West Saratoga trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2024 Kentucky Derby horse
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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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