LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It’s always a “hold your breath” moment when the alarm goes off to alert people on the Churchill Downs racetrack that a horse has unseated its rider and gotten loose. When it happens during the period dedicated to Kentucky Oaks and Derby entries, the anxiety ratchets up.
You could see it on the face of trainer Brad Cox, whose Verifying threw his rider along the backside of Churchill Downs and ran loose around the track until outriders could take him in hand in front of the grandstand.
Cox greeted the colt at the gap and led him back to his barn, where he appeared none the worse for wear, standing calmly as he was bathed after the incident. The exercise rider, who could not immediately be identified, was treated by physicians in the Churchill stable area for a dislocated shoulder.
“We dodged a bullet,” Cox said. “We got lucky. I don’t know what happened. He was galloping around and looked great and next thing I know the rider was on the ground and he had stepped out from under the rider. ... It happened around the 5/8 pole about 40 yards down from me. I actually turned my head and wasn’t’ sure it was him until they told me. I wasn’t sure it could be him but I had a feeling it was him. ... The outriders did a great job. We have some of the best outriders in the world, in America for sure.”
Trainer Brad Cox enduiers an anxious moment while his Kentucky Derby colt Verifying is chased down on hte track after unseatring his rider during training at Churchill Downs on May 4, 2023.
Cox said after an initial examination that there was no reason to believe Verifying, a 15-1 shot in the Derby morning line, won’t be able to make the start of the Kentucky Derby.
“There are no concerns on my end from what I can see yet. I guess anything can pop up, but he’s fine.” Cox said. “... I actually picked him up from the outrider. He got a little blow out of it, but nothing to sidetrack him at all.”
The story was similar for the Peter Miller-trained Kentucky Oaks filly And Tell Me Nolies, who reared up and threw her rider while exiting the track and took off through the gap, into the barn area, where she sent spectators scrambling before running into Peter McGee’s barn, where she was taken back in hand.
Video Thursday at Churchill Downs courtesy of Debbie Hunt
After the excitement, she was back in her own stall, eating hay, with a minor cut, but nothing that Miller expected to keep her out of racing. He said that she’ll continue to be examined and evaluated throughout the day.
“I was standing right there,” Miller said. “She just was feeling too good, too happy, and reared up. Everyone did the right thing. The holding person turned her loose, otherwise she could have flipped over, the rider slipped off. Luckily she ran right home. . . . All we see is a tiny little scratch. We’ll continue to go over her. She seems fine. As long as she appears to be 100 percent, she’ll run.”
Still, Miller said to see a high-value filly take off that way leaves you a bit breathless.
“Unfortunately in this business, you get used to putting out fires,” Miller said. “It’s just constant. I guess it’s what we love and what we hate about the game. You get used to the excitement, good and bad. This was obviously something I wasn’t looking for and didn’t need this morning, but you’ve just got to try and roll with it. It could have gone either way, but it looks like we dodged a bullet this morning.”
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