Mike stated his agent will be the one making the decision on who his mount is for the KD.
That means Mike is making the decision.
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Makes sense for the public announcement to come via the agent though. Not such a simple decision either, not a single ride in a vacuum.
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Iāll bet Mike will go with Roadster, not necessarily because of the horse but because of a closer relationship and more prospect of good future rides with the trainer. Which raises the question of who will ride Omaha Beach. It would be nice if this were announced soon, but I doubt it will be, in case one horse colics or develops a bug or gets injured. Heāll want to hold both cards as long as possible.
Do jockey agents make conditional agreements for races with trainers? Such as if Jockey A jumps saddle, my Jockey B will ride Horse A for Trainer A, but if not, heāll ride Horse B for Trainer B. While another agent agrees that Jockey C will ride Horse B if Jockey B moves to Horse A, but if not, he will ride Horse C for Trainer C. It could get into quite a flow chart.
Iād agree on, for Smith, Roadster over Omaha Beach. Mike rides too many horses for Baffert and much fewer for Mandella.
My worth every penny you paid opinion 
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Hmmā¦at age 53 and with over $300 million in purse money won, I donāt think Mike is worried about the future. I think he will ride the horse with the best chance of winning the race. No one will hold a grudge against him; they are all too old and understand the game.
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Speaking of jockeys, the shuffling has begunā¦
Ricardo Santana Jr will ride Plus Que Parfait in the Derby
Jose Ortiz is on Tacitus
Irad Otiz will ride Improbable
Interestingly, Jose Ortiz rode all three of those horses in their previous races.
Baffert doesnāt hold grudges? Seems (although canāt remember details) where heās booted a jock before because Baffert got annoyed.
Youāre right, Mike doesnāt need the money. He does like riding big name winners and, for Mike, many come out of Baffertās barn in So Cal. Not that Mandella is a poor trainer, far from it; but IMO only, if I were Mike Iād go with Baffert unless he wanted me on a horse I really didnāt think had a chance and Roadster isnāt in that category.
Hopefully all horses and riders will stay healthy for the next few weeks and weāll have a great race.
@WhereāsMyWhite - Smith is pretty much in a league of his own, and itās my understanding that he is pretty choosy about what he rides and when, and they all know he is not going to ride every horse for them. When there is big money on the table, he is always considered, and they donāt burn bridges because maybe he doesnāt ride them this time, but he will still look to get on one of their good horses in the next race.
It seems Mike picked OB.
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Florent Geroux tweeted that heāll be riding Roadster in the Derby.
Does anyone know why the contents of some of the posts are disappearing? In this thread, for example, posts #88, #90, and #97 are now blank. 
@LaurieB Thereās a topic in the Tech help forum. Our best guess ATM is something to do with the maintenance last night but as of the last time I checked, nothing yet from Mod1. You arenāt the only one
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racā¦th-omaha-beach
Mandella will have the help of jockey Mike Smith, a Hall of Fame rider himself, who chose to stay aboard Omaha Beach for the Derby after riding the colt in his last two races. Smith is also the regular rider for Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Roadster, who will be ridden by Florent Geroux the first Saturday in May.
Smith said part of his decision came from Omaha Beach beating both Game Winner and Improbable, two leading Derby contenders trained by Bob Baffert, whom Smith won the Triple Crown with last year aboard Justify.
Personally Iām just as happy Smith will be riding Omaha Beach. After the last two races aboard him, Mike should know how to ride him and must have confidence that heās on a good or the best horse.
I will confess I thought Mike would go with Roadster/Baffert but happy heās on Omaha Beach. Now to see if he made the right choice
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Thank you, @WhereāsMyWhite!
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Thereās your favorite. Iām wondering if it will be a full 20 horse field this year. I hate that a handful of horses run in it just because they can, not because they have a decent shot at winning. One horse going sideways at the start can take out half the field.
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FWIW, I think it will be a full field. Horses run because their connections want to try to win; they want to be in the gate for one of the most prestigious races in this country. Giacomo (2005) and Mine that Bird (2009) won at 50-1 while Donerail (1913) won at 91-1. The long shot can win.
If you had a horse that was in the field based on points but not a realistic chance of winning, would you really not run?
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Post position draw will be interesting as for now, have not picked my favorite. Thereās several that peak my interest but will wait until PPs are set and we get a better guess at the weather. Also, itās still a couple of weeks away and plenty iof time to step on a bandage pin, spike a fever or have shipping issues and jockeys can get hurt or set down in that span if time. Make up my mind on May 4th about 2pm. Usually the kiss of death anywayā¦
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Right now, I favor Tacitus for two reasons: 1) he has a very classic name, and 2) Bill MottāIād like to see him win the KY Derby.
I wouldnāt run a horse in the Derby. Realistically, itās not going to come up, but if I ever did have a horse that good I would consider running in the Preakness, or wait until later in the summer and go for the Haskell or the Travers. Iāve just never thought that the Derby should be the be-all and end-all of American racing. The risk to the horses is too high with the double gate, 20 horse field, and CD often has that track as hard as concrete on the day. Itās not unusual for horses to make it into the Derby and then never race (or race well) again. I just wouldnāt want any part of it.
That aside, I agree with you, WhereāsMyWhite. There will be a full field because there always is. And because most racehorse owners would give anything to be in there, even if their horse doesnāt have a chance.
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@LaurieB thanks for your perspective (the question, my fault, was directed more at PB 
).
I agree that he 20 horse gate/field on a smaller (ie, not 1 1/2 miles or more) two turn race can lead to a āmessā either in the gate or on the track. For me, wonder how often Iāve wondered if the best horse really won. Yes, the horse that won did win. Were they really the best horseā¦ sometimes Iām not so sureā¦ bad PP, stuck 6 wide on the first turn, trapped behind 7-8 other horsesā¦ I dunno. Didnāt realize that CD had the track had 
I get the allure of even being in the gate for the KD. Glad I only watch it on TV and never have to make that choice or be a trainer with an opinion that differs from the owner. :eek:
