LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Do not be disappointed if Dale Romans sounds disappointed when he answers your telephone call this week. Your call is not the call he's been dreaming about or needs.
Romans needs the same call that trainer Eric Reed received around 11 a.m. on the Friday before the 2022 Kentucky Derby, informing him that another horse scratched from the 20-horse Derby field, making room for Rich Strike.
Dale Romans is this year's Eric Reed.
Romans is wishing, hoping and dreaming that Cyclone Mischief gets his opportunity to run into the same Derby winners' circle that Rich Strike ran into last year.
"Every time I pick up the phone, I'm thinking, 'Here it is: My good news,'"Â Romans said. "But it's always been something else."
The field is limited to a maximum of 20 horses for the Kentucky Derby. Cyclone Mischief finished the Derby prep campaign 21st on the qualifying list, about $37,000 off the earnings that moved Skinner into the field as the 20th qualifier last week.
The colt has won two of seven career starts, finishing third in his last two prep races in Florida. Cyclone Mischief would be Romans' third Derby starter, his best finish a pair of thirds.
Not that Romans is pouting about it. At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, after Cyclone Mischief returned to Barn 6 for a post-workout bath, Romans grabbed his phone and placed a call — a Zoom call with a kindergarten class from St. Patrick Catholic School in Louisville.
He showed the children a video of Cyclone Mischief being groomed. Romans walked to his favorite spot behind the clockers' stand on the backstretch, letting the children view horses running on the track.
For the next 20 minutes, he answered their questions, telling every child what a great question they asked: When did the Kentucky Derby begin? Is a jockey heavy on a horse's back? Who keeps the horses clean? Where are the horses born? Do the horses wear shoes?
"Dale has been a family friend of my family as long as I can remember and was a great friend of my grandfather, Bob Stallings," said Samantha Stevens, the kindergarten teacher.
"This is the second year Dale has talked to my class at St. Patrick, and the kids each year have loved it.
"Derby has always been a big part of my life because of my grandfather. Dale's friendship to my family is something we will always be thankful for. I know the kids love it, and we all really appreciate him taking the time.
"I started this last year because I always enjoyed (and still do) when my parents take me to the backside to see the horses and visit with Dale.
"The kindergarten class at St. Patrick all hope that Dale gets Cyclone Mischief into the Kentucky Derby."
That captures the spirit of the Kentucky Derby better than anything I've seen this week: Churchill's all-time winningest trainer and an Eclipse Award winner searching for a quiet spot on the track to answer questions from 6-year-olds four days away from the biggest day on the racing calendar.
That is the Romans' way. He wants everybody to celebrate Derby week as much as he and his family and friends celebrate it.
On Monday, Romans teamed with trainer Tom Amoss and owner Clint Glasscock on a panel at a pre-Derby luncheon at the Pendennis Club in downtown Louisville. They analyzed the field, touting Skinner as a serious threat.
Romans and fellow trainer Dallas Stewart will work as bid-spotters during an auction/fundraiser for Bellarmine University athletics this week.
Last year, Romans hosted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his mother, Anne, at his barn on Derby morning.
"Dale cares," Bellarmine men's basketball coach Scott Davenport said.
"Caring is a very special talent. He is giving of himself to make others better.
"Not surprised, because his actions are not self-serving in any way. Dale Romans gives to make a positive influence regardless if it's a kindergarten class or seniors. Special, special caring man."
Why was it important to Romans to connect with those kids?
"It's important because I remember being that age and thinking about the Kentucky Derby," he said.
"This community is so strong about this race and so good to me and everybody that works in the horse industry that you've got to take time out for them."
With important stuff handled, Romans returned to waiting for the phone call that Cyclone Mischief will race Saturday. He has heard the same whispers that everybody has heard on the backstretch, that there are one or two horses who are not thriving and might be pulled from Derby.
"I'm surprisingly relaxed," Romans said. "I don't know why, but I still feel confident that we're going to get in.
"I feel like we're getting in. Usually my gut is right. I trust my gut. If it doesn't happen, it's not meant to be."
But either way, Dale Romans has made certain that as many people as possible have a Kentucky Derby to remember.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
