Veteran trainer grateful for Derby shot

If Larry Demeritte is looking for a positive sign heading into his first Kentucky Derby as a trainer, it’s right where his horse is assigned.

Long-shot West Saratoga is staying in Barn 42 at Churchill Downs, the same location where Seattle Slew was before he won the 1977 Derby and went on to sweep the Triple Crown. It was the first Derby that Demeritte attended.

Now, he is the second Black trainer since 1951 to be saddling a horse in the 150th Derby on Saturday. The other, Hank Allen, finished sixth with Northern Wolf in 1989.

Black trainers dominated the Derby’s early years, winning seven of the first 17 from 1875-1891.

“We’re so grateful to be here and enjoying every single minute,” Demeritte said.

Everything is meaningful to the 74-year-old from the Bahamas since he was diagnosed with cancer in 1996 and underwent chemotherapy. His father was a trainer in the islands and Demeritte still carries the accent of his home country, where he was the leading trainer for two years.

“My motto is, ‘I don’t buy cheap horses. I buy good horses cheap,’” he said, smiling.

Purchased for US$11,000, West Saratoga is the pride of Demeritte’s 11-horse stable at The Thoroughbred Center in nearby Lexington, Ky. The colt has earned $460,140.

“He’s getting better with every start,” he said. “I’ve been around a lot of good horses and this horse really matches up to a lot of them.”

The costliest horse in the 20-horse Derby field is morning-line second choice Sierra Leone, purchased for $2.3 million.

Demeritte has run horses on the Derby undercard in past years.

“I’ve been practising,” he said, his smile exposing the gap in his front teeth. “I used to pray to get to the Derby. I feel like I am blessed with this horse.”