Florida's horses run for the roses: Kentucky Derby entries with Marion County connections

Danielle Johnson, Ocala Star-Banner
·4 min read

More than half of the 20-horse field in the 2022 Run for the Roses have spent some time in Marion County, whether as a trainee at one of many local stables, a graduate of an Ocala Breeders’ Sale auction or an investment of a local owner.

The race is scheduled for 6:57 p.m. Eastern on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Here are the horses with local connections:

  • Mo Donegal (10-1): Mo Donegal spent some of his early training days at Barry Berkelhammer’s Abracadabra Farm in Ocala. The bay colt will race from post position No. 1.

  • Smile Happy (20-1): Trained by Kenneth McPeek, Smile Happy has spent some time in Marion County, where McPeek operates Silver Leaf Hills Training Center in Summerfield with trainer Dominic Brennan. The dark bay colt will run from the No. 5 position.

  • Messier (8-1): Bred by Sam-Son Farm in Ontario, Messier was shipped to Sam-Son's Ocala farm as a weanling and grew up under racing manager Tom Zwiesler. A graduate of Eddie Woods Stables in Ocala, the horse was broken and trained in its early days by Woods. The bay colt drew the No. 6 position.

Charge It
Charge It

  • Charge It (20-1): Charge It was bred in Kentucky by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm, which is based in Citra near Ocala. Whisper Hill Farm also owns the horse. The horse is trained by Todd Pletcher, whose father JJ Pletcher operates Payton Training Center in Ocala. The gray colt will run from post No. 8.

  • Tiz the Bomb (30-1): Tiz the Bomb spent some of his Derby preparation time with Dominic Brennan at trainer Kenneth McPeek’s Silver Leaf Hills Training Center in Summerfield. The bay colt will race out of the No. 9 post position.

  • Pioneer of Medina (30-1): Pioneer of Medina received his early education and training in Ocala with Karl Keegan of Lucan Bloodstock. The horse is trained by Todd Pletcher. The bay colt will run from the No. 11 post.

  • Taiba (12-1): Taiba received his early training from Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds in Ocala and was also consigned by the team at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale for $1.7 million to Zedan Racing Stables. The chestnut colt will run from post No. 12.

  • Simplification (20-1): Simplification is owned by Tami Bobo of Ocala, who operates weanling-to-yearling pinhooking business First Finds with her husband Fernando de Jesus. After seeing the bay colt at de Meric Stables in Ocala, where he was born, she purchased him privately from Ocala breeders France and Irwin Weiner. Bobo kept Simplification instead of pinhooking him due to minor vetting issues early on. The horse drew post No. 13.

Kentucky Derby hopeful Barber Road puts in a final workout at Churchill Downs one week before the race. Barber Road is rained by John Ortiz. April 30, 2022
Kentucky Derby hopeful Barber Road puts in a final workout at Churchill Downs one week before the race. Barber Road is rained by John Ortiz. April 30, 2022

  • Barber Road (30-1): Barber Road spent his early training days in Ocala where trainer John Ortiz’s father Carlos Ortiz operates Ortiz Training Stables. Ortiz helped break the gray colt and start his training in Marion County. The horse will run from post No. 14.

  • White Abarrio (10-1): White Abarrio was a $7,500 sale from the Vanlangendonck family's Summerfield Sales to Jose Ordonez at the OBS Winter Sale in 2020. The horse was then sold again for $40,000 at the OBS Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in 2021 by Nice & Easy Thoroughbreds to trainer Carlos Perez. The gray colt will race out of the No. 15 post position.

An exercise rider works out Kentucky Derby entry White Abarrio at Churchill Downs.
An exercise rider works out Kentucky Derby entry White Abarrio at Churchill Downs.

  • Cyberknife (20-1): After being purchased for $400,000 in the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, Cyberknife was sent to Susan Montanye’s SBM Training and Sales in Ocala for his early lessons. The chestnut colt will race from post No. 16.

  • Tawny Port (30-1): Tawny Port is a graduate of Dr. Barry and Shari Eisamen’s Eisamen Equine, a Thoroughbred farm in Williston near Ocala that breaks and trains, rehabilitates and pinhooks horses. The dark bay colt will race from post No. 18.

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Kentucky Derby horses with Marion County, Florida, connections