NOTEBOOK Kentucky Derby

Cowboy Cal’s cause: Cowboy Cal will be running for a good cause in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Bob and Janice McNair, owners of the Stonerside Stable, said Tuesday that any Derby earnings by their homebred Cowboy Cal will be donated to the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The money will be donated in memory of John Long, who gave the nickname “Cowboy Cal” to the McNairs’ son Cal 34 years ago. John was 3 at the time and fighting cancer. Long’s parents, friends of the McNairs since college, brought their son to M.D. Anderson for treatment and stayed at the McNairs’ home. The McNairs were frequent visitors to John’s hospital room, and John took a liking to Cal, 13 at the time. He started calling him “Cowboy Cal” because he always wore cowboy boots and hats and enjoyed riding horses. John lost his battle with cancer two months shy of his fourth birthday.

Going to school: Trainer H. Graham Motion is going to great lengths to make sure his second trip to the Kentucky Derby isn’t as nightmarish as the first. Motion’s horse Chilito became unruly heading into the 1998 race, losing his cool on his way to finishing 11th. Motion is back a decade later with Lane’s End Stakes winner Adriano. To make sure the A.P. Indy colt doesn’t get skittish in front of the massive crowd on race day, Motion is sending Adriano to the paddock every day before the race. Most trainers send their horses to the paddock just once to get their bearings. “We’ve got him into a routine where he goes to the paddock every day before he gallops, so that’s like his second nature now, he expects to do that so it’s not a big deal,” Motion said. “You can’t duplicate having 150,000 screaming, half-drunk people, but we hope he’s the best prepared to handle that.”

Derby chill: The temperature was a toe-numbing 40 degrees when dawn’s first light brightened Churchill Downs Tuesday, the start of a chilly, overcast morning for horses preparing for the Derby. The weather for the remainder of the week leading up to Saturday’s race is a mixed bag, according to weather.com. It should get warmer, with temperatures possibly hitting 80 Thursday. On the down side, the long-range forecast projects a 30 percent to 40 percent chance of thundershowers on both Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Associated Press