LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 3 (UPI) -- None of the 19 horses set to line up for Saturday's Kentucky Derby has meaningful experience on a muddy track -- and rain is in the forecast.
If the meteorologists are right, what does that mean for the race? Here's what some of the trainers have to say:
"It'll make the Derby much more wide open," said Kenny McPeek, trainer of Frac Daddy and Java's War. "How they handle it and what kind of trips they get are completely out of our control."
"I don't train on wet tracks," said Chad Brown, who handles Normandy Invasion. "I'm also of the opinion that they are either going to like the wet track or they're not. I don't know if you can teach them to like it. We're going to find out with him."
Dallas Stewart said he's cautiously optimistic about what rain might mean for his longshot contender, Golden Soul. "My horse is out of a Mr. Prospector mare and they love the mud," Stewart said. "So we'll just have to see if it plays out like that."
Chad Brown was a little more enthusiastic about what rain might mean for Normandy Invasion. "People tell me that his breeding for the mud is one of the highest in the race," Brown said. "Great. I love hearing that. But I don't know how much I put into that all the time as a trainer ... If it's not good weather, I hope he likes the mud."
Shug McGaughey, who seeks his first Derby win with the favorite, Orb, as usual had a practical, pragmatic and homespun take on the situation.
"We can't control the weather," McGaughey said. "They say it might rain. So, if it does, it does."
