It’s never too early to start thinking Kentucky Derby, plus more random notes
Random notes:
▪ The Kentucky Derby preps are cranking up and the 146th running at Churchill Downs will be here before we know it.
So here are three horses to watch in the early preps (with more to come):
Tiz the Law: Owned by the same Sackatoga Stable connections that campaigned Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, Tiz the Law has won two of three starts. Trained by Barclay Tagg, he’s expected to run in the Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 1 at Gulfstream.
Independence Hall: The son of Constitution is already 1-for-1 in 2020 having won the Jerome Stakes on New Year’s Day. He’s 3-for-3 lifetime, including a win in the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes. Trained by Michael Trombetta, he’s expected to run in the Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 8 at Tampa Bay Downs.
Nadal: Trained by Bob Baffert, Nadal won his debut at Santa Anita on Sunday. A $700,000 auction purchase as a 2-year-old, the son of Breeders’ Cup Classic champion Blame has reportedly dropped to 12-1 in early Derby betting. He earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in California.
▪ Speaking of horse racing, I’m rooting for Omaha Beach in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Saturday at Gulfstream. Why? Trainer Richard Mandella is a prince. And as the Kentucky Derby favorite, Omaha Beach missed the race because of a entrapped epiglottis. After a sixth-month layoff, he won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint, finished second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and won the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 28.
▪ More talk about officiating, this from Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski after his team’s loss to Louisville: “The term ‘freedom of movement’ was not alive and well tonight. That said, I hope we don’t have the rest of the conference like that. That’s not good basketball. They played great — I don’t want to take that away from them. That’s just not . . . For both of us, you can’t have that.”
▪ I wonder how much the non-stop talk of “toughness” from coaches is contributing to the messiness we’re seeing in the college game right now.
▪ Remember the controversy about defensive coordinator Matt House leaving UK for the Kansas City Chiefs after last season. House was going, then wasn’t going, then ended up going. Now he’ll be coaching in the Super Bowl.
▪ Remember when Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks was injured when the Gators played at UK last September? Kyle Trask subbed for Franks and led Florida to a 29-21 comeback win. Now Franks is transferring to Arkansas.
▪ In case you missed it — I admit I did — former UK and Lexington Christian Academy star Andy Green is now bench coach for the Chicago Cubs. Green was let go as manager of the San Diego Padres after going 274-366 in three seasons.
▪ Surely Shaka Smart’s time is running out at Texas. The Longhorns are 12-6 overall, but just 2-4 in the Big 12 after Monday night’s 97-59 loss at West Virginia. After taking VCU to the Final Four, Smart is just 83-72 overall, including 33-45 in conference during his time in Austin.
▪ For all our complaints about SEC basketball this season, numbers guru Jeff Sagarin has the league ranked fourth behind the Big Ten, Big East and Big 12, and ahead of the ACC, Pac-12 and American Athletic.
▪ All three fired SEC football coaches have landed on their feet. Former Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke is now offensive line coach at Georgia. Former Arkansas head coach Chad Morris is now offensive coordinator at Auburn. Former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead is now offensive coordinator at Oregon.
▪ Did you catch TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Monday where Charlies Barkley said that televising high school games was the “ultimate exploitation.”
