Brook Smith, Owner of Sierra Leone

really happy to welcome in Brooks Smith. He's

a part of the ownership group, of course, of Sierra

Leone, the horse atop of the Kentucky Derby points

rankings. Just that intro, how does that

make you feel? Good morning. Louis,

how are you? I'm doing great. What's

it like having the horse at the top of the Derby

rankings? I don't know a better way to

ask that question. I mean, like I said, you can

ask that question a hundred times. You

get a hundred different answers. The

general gist of it is it's a lot in a good way. Um,

tough to keep your mind off anything else. I

mean, hell, I went and got a chipping lesson just to

try to kill an hour. And the Lord knows anybody who

plays golf golf with me. I need it. Uh,

but if you need your yard, mold, you're like a garage,

cleaned out. I'm your guy because I want to

stay busy between now and uh, weeks and Saturday.

Smith joins us here on remote.

Go. He has been 680 105. Seven

reminder will be out there next Friday and Saturday.

10 to one on Friday, 11 to 11 to two on Saturday,

doing six hours of coverage around Oaks and Derby.

Look, the blue grass happens,

right? And so obviously this is a

horse that that comes off the layoff. He

runs in that remson, which has turned out to be an

incredible predictor of success for three year olds

this year. You've got doorknock, comes back,

wins off the bench. You've got domestic product,

frankly, ran seventh in that race, came back one,

the Tampa Bay Derby. Your horse wins the risen star

in the dark in the slop of Louisiana, comes up on

perfect day at Keeneland and wins the blue grass.

Man, did you know something when

that remson happened? Because

I got to say it's the only thing I've been right

about in horse racing in a minute was boy, I'm really

going to watch this year on the own horse the next

couple of months. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know,

with the Derby every year as it passes, he gets

through the triple crown races and maybe into the

summer, you know, it's always so clear when you

look back. And I think that the remson

might be, you know, depending on how how Sierra

Leone pans out could be, you know, one of the

greatest seconds, you know, of any two year old in

history. I mean, that's a big thing

to say because we got a lot of ground to cover.

And you know, but you know,

I've watched enough races. I

don't care if it's a cheaper claiming race or an

allowance race, but to have a horse come from that far

behind in the slop. I don't know. I

think I think quite honestly, that was his best

race. Obviously he's green then. But

he's, you know, he'll definitely make your hard

drop or your stomach sink with his running style.

It's for sure. Yeah,

we've seen horses come from off the pace and win the

Kentucky Derby. His ability to go seven eight

wide. I look, he's done it over

and over and over again. He

seems to like to try to get back to the rail and

he can't and scoot left. But

that ability to get outside and run deeper. I

mean, look, in a field like the bluegrass, right?

Where you've got, you know, you

know, 10 horses, essentially, you can drop

tonight and you can make that move. Is

there any talk with Tyler with any of the connections

about trying to run a slightly different race with

him? You know, I've been afraid to

ask that question. Certainly not above your pay grade.

Yeah, right. And

that's the one thing we all need to realize. And

I'm actually not going to give any advice. I

think you maybe maybe I guess hopefully and I'm

Chad and power and I'm sure we'll figure this out.

But if he could get an outside

post and then kind of rate in more towards the middle,

I think it would make a lot of us happy and then

kind of use the back stretch to move up and be

laying in the mix just off the pace, you know, maybe

five length four lengths, however long behind. But

yeah, I mean, Derby and when you come up with a

plan in the Derby with 20 horses, the planking go out

the window at the break or, you know, in the first

turn. So, you know, he here's the

one thing about him. He loves to race. He

loves to train and and talking to Tyler and Chad,

you know, they both say there's there's more under

the hood. So that's all good. I

agree with you. If you're if you're coming

from the clouds in your, you know, seven eight wide

and a horse like fierceness or whoever is kind of had

an easy way of it, you're going to have your work

cut out for you. Brooks Smith with us. He's

a part of the ownership group for Sierra Leone. Son

of gun runner. How did you name this horse?

You know, I've been asked that.

I haven't got a straight

answer. I did not name the horse.

