It's the biggest spectacle in horse racing, but with 20 3-year-old thoroughbreds crammed side-by-side on a track usually occupied by half that many horses, it's a bit different. They would excuse themselves from the Pi Kappa Alpha house in the mid-1980s, telling their brothers they were going to the library for mandatory study hall hours. He employs 150 people who train almost 200 horses at eight different farms around the country. Pletcher, who got his trainer's license in December 1995...

Most people don't care much about horse racing these days; if it weren't for the Derby, the public might think the sport had gone the way of the eight-track tape player. Most people have nothing riding on the race, and they may not even know the names of any of the horses. In my years of covering baseball, there was always a Derby pool in the press box, and most of the participants didn't know a thing about the horses when they pulled their numbers from a hat. That a press box corps would...

Home:News:News:Local Sports Local Sports Think I have no business taking this horse? Wrong! Bill Tilton, BTilton@News-Herald.com 05/05/2007 Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly Column: Nobiz Like Shobiz has the pedigree and the trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. Home:News:News:Local Sports Local Sports Think I have no business taking this horse? Wrong! Bill Tilton, BTilton@News-Herald.com 05/05/2007 Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly Column: Nobiz Like Shobiz has...

Funk, a 28-year-old University of Louisville graduate and former equestrian rider working on her master's degree, said she spends several hours each week working with Borel on reading. Introduced to riding through rag-tag country bush tracks in southern Louisiana (the pickup games of horse racing) and still up at 5 a. She handles the bills and the travel plans, and hopes they'll set a new wedding date after their nuptials last December were scuttled by Borel's broken wrist. But he...

This was the first time that Doc performed during one day in all three women s rodeo events -- barrel racing, goat tying and breakaway roping, Steffes said. Coming out of the number 10 position heading into the barrel racing short go, Steffes clocked the weekend s fastest time, zipping around the cloverleaf pattern in a blazing 15. She planned to use two different horses this season, but the way Doc has performed this spring he s the only ride that Steffes needs as the pair have been...

usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogle What's this? Print Email Seasoned Collector: A toast to Kentucky Derby collectibles By Steven Wayne Yvaska Article Launched:05/05/2007 01:46:46 AM PDT Click photo to enlarge A pair of collectible Kentucky Derby mint julep glasses. usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogle What's this? Print Email Seasoned Collector: A toast to Kentucky Derby collectibles By Steven Wayne Yvaska Article Launched:05/05/2007 01:46:46 AM PDT Click photo to enlarge A pair of collectible Kentucky...

If Jones is lucky, maybe someday Nafzger will share one piece of a veteran's wisdom: explaining how Street Sense's jockey, Calvin Borel, managed to scoot past 18 horses in the final half-mile unimpeded. Nafzger learned early on never to let himself believe he's anywhere near as important as the horse. Noting that Borel's rail-hugging style has earned him the nickname "Bo-rail," Jones' voice rose a few octaves in disbelief. It would be incredible, sure, but the one we wanted to win most was...

In the United States a similar excitement builds as casual fans and experienced bettors alike try to bet on the winner of the Kentucky Derby, the most glamorous race in the world. Finding the winners of these competitive races that bring together the best horses in the world has proved equally challenging and pulsating. In the United Kingdom antepost betting on the 2000 Guineas begins when the horses are still only juveniles and continues for months in advance, even through the winter....