[dramatic stinger]
[engine idling]
-[Jules Iavarone] Jazz! Julio! -[Michael Iavarone] Thank you, brother.
-Love the jacket, bro. Shit is fire. -[Michael] Thank you, brother.
-Yeah. You're looking sharp. man. -Look at Jazzy.
-Look at you. [kisses] -Oh my God. [kisses]
-[Jules] Love you. -Stunning.
-[Jules] We're wearing our black outfits. -[woman] I know. Sexy.
-[Michael] I'm in red. -[Jules] Black and red.
-[woman] Blue, black, and red. -[Jules] It's the vibes.
-[woman] You're our accent. -[Jules] Yes.
[Michael] I am.
[dance music playing]
I just spent seven figures on a racehorse
with no idea how it's gonna turn out.
It could be good, could be bad, could be both.
But either way, we're gonna tear it up tonight.
[woman] We can turn anything into a party.
[Jules] Yeah. We can turn this party up.
♪ You give me a fever And make a believer out of me ♪
[Jules] What is a party like with us? Intense.
We have an entrance when we go to a club.
It's, like, explosions
and everything, just for our arrivals.
Okay, everybody? Ready?
[people cheering]
♪ Then you move in closer Breath upon my shoulder… ♪
I'm gonna turn this into a celebration tonight. We're ready to roll.
[loud indistinct chatter and music]
Victory Avenue is our ticket
back to the winner's circle
at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
All we gotta do is finish in the top two of the Florida Derby, and it's game on.
♪ I'm falling and calling This warning is something I won't heed ♪
Let's toast to Victory Avenue.
♪ The sweetest sounding symphony ♪
-Tonight we're celebrating. -[cheering]
-[dramatic stinger reverberating] -[whooshing]
[intriguing music playing]
The Kentucky Derby is the Super Bowl
of American horse racing.
It is the first and most important jewel in the Triple Crown.
If you're an owner, trainer, or jockey, you make every decision,
if you've got a horse of that caliber, with the Derby in mind.
[Billy Koch] Most races in the United States have
5, 12, 14 horses in it.
The Derby has 20.
They're the 20 best three-year-olds in the country.
Right after the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the road to the Kentucky Derby starts.
It is four months, and there's a point system.
In order to get those points, you have to run in these prep races,
races like Santa Anita Derby, the Wood Memorial,
the Blue Grass Stakes.
It is all leading to the Triple Crown.
The Derby. Then, two weeks later, the Preakness.
Three weeks later, the Belmont.
In these prep races for the Kentucky Derby,
you know, one horse might win three races in the buildup.
Another might win just the one and be kept a little fresher.
-[horses clopping] -That's part of the key.
How you prep a horse for the Kentucky Derby.
There is no definitive right way.
[Billy] You have to get them as fit as possible
to run against the very best three-year-olds.
But you have to be careful as not to overdo it.
But what it means, of course,
is that contenders can keep coming in from left field.
It means the established… you know, horses at the top of the pile
might not be… at the top of the pile in… in May.
-[bell rings] -[horses clopping]
Not just the horses have to be at the top of their game. It's the jockeys as well.
[upbeat music playing]
[music turns cheerful]
[music ends]
-Juanito? -[Juanito] Yes, sir?
Keep her in the…
-Just on the bridle. -[Juanito] Okay. Half a mile, I'll call.
-[Bob Baffert] There you go. -[horse snorts]
She hasn't run, but she's… I think she's really good.
-Okay. -[horse snorts]
Okay.
Okay, so what do… we'll call Frankie right now
and see if he, uh… Offer him the mount. Let's see here.
[line ringing]
[Frankie Dettori] Hello, Bob. How are you doing?
I'm just checking up on you. I want to see how you're doing here in America.
[Frankie] Bob is an amazing trainer.
I mean, his rec… record speaks for itself.
[intriguing music playing]
But unfortunately, Bob's horse can't run in the Kentucky Derby.
