoint.”
Scat Daddy (10-1), one of five Derby horses trained by Todd Pletcher, rolled to a 5 1/4-length win in his debut in the mud at Belmont Park last June.
Teuflesberg (30-1) scored a 2 3/4-length win in the slop at the Fair Grounds in his final race last year. A wet track “moves him up tremendously,” trainer Jamie Sanders said.
For many of the horses in the race, a muddy track would be a new experience. Great Hunter and Liquidity, trained by Doug O’Neill in Southern California, have only run on fast surfaces.
“We experienced a little bit of rain at Santa Anita this year,” O’Neill said. “It’s been a pretty dry winter for them, but both handled the wet track well today.”
Both horses jogged 1 1/2 miles in the slop.
The Derby Day forecast called for a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms, with temperatures in the high 70s.
Barbaro: Take two
NBC rescheduled the debut of a documentary on Barbaro for Saturday at 6 p.m.
“Barbaro: A Nation’s Horse” was slated to air last Sunday but wound up pre-empted when the Stanley Cup playoff between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers went into double overtime.
The one-hour program tracks Barbaro from his victory in last year’s Derby win through the injury in the Preakness and his fight for survival.
NBC will also add a “red carpet” segment to its Kentucky Derby package this year. The network will provide two hours of coverage starting at 2:30 p.m., with the first half-hour featuring Shaun Robinson of “Access Hollywood” conducting celebrity interviews and critiquing their choice of outfits.
And they’re off
Field with post positions and odds for Saturday’s 133rd Kentucky Derby:
PP Horse…Trainer…Jockey…Odds
1. Sedgefield…Darrin Miller…Julien Leparoux…50-1
2. Curlin…Steve Asmussen…Robby Albarado…7-2
3. Zanjero…Steve Asmussen…Shaun Bridgmohan…30-1
4. Storm in May…Bill Kaplan…Juan Leyva…30-1
5. Imawildandcrazyguy…Bill Kaplan…Mark Guidry…50-1
6. Cowtown Cat…Todd Pletcher…Fernando Jara…20-1
7. Street Sensev…Carl Nafzger…Calvin Borel…4-1
8. Hard Spun…Larry Jones…Mario Pino…15-1
9. Liquidity…Doug O’Neill…David Flores…30-1
10. Teuflesberg…Jamie Sanders…Stewart Elliott…30-1
11. Bwana Bull…Jerry Hollendorfer…Javier Castellano…50-1
12. Nobiz Like Shobiz…Barclay Tagg…Cornelio Velasquez…8-1
13. Sam P….Todd Pletcher…Ramon Dominguez…20-1
14. Scat Daddy…Todd Pletcher…Edgar Prado…10-1
15. Tiago…John Shirreffs…Mike Smith…15-1
16. Circular Quay…Todd Pletcher…John Velazquez…8-1
17. Stormello…Bill Currin…Kent Desormeaux…30-1
18. Any Given Saturday…Todd Pletcher…Garrett Gomez…12-1
19. Dominican…Darrin Miller…Rafael Bejarano…20-1
20. Great Hunter…Doug O’Neill…Corey Nakatani…15-1
Weights: 126 pounds. Distance: 1 1/4 miles. Purse: $2,210,000 if 20 start.
First place: $1,450,000. Second place: $400,000. Third place: $200,000. Fourth place: $100,000. Fifth place: $60,000. Post time: 4:04 p.m. MDT
