LEWIS | Jockeys preparing for different Derby on first Saturday in May | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Instead of arriving in Louisville this week to defend his 2019 Kentucky Derby win, jockey Flavien Prat is headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Prat, who guided Country House to the winner's circle (when first place finisher Maximum Security was disqualified) in last year's Run for the Roses, will have mounts in both races of the split 2020 Arkansas Derby, which will run without spectators at Oaklawn Park due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I’ve been training pretty hard because I’m riding this weekend, and it will kind of motivate me," said Prat, who was riding at Santa Anita Park when racing was shut down due to the pandemic. "But, before that, it was not easy."

Jockey Corey Lanerie is also riding in one of the Arkansas Derby races. He’s been riding at Oaklawn since tracks began holding races without spectators.

"They always have a lot of fans, and the fans love the racing there, so it’s a bit quiet," Lanerie said. "Not eerie feeling, just different."

Based in Louisville, Lanerie believes there could be a similar scenario for the postponed running of Derby 146 on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.

"Right now, I don’t think there will be fans there," Lanerie said. "So that would be really, really weird, especially for the Kentucky Derby. Hopefully all of this is kind of broken up, and the economy is opened back up, but I don’t know what it’s going to look like."

The change from May to September could have quite the impact on the Derby field. Both Prat and Lanerie said it’s a mixed bag when you delay a race like the Derby.

"Just from January to May, (horses) can change a lot," Prat said. "So you can imagine, from May until September, how much they can change. It’s going to be a different race."

"It gives some people maybe more time with the 3-year-olds," Lanerie added. "Some of them may mature later than others, so it may actually benefit some of them."

State officials gave Churchill Downs the green light to reopen its stables Monday, May 11, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday. The 2020 Spring Meet will begin Saturday, May 16.

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