Bob Baffert is still serving a suspension
after the positive drugs test
that Medina Spirit recorded after the Derby in 2021.
So if your association is primarily with Baffert,
then you are reducing your chances
of getting a really good ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Not obliterating them, but reducing them.
Have you bought a cowboy hat yet? That's what I want to know. [chuckles]
-[Frankie] Not yet. -Not yet?
You gotta get some boots and some hat. I'm telling you.
-[Frankie] I need your advice on that. -That's right. We gotta get you…
Well, I'm calling you. I've got Imagination.
He came back really well,
and we're gonna run him in the Santa Anita Derby.
I'd love to have you ride him back in the Santa Anita Derby,
and hopefully, if he moves forward, you know,
we'll take a shot at the, uh, at the Preakness with him.
[Frankie] Well, you know what? Um…
I'm… I'm delighted that you called me. So thanks very much.
Well, the only problem that I have about you riding him,
a caliber rider like you,
is if he gets beat, I can't blame the jockey.
That's the only downfall in this whole deal, Frankie.
-So make me look good, will you? -[all chuckling]
God… You… you're very humble. No, no, no.
I'm here now full-time in America, and, uh, I want to make a statement
and give it a good go for the… for the future.
You got it, my man. Well, thank you so much.
-Nice talking to you. -[Frankie] See you soon.
-All right, Frankie. -[Frankie] Bye.
I'm… fairly new in America now,
so, uh, it's taking me a bit of time
to gel in with other trainers.
I have to really make sure that, uh, I make the right choice.
[music ends]
-[Michael] What you making? -[Jules] Uh, hummus.
[Michael] What is that?
-[Jules] Garbanzo beans. Chickpeas. -[Michael] Ugh.
-[Michael] I thought Marvin was coming. -[Jules] I don't know. Call him.
-[Marvin] Hello? -[Michael] Yo! What happened to you?
-[Marvin, high-pitched] I'm on my way in. -[Michael and Jules laugh]
[Michael] You sound like you're under pressure.
[Jules] Marvin!
-Hey. -[Jules] Marv.
You cut the hair.
-You like it? -It looks good.
[Marvin] With… with this race we doing Saturday, right?
-Who should be worried about? -Fierceness.
I think Repole's horse is a good horse.
Repole's worth ten billion, so he doesn't have a lot of pressure on him.
He could run dead last every race the rest of his life.
-He's still won. -He wins at life.
He wins at life. Let the little guys win. Like us.
[all laugh]
Let the little guys win.
We got the beautiful people.
He's got the beautiful bank account.
[string music playing]
[interviewer] I'm with bajillionaire extraordinaire.
If you've ever purchased a beverage at a convenience store or gas station,
there's a good chance he owns it. This is Mike Repole.
-You are the Joker in Gotham. -Yes.
I call myself the Commissioner.
[Michael] People like Mike Repole, they're driving up the market
to the point where the middleman and lower man can't buy horses.
How am I able to compete against those guys?
When you have a disruptive personality,
you can love me, you can hate me.
Within a five-minute conversation, you can have both feelings.
[indistinct cheering]
I'm gonna be honest and, at times, brutally honest.
Mike Repole was never gonna arrive quietly into horse racing.
He's not a guy that's gone from Mike from Queens
to Vitaminwater billionaire
without having an opinion.
[Mike Repole] The attitude and the mentality came first.
I mean, when I was ten,
I had this personality.
Mike from Queens doesn't go away.
I'm not looking for style points. This isn't figure skating, okay?
And the Eclipse Award goes to Fierceness.
[Nick Luck] Racing can be a very conservative sport,
and he likes to cast himself as a disrupter.
Keep fucking playing the music. It don't bother me.
-[audience gasps, boos] -Let's compete in the racetrack.
Outside of the track,
let's compete together for what's best for this game.
[Michael] When Repole gets up there, and he's self-appointed commissioner,
these are one of the problems.
