Good morning, it's Thursday, May 3, 2018. Two days from now the fair city of Louisville will host the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby. The field is large, as is typical these days, with an unusually large number of legitimate contenders.
I haven't picked a horse yet, but this morning my mind is on the Derby run on this date in 1986. Not so much because of the horses, but because of the riders -- one in particular -- and a trainer.
The field that year included three very talented colts (Snow Chief, Broad Brush, and Groovy) as well as a phony favorite named Badger Land. But the horse that drew post position No. 1 was intriguing. His name was Ferdinand and he'd been racing in California for 73-year-old trainer Charlie Whittingham. “The Bald Eagle,” as he was known, had never trained a Derby winner, and his rangy horse Ferdinand hadn't come close to beating Snow Chief in their California prep races. Ferdinand's rider, meanwhile, was no spring chicken, either. He was 54-year-old Bill Shoemaker, a racing legend already in the Hall of Fame, whose best days were believed to be behind him.