Okay. I've done a lot of

research on Sierra Leone as a country, which is

interesting. There's got to be some connection

that relates to someone that's either been there,

some historical relevance. I do know that the Coolmore

folks have kind of a battery of names and they

just really like that name. I

don't know the origins of it, but it has it has a

great ring to it, except that, you know, I've been

caught in several occasions referring to he as a sheet

is because of Sierra Leone. So

yeah, I can't give you a solid answer. I'll

research that and if we find each other's facts

that I'll give you an update. Derby

week. Obviously, I know what I'm going to

be doing, which is exactly what I'm doing right now.

Talking on the radio. You've

talked about coming to my house and cleaning out the

garage, which my wife would really appreciate. What

do you think? How do you how are you going

to spend your derby week? Well,

you know, I was gonna actually I thought about

kind of talking in a business trip Monday

Tuesday, but as I started thinking about it, I

thought that that didn't make any sense. And

I didn't know I was going to be going to the back

side every day this week, but I have been just

because why not? It's just just amazing. You

know, there's a whole lot of stuff that goes on very

week in general. And then as it relates to the

derby, I mean, there's a trainer's dinner, you know,

on Tuesday, there's supposedly some kind of a

poker charity poker thing. It's

getting brewed up by this guy Stewart. And

so I might jump in that action. I

don't know. And then people start rolling

into town and oh, yeah, you know, they're going to

be talking to you and you're going to be looking

at them, but I don't know that you're going to hear

what they have to say. But one of my favorite things

to see is, you know, picking up a friend from

the airport for the derby or whatever. And

there's Chad Brown picking up an owner. The

job doesn't just stop at the track. You

know, Brooke, you know, something I always like to

bring up in the the HBPA presents all of my my

horse racing coverage here, especially on Fridays as we

get into the stakes races, usually around the country

on Saturdays is every time I get out there, you know,

that in three days on Monday, when I get out

there, I'm always reminded of the fact that within

the walls of a place like Churchill Downs, there's an

entire city, right? And, you know, people working in

a culture that's back there and people, you know, that

have built up their entire lives around this. You

know, I think of like the Foley family and those

sorts of folks where it's just multi generation, those

kinds of things. Do you ever get tired of

that? Or does it does it feel good,

especially as an owner to know that you're

contributing to that culture? Oh,

yeah, I mean, come on. That

culture is everything. And you can see it in the way

a guy like Chad Brown runs his operation. I

mean, everybody that's there cares about it clearly. And

they all know what they're doing. It's

not a whole lot of conversation around his bar.

I mean, it's structured,

organized. And that's good for the horses,

too. I mean, they got to have

that routine and that keeps that consistency. I

mean, if somebody's rushing to get you know, the

feeding of Ben and it doesn't happen to the kind

of regularity. But yeah, back back to just,

you know, being a Louisville and and having a

part of this story is is mind blowing. And

the community is where it all starts. You

know, I like to get out there in time to grab a

burrito or I'll be at Wagner in the first guy,

you know, firing down a vegetable beef soup. So

that's the that's what it's all about. I

mean, whether you have a horse in any race, let

alone the derby, just as a racing fan, it's it's a

soul of it. The smell, the noise is how

the sun comes up. It's it's an unbeatable. It's

untouchable. We're doing a derby seminar on

Tuesday at Blind Squirrel at seven o 'clock if you

want to get away and have a beer. I'm

just I'm just and just inside the Snyder right off

Shelbyville Road. Yeah, I love all this stuff. And

I'm I'm gonna keep a dance card full. Yeah.

And yeah, I can't promise a little come out of my

mouth. I'm sure I'll say something.

You know, you know, somebody

say that guy, you know, Jack after I don't know.

But anyway, well, the good

thing is the horses can't read the bulletin board

material. So you're good to go. Yes.

Thank God. Again, let the professionals do

what they do. But yeah, remind me of that. I

may show up then. Have a brew. There

you go. Our mutual friend, Justin, and

we'll have to drag him out there to this is great. I

mean, the work that you guys do and the type of

stuff that that's actually where we all get our juice

and excitement from is because you know, we're

talking about and you, you know, you get into the

detail. So, you know, I'm going to be

absorbing as much of that as I can consume. I

love it. No, we love doing it. And

I am reminded every time this year of Billy Reed,

essentially establish and covering the Derby and that

none of us get to do what we get to do if not for

Billy Reed. And frankly, I mean, guys like

Derrick Rogers and Kevin Kirste, those guys, like

they have jobs because of guys like Billy Reed really

pushing this as a national thing that it is. And

look, I mean, let's go ahead and dream. You

know, Sierra Leone comes around the turn. He's

in seventh, eighth place. He's

got a great spot. Maybe he does the, you know, the

route that orb took in 2013. I

think that's his most likely type of run to win

the Kentucky Derby is that kind of setup. Man,

you're in the you're in the winter circle. What

what what is that like? What's

it like, man? Wow. Um, I don't know. I

mean, yet I'm not a guy that'll cheer up, but I

can tell you right now, uh, it will be definitely

an overwhelming of emotion. Just

a look at the crowd. I mean, I'm going to try to

keep myself from like stage diving into one of the

boxes on the front row or grabbing the trophy and

running down the track, uh, because, you know, it's

just it's incredible. I, uh, I'll probably look at

the faces of everybody else and, uh, you know, it

might be one of these moments instead of screaming

and yelling and doing backflips that you just all

the sudden you just get quiet and reverent about

what just happened. Uh, horse racing is a sport

with many men with beautiful silver hair. Bob

Baffert, Todd Pletcher, uh, Safi Joseph Jr. is

sliding into that cat that category now. Obviously

Steve Asmussen, uh, you fall beautifully into this

spot. Where do you think you rank in

the top hair amongst men in horse racing? Ah,

this is a great question. Uh,

you must have been following me around because

I guess if I haven't seen people like six to 12

months or like your hair is white man, and I'm

like, I saw you at Keener. That's

what happened. I saw you on blue grass

deck. Yeah. Yeah. I

think somebody one time, uh, compared me to Benjamin

Franklin, I'm like, well, he's on a hundred dollar

bill. You know, uh, I got to be

careful with this white mop because if I go and I

get, um, oh, you look great. I

wouldn't mess with it at all. If

I get a little too trimming with it, it kind

of bobs up and I look a little bit like Lord Faqua.

My kids are just busting my

jobs, you know, it's a stretch over dad. So,

so I don't know. I mean, you'll see a hat on

my head. Uh, so it'll be, uh, it

probably contrasting black. Uh,

so yeah, um, that's a funny question. Maybe

you should do a poll. I'd probably be at the bottom,

uh, but, uh, well, what am I that kind of stuff? I

love. So one of my favorite guests

that we have on our podcast on the horse racing

happy hour is, is Brian Nadeau. He

does the track feed it and sets the morning line.

Gulfstream Park, great guy. And

he has the best fade and soul patch in horse racing

and he works with Safi Joseph, Jr. Who's

the best man bun chest hair combination and horse

racing. It is what it is. It

just is. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, look, here's the thing about life in

general. If you don't laugh at yourself

at the point, then you're around a little too tight

and, uh, you know, and I do it all the time. So,

um, that's funny. Yeah. And it is the people to

characters. Uh, there's a whole bunch of

them out there and just being on the backside this

week. Uh, I've run into a bunch of

people earlier that I haven't seen in a minute,

you know, a few jock agents and ran into a

flora and drew after spindle town and up in

Saratoga having some fun. I love your pool for a

route. Uh, he looks at me like I

have two heads, maybe because my hair is gray. I

don't know. It might be the arrow. I

don't have any. So that's why I break it up

because I'm very jealous. Um,

you have more hair right now than I've had at all

points of my life put together. So

good for you. It could turn to a moment

quick. You got to manage these things.

Uh, Louis, uh, we're sponsored

by man's game. I understand. It

is what it is. Uh, promo code horseracing. How

about that? Uh, Brooks Smith with us. He's

got, he's got the leader of the points. Uh,

that used to mean something in the Kentucky Derby. Uh,

and I think it still does, uh, outside of the top

two, is there a horse that you look at and go, man,

I think that guy's got a real shot in this derby.

Good question. Um,

there's going to be one that's in that grouping

that's going to be on the board. I

mean, you just know it, you know, it'd be kind of

cool to see a horse like on a Marie in the mix

with the local connections. Uh,

but you know, Brad with like catching freedom

clearly, you know, just touch could jump up after

the blue grass. Yeah, I'm trying to think he

would like complete my just a touch reminds me of mage

last year, like that stage of development, doesn't it?

Yeah. Yep. Yeah.

Um, you know, Chad likes, uh, domestic product. Uh,

you know, he's top man. Wow.

Yeah. He's tough. And

he made it. He made a good move. You

can knock the Tampa Bay Derby, but, uh, Dutchy

horse and his clearly, you know, had some seasoning.

Uh, so yeah. Um,

I don't know. I thought about it a bit.

Uh, sentimentally, I'd probably

try to pitch a horse like on a Marie in there. I

mean, look, you know, what? Sure.

Or call the jockey, go on the jockey club. And

again, if a horse like that even wins the Derby,

uh, you know, we'll look back and it might be a

shock in the mama, but if you, if you look back, you

can say, I can see that, you know how the Derby is.

Yeah. Audemarie and West Saratoga

both won preps at Churchill in the fall, right? And

those are things that we usually actually don't see

anymore as they win as two year olds. And

then they come back and actually qualify even for

the Derby. We don't see that much

anymore. And so, you know, that jockey,

good. Yeah. Go ahead. Now,

I just hope that the race gives the horses that

should be there the chance to be there. You

know, I hope there's not some, you know, scenario or

some, any of them get taken out, you know, uh, I

want it to be a good, hopefully, you know, clearly

just want all the horses to get around in good

order. And, but, you know, the Derby

is going to have the twist and turns is no other way

around it. But I'm hoping that, you know,

I can see early on the case. There's

something not important. Unfortunately,

that happens. It just, you know, doesn't

give him this chance, maybe to be a little closer,

maybe to make the big turn and run, you know, uh, so,

uh, just rubbing the rabbit foot. All

right. So speaking of rabbit feet,

uh, we will be at Pemlico for the preakness with the

show. Um, we're going to make a deal

right now on air and so that it's in front of God

and all these witnesses. Your

horse wins the Derby. You do an interview with us in

person at the preakness. Sound

good? Oh, 100%. And

I'll, uh, I'll leave it. I'll

do whatever you want. If we you know, I'll go bald

like you. I'm not gonna do that. But

I will tell you this. I won't tell you this right

now. If I knew that shaving his

mop off, would put him in the preakness after winning

the Derby. We're the Clippers. I

hear you. We're doing a Jimmy Seafood

preakness seminar the Friday night before preakness. You

should probably just come to that and crush the

guards with us. It'd be great. Yeah.

Yeah. Not love this kind of stuff.

It's the best. It

is. And, uh, again, if it's the

early on runs a big race, you know, just doesn't get

there. Maybe fierceness or something.

This runs off with it. But

he's the second or a third. But

telling like, you know, like wild, you gotta live

with that. I mean, that's just horse

racing. Uh, and, you know, then maybe,

maybe you don't go to the preaches. You

go to the Belmont Saratoga. I

don't know. They'll tell, they'll, the

connections for people will tell me the trainer and

such. But he's a, he's a horse. I

think, and I say this about everything in life.

The best is yet to come. And

I truly believe that about him. I

really do. He's done great this week. He's

gone to the gate a couple times and done it very

well. He went this morning and the

report was great. So, you know, don't tell

everybody that because I want the odds to stay as

high as possible. But, um, but yeah, just, just

hope that every, you know, that he has his chance and

that some of these others do too, so that we can

look back and go, wow, what a race, you know?

Well, the only thing I ever say

to close interviews like this is safe trip next

week. I hope he comes back well

and that he has a long career that all of us get

to watch, whether it's running or it's breeding

and we get to meet his kids or whatever that might

be. Yeah. But a safe trip next week

and Brooke, really great to meet you via the radio. I

wasn't kidding about blind squirrel on Tuesday. If

you want to make the trip. I'll

text you, I'll text you. We'll

get you out there. We'll have a couple beers of

blind squirrel Tuesday at seven o 'clock. He

is a Brooks Smith. He's part of the rocket ship

folks, owners of Sierra Leone going into the gate

next Saturday. We hope. And

so there you go. Brooke, thanks so much for being

part of the show. We'll catch up next week. Thanks.

Yeah. Bye. Bye. Hey,

Brooke Smith.