The classic Kentucky horseman's belt is a tasteful strip of saddle leather adorned with a halter name plate bearing the person's name.
But not this year. Wendy caught up with Mine That Bird's trainer Chuck Woolley on the backside at Pimlico this morning, where the Kentucky Derby winner will run in the second leg of the Triple Crown this afternoon.
Woolley, like all of Mine That Bird's connections, is from New Mexico, and won the Kentucky Derby the first time he entered...with a horse he drove there in a trailer pulled by his own pickup. A big belt buckle is how you celebrate, back home in New Mexico. Looks good to me!
Drop whatever you are doing at 5 p.m. eastern time today and find a television that receives the NBC network. Mine That Bird lost his hot jockey, Calvin Borel, to an even hotter filly, Rachel Alexandra, and plenty of good Derby horses like Friesan Fire, Musket Man, Papa Clem and Pioneerof The Nile are back for the tight turns and shorter distance that will test them all.
