West Saratoga trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2024 Kentucky Derby horse
Jason Frakes
West Saratoga 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.
West Saratoga will enter the Kentucky Derby off a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 23 at Turfway Park. He currently ranks 11th on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 67
West Saratoga
Color: Gray/roan
Bred in: Kentucky
Sire: Exaggerator
Dam: Mo Wicked, by Uncle Mo
Price tag: $11,000 at 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale
Owner: Harry Veruchi, first Derby
Trainer: Larry Demeritte, first Derby
Jockey: Jesus Castanon, 0 for 1 in Derby. Finished fourth with Shackleford in 2011.
Record: 2-5-1 in 10 starts
Career earnings: $460,140
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 67 (No. 11)
Last race: Second in Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 23 at Turfway Park, 4 lengths behind Endlessly.
Running style: Stalker
Notes: Demeritte would become just the second African-American trainer since 1951 to compete in the Kentucky Derby. The last was Hank Allen, who finished sixth with Northern Wolf in 1989. … With 10 career races, West Saratoga is well-seasoned. The first five of those were maiden special weights as he chased his first victory, which finally came Aug. 5 at Ellis Park. The next month at Churchill Downs, West Saratoga won the Grade 3 Iroquois, which is the first race to award points on the Kentucky Derby trail. … West Saratoga was one of the last 20 horses sold on the final day of the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
What they’re saying: “I have champagne tastes with a beer budget,” said Demeritte, a Bahamas native who took out his trainer’s license in the United States in 1991.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
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