So, Bob Baffert has two horses in the running for the Kentucky Derby, and they’ve got some pretty different odds heading into the decisive race. Rodriguez is sitting at 6-1, while Citizen Bull is at 20-1. While Citizen Bull was Baffert’s top horse for much of the season, Rodriguez’s late surge with his 100 point worthy victory at the G2 Wood Memorial Stakes, swung the momentum in his favor. In contrast, Citizen Bull only just managed to squeeze into the top 20 on the leaderboard. But if you’re thinking are those two it, then so is the rest of the horse racing world. To answer the question, Rob Flatter from Horse Racing Nation spoke to Bob Baffert, just days before the race.

“There were a lot of people saying Baffert is going to have five horses in the Kentucky Derby. And I kept saying just wait a minute. We’ve got a long way to go between now and then. You heard all that, I’m sure. Were you disappointed you didn’t get five in the Derby?” Flatter asked Baffert. The 72-year-old trainer is aiming for a record-tying seventh Kentucky Derby victory, and in the prep races, there were actually a few names that stood out, which makes it all the more surprising that only two horses have made it to Churchill Downs.

Besides Rodriguez and Citizen Bull, Baffert also had Madaket Road, Barnes, Gaming, Cornucopian, and Mellenchamp in the mix. But even though Madaket Road qualified for the Derby, the trainer decided to move him to the Pat Day Mile Stakes instead, along with Gaming (when asked about how they were looking, Baffert said, “They’re looking“, with a laugh). But back to the Derby – why only two horses?

“I actually had four qualified for it (including Getaway Car and Madaket Road), but I’m only running two. I could have had five, maybe or six or whatever, but it just didn’t happen,” said the Hall of Fame trainer. “The Derby horses, they bring you along. They get you there. You can’t force the issue. They get you there, and you want to go there with horses that have a chance. You don’t want to go there with a horse just because he qualified and he has no chance. That’s not fun. When you do it once, you go like, wow, I’m not going to do that again, because you have the Preakness, and you’ve got the Belmont. All three races are exciting.”

With six Derby titles under his belt and a wealth of experience, he definitely knows the rules of the game. Even if he had more than two horses ready for the Run for the Roses, he really wanted to concentrate on just the two: Citizen Bull and Rodriguez. Baffert emphasized how crucial it is to know where a horse can really shine, speaking to his years of experience. After all, quality is more important than quantity, and if his decision to place all his eggs in 2 baskets pans out on race day, well, then we’ll have witnessed yet another Baffert masterclass in game, er, horse management

Just because some horses do great in prep races doesn’t mean they’ll perform the same way at Churchill Downs. Also, the Kentucky Derby isn’t the only race he’s thinking about this year; the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the other two races in the American Triple Crown also need careful planning. And are you aware? Actually, he’s got a horse all set for the second leg of the American Triple Crown.

Major update on Bob Baffert’s colt, Cornucopian

Do you remember when Cornucopian was one of Bob Baffert’s promising horses in those prep races? But any talk about the colt being destined for Churchill Downs was pretty much settled after his not-so-great showing at the G1 Arkansas Derby on March 29. Even though it seemed like his racing days were done, co-owner Tom Ryan saw things differently.

Talking about the colt’s racing career, Ryan said, “He’s really such an exciting colt, and we’re happy to find a spot that’s suitable to his conditions. He’s shown us that he has a lot of ability, and hopefully he can show us that again… He’s a horse that has some potential lofty targets ahead, so we wanted to find the right race to entertain potentially prepping into the next Classic. I think we’d look at the Preakness first, and a trip back to New York wouldn’t be [out of the question] either.”

In simple terms, Ryan still believes in Cornucopian. The co-owner believes the horse has a lot of potential and is eager to get him ready for the Preakness Stakes, with the Belmont Stakes also a possibility. The G1 race is set to have a $2 million purse, and it’s a great chance for Cornucopian to regain the spotlight he lost after that tough Arkansas Derby loss. But we’ll get a more complete picture about his condition after he competes in the Allowance race that he’s entered in, at the Aqueduct racetrack on April 27.