Sierra Leone trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2024 Kentucky Derby horse

Sierra Leone is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2024 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September.

The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 27. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.

Sierra Leone will enter the Kentucky Derby off a victory in the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 6 at Keeneland. He currently ranks first on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 155.

Sierra Leone

Color: Dark bay/brown

Bred in: Kentucky

Sire: Gun Runner

Dam: Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon

Price tag: $2.3 million at 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale

Owners: Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Brook Smith, Peter Brant. Magnier is 0 for 13 in the Derby. Tabor is 1 for 20, winning with Thunder Gulch in 1995. Derrick Smith is 0 for 11. Westerberg is 0 for 1. First Derby for Brook Smith. Brant is listed as 0 for 3 in the Derby media guide, though he owned a share of 1984 Derby winner Swale.

Trainer: Chad Brown, 0 for 7 in Derby. Best finish was second with Good Magic (2018).

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione, 0 for 6 in Derby. Best finish was seventh with War of Will (2019).

Record: 3-1-0 in four starts

Career earnings: $918,000

Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 155 (No. 1)

Last race: Won the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 6 at Keeneland by 1 ½ lengths over Just a Touch

Running style: Closer

Notes: Sierra Leone won his debut Nov. 4 at Aqueduct before suffering his lone defeat — by a nose to Dornoch — in the Grade 2 Remsen on Dec. 2 at Aqueduct. He opened his 3-year-old campaign with a half-length victory over Track Phantom in the Grade 2 Risen Star on Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds. … Of the 346 horses nominated to the Triple Crown, Sierra Leone is the highest-priced at $2.3 million. … Gun Runner, Sierra Leone’s sire, was third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and went on to earn Horse of the Year honors as a 4-year-old in 2017.

What they’re saying: “He’s been a star since he was born,” Brown said. “He’s just an unbelievable physical specimen. You can’t fault him anywhere.”

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.

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