Repole and people like Mike
own the majority of the horses.
The big money owners, they have a… a very distinct advantage.
["Billionaire" by Mosh Party playing]
♪ Now watch me hustle ♪
♪ Nothing comes for free ♪
♪ Do anything, ah No stopping me ♪
♪ Don't care, don't care, ah ♪
♪ 'Bout to be a billionaire, ah ♪
♪ B-B-B-Billionaire ♪
♪ So get out my way! ♪
[John Stewart] Ever since I can remember,
I've been really interested in horse racing.
I like to bet on the races.
But I never thought I would become an owner
because it seems kind of intimidating to kind of jump into something like that.
I have some challenges.
You know, I'm… I'm autistic,
and I have ADHD.
I consider those superpowers,
and I've always been able to kind of train them in the right way.
I've never failed at anything that I've ever tried to do.
I think horse racing is a venture that I'm gonna be successful with as well.
So we flew this plane around the world.
We take a lot of people from the Lexington horse industry whenever we go.
We can… We have 14 seats on the plane,
so it doesn't cost any more for people to go with us, so…
We'll just usually, like, take people.
This has been one of the best tools to make friends.
We have 15 companies that we own, with 180 factories all over the world.
Some people might say I'm like a workaholic, but I…
I, like, I enjoy it. I like traveling, so that helps.
Chelsey gets nervous every time we have a bump or something.
And I… Like, the horse stuff's fun for me.
So I don't… I don't really consider any of it work.
I never make decisions about things that I don't have control of the data.
And I think horse racing kind of fits into that.
For 30-plus years betting on the races,
I consider myself a pretty good horse player.
I play the complex bets.
Exactas, trifectas, superfectas.
I have my own algorithms.
And so I see patterns where other people don't see patterns,
and I've been able to parlay those skills in my career as a good investor.
[intriguing music playing]
John Stewart, in a sense, is a bit of a mystery man.
He's come from nowhere.
Suddenly he's there with as many horses as you can shake a stick at.
[auctioneer] Three hundred and ten… [continues indistinctly]
Who'll give me 25?
Fifty. Seventy-five.
[continues indistinctly]
Hey!
[auctioneer continues]
What about 979?
He is going out and spending
millions of dollars at each Thoroughbred auction.
-[auctioneer speaks indistinctly] -[man cheers]
[Nick] He's clearly rolled the dice a few times to get to where he is.
450!
600!
[Chelsey Stone] He's betting now.
[Nick] If that's the way he's gonna carry on,
then this is gonna be a high-stakes game.
750! 750!
I want the horse you want no matter what the price is.
I want the best horses.
Let me worry about the price.
-[resolute music playing] -[horse neighs]
So these springs right here, the water just comes right out of the ground here.
The spring's been there since, like, the early 1800s.
And so that's one of the benefits of this land.
Being able to give the horses the natural water.
I took all my money out of the stock market.
I don't like an idea of investing on a daily basis
with no value being added.
And so I moved to art, cars,
and now horses.
[horses snort]
So this is the, uh, Lamborghini Ultimae.
This is one of the ten fastest cars in the world.
All my cars, I try to collect rare ones that are, like, there's a limited edition.
And so that Ultimae, it's number one.
So there's… There was only a certain number of them made,
and it's actually the first one.
Every car is very carefully curated
and very carefully calculated
based on its ability to create wealth.
They're driven, you know, just a little bit,
and so I get to enjoy them,
but they also increase in value.
And… and so that's my philosophy on investment.
The farm's only been open since January.
There's probably not other farms
that have the quality of mares that we have.
They might have one.
But here, we've… It's just one after another.
Getting to the Derby is, like, the number one goal right now.
Man, she's beautiful.
To do that, we purchased Just a Touch,
one of the top three-year-olds in the country.
Special horse.
In order for Just a Touch to get into the Derby this year,
first we have to be in the top three in the Blue Grass Stakes.
We're getting down to crunch time.
