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By Bill Mooney
By Bill Mooney
Tradition is a wonderful component of sporting events, and Thoroughbred racing relies heavily on traditional elements for its appeal.
Saturday’s 46th running of the Grade 2, $750,000 West Virginia Derby represents far more than just another renewal of the race. It’s the day when racing in the state’s upper panhandle puts on the best show it can, adding another chapter to its long-standing heritage.
Very few tracks in this country ever card a racing program comprised entirely of open stakes. But that’s what occurs on West Virginia Derby Day at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort. Purses for the card total $1.65 million. And the 11/8-mile West Virginia Derby is a black-type event of undeniable national note.
Trainers from major racing locales in the United States — New York, California, Kentucky, and elsewhere — give careful consideration to West Virginia Derby Day. They annually ship some of their best horses to Hancock County (population approximately 30,000), specifically to a little racetrack on the Ohio River, to compete on the Derby card.
Where the prominent horses go, the prominent jockeys go, too. This year’s group includes Hall of Famer Mike E. Smith, who will ride Iron Fist, and Hall of Famer Edgar S. Prado, who will ride Tommy Macho. Both colts are graded stakes-placed, and they are trained by seven-time Eclipse Award winner Todd A. Pletcher and Jerry Hollendorfer, the latter a Hall of Fame member as well.
Mario G. Pino, who will ride Cleveland Gold Cup winner Alliseeisgold, has 6,678 career wins on his resume. Joe Bravo, who will ride the Grade 2 Peter Pan winner Madefromlucky, has over 5,000 wins.
Robby Albarado, who will ride the Preakness Stakes runner-up Tale of Verve, has over 4,700 career wins, including the 2013 West Virginia Derby with Departing. Scott Spieth, who will be on the multiple graded-placed War Story on Saturday, has also accumulated over 4,000 wins. And Corey J. Lanerie, who will ride the Grade 3 Iowa Derby winner Bent On Bourbon, is nearing the 4,000 career-win plateau.
The supporting stakes on this year’s card have lured some prominent names as well. The field for the six-furlong, $100,000 Senator Robert C. Byrd Memorial includes Work All Week, who won last year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.
In his first two starts this year, Work All Week finished second in both the Grade 3 Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs and the Grade 2 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park. Florent Geroux will ride Work All Week, whose opponents in the Byrd Memorial include the multiple graded-placed Nates Mineshaft, and the graded-placed Bump Start and Jasizzle.
Commanding Curve, who finished a hard-driving second (closing 6 æ lengths is the final furlong) in the 2014 Kentucky Derby, will go to the post in the 11/16-mile, $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes. Albarado has the mount. Commanding Curve also finished third in last year’s Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, and scored in an 8 Ω-panel allowance at Churchill Downs in his most recent effort on May 30.
But Commanding Curve is not the morning line favorite in the Governor’s Stakes. That status belongs to Page McKenney, who comes to Mountaineer with three consecutive graded placings, the most recent being in the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows.