Kentucky Derby 151 Week | Steve Kornacki

A man who's been hanging out in Kentucky a lot lately is Steve

Kornacki joins us here on the podcast or the program, I should

say, joins us all the time on the podcast.

You got to hang out with Wayne Lucas.

Welcome in, by the way. And just the other part of this

Steve, the time with Wayne Lucas here at Churchill where we we

even refer to it as the Lucas shoot here to get on the track,

right? This kind of stuff.

How special was it? It was truly, when I say it's

one of the most memorable experiences I've had because we

got to meet him there. He said, you know, I'm going to

get there a little late today, 4:00 AM.

So we met him, then gets on his horse.

You know, he goes out, takes out the first set and you see him

out in the track. I mean, he's still, he's the old

coach. You know, he's talking to the

assistant, he's talking to the other trainers.

And then at some point we're standing on the rail and he

comes over and he just gives us time and he for 40 minutes he's

on his horse. We're at the rail and we just

talked and he's he's big about his life, about his career, his

regrets, his most. It was incredible.

His expansive interview brought us into his office after kept it

going. Just a a super cool experience.

You've, you've that moved into a new phase of your career with

NBC. Are you going to be able to do

more stuff like that? Because I, I know you a bit,

Steve, I want everyone to know Steve's telling the truth.

That is one of the great experiences that you've gotten

to have that you've always wanted to be able to have.

Are you going to be able to do more stuff like that?

Your lipstick guy's ear. I hope so.

I hope so because that is, you know, I haven't even seen a

finished product yet. It'll be about it'll be 3:30 or

so in our coverage Saturday, but they just showed me some of the

shots of him on the horse cinematic.

Any memorable quotes from that morning that came out of

Grandfather? That you could say verbatim on

air. Got a quote, But he had a great

story because he talked about, you know, he is an old basket

call coach and he had all those, you know, assistant trainers who

going on like Pletcher, all these guys.

And he said he approached, you know, training, teaching them as

a trainer, like a coach. And he said the detail is his

biggest thing. The little my new details make

the difference. And one of his pet peeves is

penmanship. He's proud of his penmanship.

It's it's Immaculate. And he said these assistant

trainers, guys like Pletcher had terrible penmanship and he

thought that's going to be a problem for their career.

So he said he would take out a legal pad and he would write a

sentence in perfect penmanship at the top of the legal pad,

hand it to him at the end of the day and say when you come back

in the morning, I want this sentence written down just as I

wrote it 150 times. It's a 40 year old guy, you

know. That is a tough.

Steve Kardacki with us from NBC. What's your what's your general

job today and tomorrow? We talked with your colleague

Kenny Rice. We know he'll be on USA TODAY.

What are you doing this weekend? Yeah.

So I mean our, our USA Oaks coverage is starting in a couple

minutes. So we're going to do a couple

hits there. Honestly, you know, our, our

coverage is more forward-looking forward to more obviously the

Oaks. We we're covering the Oaks and

and some of the good races today, great races today, but a

lot of it's looking forward to the Derby culminating.

Obviously we'll make our picks and everything and then tomorrow

the big one. Yeah, for sure.

Races today, Couple of returnees that all of us want to see.

Fierceness. Obviously Locked has already won

this year. We've seen him torpedo Anna

immediately in the next race. I I got to do the show with you

several times. I know you're like me getting to

see these older horses back running like this.

It's just a spectacular part of the undercard.

It is. And I know there's some people,

maybe it was in New York thing, who were giving Ripoli a little

grief, you know, for having fierceness come here, not

running them in a stake in New York.

But he said what he said resonated with me.

He just said the only reason I brought him back was to run in

big races. And he said I could run in front

of, you know, 60 people at Aqueduct on a Sunday, or I could

run in front of this at Churchill and against a horse

like Locked. And who here is not looking

forward to that today. So I I respect and appreciate

that he did that. I think that's the right tact

and I think he means it. I think he really needs it

because it's that's an expensive choice, frankly, as far as

breeding and all those things for a guy in ownership like

that, I mean that breeding could sustain a lot of other purchases

and so for. Him.

That was an expensive choice. Right.

That's exactly right. See.

Nobody loves more than anything. He loves the notoriety.

And that's exactly why Fiercest is that he gave the answer to

you, you know, coming in, he loves, He's got the money, he

doesn't need to worry about it. He loves.

He's here for the notoriety. And that's why we love my

propoli. We got a crowd, we got Repoli

right. Whether it's online or the

weather is right here at Churchill Downs, on a day like

today and tomorrow, that's Micropoli is always going to be

from. You can always depend on him to

give it a performance either way.

Yeah. That's exactly right Steve

Kornacki with us all right so oaks today good cheers going to

come in a deserve it favorite 6 or 6 lifetime We know what she

is you're going to try to beat her you got someone you like her

do you little. Exact to play.

I'm trying to beat her, OK, I'm trying to beat her.

I got three horses in mind on this one.

I think especially with the 5G scratch coming into this, I'm a

little interested in simply joking now, maybe being upfront

in this thing. I like Chad's horse Ballerina

Doro because that day she won the Gazelle.

The horses were not coming from off the pace and she did that

day. So I'm upgrading that

performance and I like quiet side.

I, I just think quiet side's an all around, you know, quality

horse. OK, there you go.

So the the buzz horse has been Lakara for the Oaks.

I don't know that we've had one for the Derby, which is

interesting, but I think Lakara has been that.

And by the way, Kelly and I both saw her.

She looks great. She's ready to.

I mean, she's like. Wait, is she?

Is she? You're picking.

No, I, I, we both actually. She likes Drexel Hill to kind of

pick up. We both like good cheer.

We're not going to no pretend but the simply joking.

I like her a lot actually. But yeah just cuz she is going

to be if not on the front, near the front.

Yeah, yeah, Steve, I do like I go with good cheer and then

simply joking under me. She may have just needed one

more race, but she so well in the fantasy coming from off of

the layoff. That was your third run.

So we got to go second, second run, second off the layoff.

Both of those might be the potential league wins.

And then you talk we talked about Lacarra.

Let's I have Lacarra underneath. Listen, she's been great.

Just a touch aggressive, maybe a touch aggressive in the morning.

Just she's going to be so that's going to transfer in the

afternoon to be just a little bit too enthusiastic.

And while she's going to give us a lot of fire and fanfare in the

early stages of the race, she's probably, I worry from the 8th

pole on with her just she may need a race to do I.

I worry that she's going to be burning out.

Discussing who? Who else did you have you had?

Quiet side. You had quiet side and you know

everybody. The big thing about her is that

I get that everybody is concerned about that outside

post. Are you concerned about that

potentially wide trip she's going to be?

Getting only because she handled it.

She handled it in the honeybee. I saw her come from like post 12

out there and get right into it. So I'm I'm betting that can

happen again. OK, looking for nobody to impede

the Ortiz squared. Entry here on the outside.

And I'm just discussing it, simply joking on the inside.

Do you, Gary, are you, is it in your heart that she's going to

be taking that front running approach?

She will be our pacesetter for the Oaks.

I think so and I'm just sad because of the scratch of five

GI think it's there for her now, so you know, why not?

Would you be upset if somebody like Lacara, who's been just

really buzzy in the mornings, end up getting to the lead?

And what if simply joking, just kind of was able to do an inside

outside and sit right off her? Would that upset you?

No, I, I'd be, I'd be happy with that in a forward position.

What I'd be afraid of is if some kind if it heats up a little too

much, obviously that's that's the concern.

Up for you and those opening. If they're, you know, 46 and and

three or something, maybe use that as the over under.

OK, there we go. There we go.

That sounds right. Steve Kardacki, NBC Look, Lucas

has American promise tomorrow in the Derby, comes out of that

Virginia Derby that once heard a thing at Colonial, that giant

place that's Colonial Downs. What did he say about that horse

coming out of A1 turn race? Is there any concern for him go

on the two turns or does he feel pretty confident about this?

Well, this will shock you. It's D Wayne.

He likes his chances. Stutter.

No, I mean, look, the thing he talks about is a thing I think a

lot of people are talking about with that horse and that's the

size and that's just, you know, he looks the part in this race.

I do think it's interesting that since I talked to him now, we

got the scratch of Rodriguez. So you know, you've got it takes

a little of the speed out of it. You know, he's talking about not

being on the lead, but being forward and it it my gears are

churning a little bit now. It takes some of the speed out

on the inside. You wonder if citizen Bowl has

any trouble getting out of there.

You know, we saw E avenue of trouble, you know, in the gate

and the and the Breeders cup. If this speed doesn't

materialize too much and just justify, excuse me, American

promise. Physical resemblance, that's

what's on my mind. It's just sitting right off of

that and it's a little on the a little more modest side than

we're expecting. I don't know.

I'm getting curious about American.

Progress. He's big.

He's he's like a lumberjack. He's got this big just kind of

rolling stride. So it's just as long as he gets

clean, you know, going all he's got a whole stretch to go for

this first turn. As long as he gets clean, if he

gets through that first turn, that's where we can see

definitely some hope there to finish, you know, get a piece of

it at the end for sure. But would we would we be

surprised if we get another D? Wayne Lucas, KY to everyone.

It'd be amazing. I mean, just I, I almost have to

do it after taping this piece because he told me he'd take me

in the winner's circle at. Steve all hang.

Up the loose end. I, I, I will say this, I would

put it at like 90% of the horses at all in form.

He'll run in Baltimore because it's Lucas, right?

I mean, he's going to walk. He's got another, he's got that

Caldera probably come up there too, I bet.

I agree. Yeah, now he's got several

outside of him. I won't make you say anything

negative about where that horse is going to finish in the race,

but rather who would you have on top?

Just well, yeah, I mean, my where my head is right now,

especially seeing how the betting's going so far, is

sovereignty, you know, because I think a lot Sammy has taken a

ton of money, you know, name, I think connections, that sort of

thing. Sovereignty.

If the pace does materialize, I think that is the the deep

closer that I want in this race. And if he's sitting, these are

longer odds than I was expecting.

So that's where my head is and the one I cannot get out of my

mind. And I will use some of his chunk

of gold. OK, I love that.

Talk to us about chunk of gold. I almost did it yesterday.

I almost fell in love yesterday. Yeah, well, I mean, you look at

that, you know, coming out of that Louisiana Derby, a little

too close to a hot pace. Lesson learned.

This is a horse who can close big, you know, can put up

incredible final fractions in a race.

And I'm just thinking again, if we do get the sizzling, torrid

pace, meltdown, whatever you want to call it, boy, a chunk of

gold at a huge price, I would want on my ticket to have the

that option. I love that.

Now, Steve, what is your, you know, with his finish in the

Arkansas Derby, what's your take on his run there?

An excuse for him. He got, look, Sammy got a

perfect setup. So you know, and he look, he

could get that again today pace wise as we're talking about, I

buy into this idea. He's a little green, he's a

little unseasoned, a little bit of a head case maybe.

And again, it's it's sort of like if you told me that Sandman

had sovereignty's odds and Sovereignty had Sandman's odds,

I might be changing my thinking. I agree with you on Sandman

completely. Here's the thing, he's he's

green. He's going to need the Kentucky

Derby to grow mentally and he, I don't see him all of a sudden

the light switch going on in the Kentucky Derby.

I see him using the Kentucky Derby, then Mark Cassie saying,

hey, this is a Belmont horse. I could definitely see Mark

Cassie running him a couple weeks later.

Sounded confident. I mean, maybe he just.

I don't know him well enough to. Know.

OK, there it is. She says, wait, meaner things

about me, so it's totally fine. Yeah.

Callie, Francois, Lou, you're hanging out with Steve Kordaki.

A couple more minutes. We know you got to get to your

set the the Luxor Cafe Admirer Daytona thing.

Is this the year we get? You know we almost got it with

Forever Young last year. Is there a chance we get a

Japanese breakthrough here? I mean, isn't that how it works?

We think it's coming, but it won't be this year.

And then this is the year it comes.

You know, when I look at Luxor, Cathy, I just have no idea what

to never run outside Japan. I don't know what to compare.

I look at the video, I think I'm seeing something dazzling.

I'm interested in admire Daytona only from the standpoint of

affecting the pace of the race. Kristoff, Lemaire, you know,

wanted to feed, you know, in the UAE Derby.

And you think back to Lemaire in 20 in the rich strike year 2022

was part of that, you know, record setting first, you know,

opening quarter in that race. So I don't know.

I look at Meyer Daytona and I say if you're looking for a

sovereignty scenario, you're looking for a, you know, chunk

of gold scenario. I think Admire Daytona may have

been key to that. How long do you think Edmira

Daytona is going to be lasting in this race?

Though that's I think he's a burnout type so I don't think he

has a chance to win. I just think he has a chance to

affect who wins. Steve, we appreciate you

stopping by. And now you got to get going.

Steve Kardacki, of course. NBC coverage today on USA

Network. USA TODAY and NBC tomorrow.

You got to. Go.

Awesome, Steve. Thank you so much.

We appreciate that, guys. There you go, Steve Kardacki

from NBC Sports. We appreciate him stopping by

here with us at ESPN 680 at 1057.

We'll wrap the show there, Zach, and go ahead and get everyone

into the rest of their day. Again, I want to thank our

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Francois, I'm Louie Rebeau. This has been ESPN Louisville's

coverage of Kentucky Oaks 151. We're back at it tomorrow at 11.

Clock will go from 11:00 until 1:00.

We will see you for that coverage on Kentucky Derby day.

Kentucky Derby 151.