We're seeing all of these other races happening around the country.
The Blue Grass gives us the best opportunity for the Derby.
[upbeat music fades]
[car engine revs]
-[Michael] So we're going to a medium? -[Jules] Yeah.
So they talk to the dead?
What does that have to do with the horses running?
In all honesty, it was because when I met the shaman and the medium,
they were so powerful, and a lot of things came through about you as well.
And whether you like it or take it, or if it's anything, who knows?
But just… It's an experience.
-Why can't we just do normal things? - [Jules] Have we ever done normal things?
It's opening day of Major League Baseball.
-We could have gone to a baseball game. -We do that.
We could go to a nudist colony.
Like, we could do normal stuff.
The spirituality that I have is… is a little bit different from Jules.
She's a very spiritual person,
but I believe a lot of our destiny is already drawn
before we even embark on it.
So what if the medium says, like, bad shit?
Then you were meant to hear it. Take it with a grain of salt.
Great.
The medium thing is… is interesting.
I've never really researched it.
I'm not really sure if it's… if it's real, if it's not real.
Okay, we ready?
-Jules, wanna hold this? -Yeah. What about the glasses?
You're gonna do a reading. You don't need the glasses.
First time these have been off the camera ever.
-Yeah. -It's true.
[string music playing]
[medium] You come right in this way.
You are going on a meditative, euphoric journey.
That's the goal. There's eight different therapeutic modalities
that are going to help you get to that deep meditative state.
You are laying on a PEMF mat,
which is a pulse electromagnetic frequency mat.
It has infrared heat and has 35 pounds of amethysts. Sound good?
-Amazing. Yes. -[medium] All right. Let's get you cozy.
[playful string music continues]
[medium whispers] Enjoy your journey.
Thank you.
[medium] You're gonna go into a meditative state. I'm running energy work with you,
as well as connecting to loved ones, angels, and guides.
[instruments reverberate]
[Michael] I plan to ask her Victory Avenue questions.
And Jules might be the only person in the world I'd do this stuff for.
We're good to go into what I received.
Do you often see a hawk watching you?
Over your girls? Over your house? Something?
-Are you seeing… -With the cat.
I got goose bumps. That's the weirdest thing.
We always see this one hawk that's in our yard.
-He thinks he's gonna get our cat. -It tries to get our cat.
Spot-on.
The races.
I get check marks. Victories. Victories.
Well, the horse's name is Victory Avenue.
-Amazing. -[Michael] Wow.
[medium] I do believe that horse is gonna be ready to go for some reason.
It's a fairly new horse
that we're trying to get to know at this point.
And it's a young horse,
so we're allowing the horse to kind of guide us.
I feel good things.
I like that horse a lot. That horse is special.
-Beautiful messages from above. -Wow.
If we can get Victory Avenue to the Florida Derby
in racing condition
and use that as a prep,
I feel like we can end up being one of the favorites in the Kentucky Derby.
-[Jules] The hawk? -That was amazing.
-[woman] That was so cool. -Goose bumps.
[car engine revs]
[John] Radar detector. It tells me if the police are in front of me or not.
I used to own that company.
[engine purring]
You gotta love that sound.
-How's it going? -[valet] Everything good?
Nice to see you.
[indistinct chatter and restaurant bustle]
-[John] Hey. How are you? -[woman] I'm good.
[John] So, are you excited?
It's kind of crazy that we bought a horse that's gonna be in the Blue Grass.
Yeah. The Blue Grass will be like a setup for the Derby.
Lots of horses that are going to the Derby will be in that race
[John] The fact that when we got into this in September
that we're even having the conversation is kind of fun.
[Chelsey] I know. You joked and said you wanted a Derby runner.
It's the 150th running, so…
[Chelsey] So all we got to do is get first through fourth, we're in the Derby.
[John] Yeah. It's a pretty loaded race.
Except for Fierceness. Because we know Repole was afraid to bring Fierceness.
