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Chat Reel: Bill Nack

SI writer dishes the dirt on this year's Kentucky Derby

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Posted: Friday May 05, 2000 07:13 PM

CNNSI Host: Welcome to our special Kentucky Derby chat with Sports Illustrated senior writer Bill Nack. Thanks for joining us, Bill.
Bill Nack: Hello, nice to be here. I'm speaking to you from River City.

CNNSI Host: Let's get started with the questions.

From Ron: Can you tell me who owns the speed in this Derby?
Bill Nack: Trippi and Graeme Hall will show speed and so will Hal's Hope. If High Yield had a decent post position I'm sure he would be vying for the pace, but he is tracked way out. He's going to be selling hot dogs out in the grandstand. That's how far out he is. Graeme Hall is a real confirmed frontrunner. Fusaichi Pegasus and his stable mate War Champ both have tactile speed. And I would be surprised if they were more than five lengths back going into the first turn.

From Bill: : I'm not a big follower of horse racing, but I'm really intrigued by the stat that no favorite has won the Derby since 1979. What's the reason?
Bill Nack: That's a good question. I would say the quality of the American thoroughbred has generally diminished since the 1980's and into the 1990's. A lot of the best pedigrees have been sold at auction and purchased by foreign investors, thereby seriously depleting the thoroughbred gene pool in America.

Diminished quality breeds unpredictability. I think generally the quality of the favorites of the last dozen years have been generally unpredictable as opposed to a truly quality decade like the 70's where favorites won all the time. Secretariat was a favorite in 1973 and I believe Foolish Pleasure was among the favorites in 1975, and Seattle Slew in 1977. And Spectacular Bid was favored in 1979 and he won. I think the commercial sales of the best of the gene pool has diminished the gene pool to the point where these races have become more and more unpredictable. I don't think handicappers have become dumber.

From EllisPark: Hey Bill! What do you feel is the most important aspect of a trainer on the actual Derby Day? Instructions to the jockey? Keeping the horse calm in the paddock?
Bill Nack: Well, the work has all been done by the time they walk over from the stable area. The only thing left to do is mental preparation. Incidentally, Pegasus schooled beautifully in the paddock yesterday. He came over in the middle of the sixth race and was surrounded by throngs of people. It was very crowded and he did not turn a hair. He behaved like a perfept gentleman. He behaved so impeccably, he might as well have had a tuxedo on.

The pre-race preparations are designed to prepare the horse for the crowds. The only problem is that it is impossible to recreate the crowds on Derby Day. On race day all a trainer has to do is lead the horse over to the track and try to keep him composed; make sure he is cool, saddle him without incident, make a little small talk with the jockey because the instructions have already been given. The trainer then lifts the jockey onto the horse by the boot, pats him on the boot and says good luck. The trainer is then just a helpless observer like the rest of us.

From Sandi: : Do you think Jenine Sahadi has been treated fairly by the other male trainers?
Bill Nack: There was an interesting meeting with Sahadi and Pegasus/War Chant's trainer Neil Drysdale. Jenine was opening a peppermint candy by The Deputy's stall and made the paper crinkle. When he heard it, Pegasus stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Jenine. She said to Neil, "May I give this to him?" And Neil said, "No, my horse eats only health foods." He smiled and walked away with his horse. The Deputy, by the way, gets a glass of wine every night. It helps keep him calm and tastes good. But he doesn't yet take his wine by candlelight.

From JWA: : What will it take to make horse racing a sport that rivals something like NASCAR in popularity?
Bill Nack: I don't know if it ever will. I went to an auto race two years ago to do a story on Joe Gibbs, the former Redskins' coach and current NASCAR owner. I was walking around the grounds, among thousands and thousands of people, and talked to half a dozen of them. None of them went to horse races. I asked each person why he or she came to car races. The cars are so cold but the horses are graceful and beautiful to watch. Almost everyone said, I don't own a horse and have trouble relating to them. But I do own a car and have no trouble relating to it. That is why I come to the auto races.

I think a lot of these new sports are fads. The American public is very trendy. I think that the last study I saw revealed that horse racing ratings were up, unlike most other sports. It is showing signs of life.

From EllisPark: : Hey Bill! Will Middle Eastern horses start entering and impacting the Derby more and more?
Bill Nack: Absolutely. They are going to have a huge impact on the Kentucky Derby. Sheik Mohammed owns more than six hundred horses and many of them have the greatest pedigrees in the world. In fact, he purchased many of them at American sales.

He has predicted that he will win the Derby with China Visit tomorrow. China Derby is a horse who wintered and trained in Dubai on the dirt courses, including the prince's own racetrack. He trained all year there and won some trial races. The Sheik has so many horses that they often run against each other. China Visit proved to be among his best three-year-olds. Sheik Mohammed has vowed that he would win the Derby in three years; certainly no one no one has as many quality horses with which to do it. Soon he will launch an all-out invasion. I believe we are going to see Arabs in winners' circles all over the country, including Churchill Downs. Money is no object, especially since the rise in oil prices. A lot of Americans are fearing that Middle Easterners will soon dominate American racing because they have so many quality horses year after year.

From Carlos: : This may be a bit premature, but do you think bioengineering will have any impact on horse racing?
Bill Nack: I don't know. I doubt it. The Jockey Club, which governs the sport in this regards, doesn't allow artificial insemination. In order to have a legitimate foal, the mare and stallion must copulate. Harness racing allows artificial insemination, but not thoroughbred racing. I am sure the Jockey Club would look down its nose even further at any bio-creations. But, gee, if we had 10 Secretariats running in one year, that wouldn't be bad would it?

From JWA: : Does Hal's Hope have any hope tomorrow?
Bill Nack: Harold Rose told me yesterday after the post position draw, "If Hal's Hope runs like he did in the Florida Derby, then everybody better watch out. He could win this race." Rose thinks he will return to that form. We'll just have to see if he can last. But sure, I think he has a chance if he reverts back to his Florida form.

From Guest: : What's your most memorable Kentucky Derby?
Bill Nack: It was Secretariat's win in 1973, chiefly because I was in the process if writing a book about the horse. He did three memorable things in the race. He ran each quarter mile faster than the preceding one. This has never been done in a one-and-a-quarter-mile race ... at least not that anybody can remember.

Secretariat ran the first quarter-mile in the Derby in 25 1/5 seconds. He ran the second quarter in 24 seconds. He ran the third in 23 4/5 seconds. He ran the fourth quarter 23 2/5, and he ran the last quarter in 23 seconds flat. He was going 35 mph in his first run through the home stretch; in his second pass he was going 39 mph. He literally went faster and faster. That is unheard of in a one-and-a-quarter-mile race. His record has stood ever since.

Secretariat has held the Derby record longer than any other winner, going on 27 years this weekend. He went wide on two turns, so he lost some ground. Had he run on the rail, he would have run it in 1:59 flat. The '73 race was recently judged by a panel at Blood Horse magazine to be the greatest Derby ever.

CNNSI Host: That's all we have time for today. Thanks for chatting with us, Bill. Enjoy race day.
Bill Nack: Nice being here.

 

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