-You know that. -You and your little Twitter feud.
[John] Mike Repole made a couple of tweets about the two-year-old sales.
[stern music playing]
And I just tweeted back and said,
"It's a little confusing when you send a tweet out one day
against the two-year-old sales,
and then three days later, your team's gonna go to the two-year-old sale."
And then he just savagely attacked me.
"You don't know what you're talking about. You're new to the industry."
"Anytime you're at a track, I'll give you the tour of the winner's circle."
But what he didn't realize is that our horses had already run against each other,
and my horse beat him.
He knew so little about me, but he was just savagely attacking me.
And so at that point, I thought, "This guy's a clown."
[music continues]
[Mike] You know, I don't take the rivalries with other owners
as serious as maybe they do.
The words might sound really tough,
but usually it's with a smile.
I… I don't mind stirring the pot.
I don't think Mike values my operation and my investment in the sport,
which is very surprising because I think that everybody
should welcome somebody that's coming in
and putting new capital into a sport,
because it actually makes his horses worth more money.
It's all in good fun.
It's good for the sport to have a little back and forth between owners.
I think everyone on Twitter loves it.
John is extremely competitive in everything.
I mean, even, you know, with…
That… I… Something as silly as, like, the horses liking me better than him.
In a sport like this, I mean, he's just dying to win.
Ooh! [chuckles]
I think when an owner comes in with energy and passion,
that's a great thing.
But when you come in inexperienced
and willing to throw huge money out,
owners come in, and they want to win the Kentucky Derby.
You know? Well, so does everybody else,
and 99.99% will not win the Kentucky Derby.
Most of the Twitter feud was trying to get my Twitter followers up.
So I thought it'd be fun to, like, pick on Mike Repole.
-[Chelsey] Mission accomplished. -It worked.
-[Chelsey chuckles] It worked. -It absolutely worked. Yeah.
I didn't get in the industry to disrupt anything.
I'm just trying to participate, and I don't do anything halfway.
The people that are having success
are running a very disciplined process,
similar to what, um, the manager of an F1 team would do.
A lot of elements have to come together.
The physical condition of the horse, the fitness of the horse,
and preparing them for the situation.
[energetic music playing]
People like Mike Repole work with a specific trainer.
And so Mike works exclusively with Todd Pletcher,
and that's where all of his horses go.
The way to get my horses is to win.
Having a trainer like Brad,
who has the capability to win the race and knows what it takes to win the race,
i… is part of the secret sauce to getting, uh, this right.
Brad is one of the premier trainers over the last five years.
[Brad Cox] It's Mandaloun, 2021 Kentucky Derby winner.
Derby day, he's had a really good trip.
It was right there. It was second, and then it was placed first through DQ.
[announcer] Coming to the final furlong.
Mandaloun fighting for the front.
Medina Spirit battles on.
Coming to the finish in the Kentucky Derby.
Here's the wire!
Bob Baffert does it again!
Medina Spirit has won the Kentucky Derby!
Mandaloun was second. Hot Rod Charlie was third.
[music fades]
[newscaster] Top story today.
The Kentucky Derby winner has been disqualified for a drug infraction.
[newscaster 2] Medina Spirit tested positive after the race last year.
Today, the Kentucky horse racing stewards disqualified him
and also suspended Bob Baffert.
They declared second-place finisher Mandaloun as the Derby winner.
[Brad] First time I've seen him as an official Derby winner.
[handler] He's as good as it gets for us at the moment, anyway.
-[horse whinnies] -[Brad] Oh, wow. Oh, wow.
[handler chuckles] He's putting on a show.
[intriguing music playing]
[Brad] The Kentucky Derby's the biggest race in… in North America,
so we're hoping to get back there and…
and, uh, win it again.
Cross the wire first. [laughs] So…
I know history shows that Brad won the Kentucky Derby,
but he kind of got cheated out all the ceremony.
The whole thing with winning the Derby is to experience the thrill of victory.
There's races with bigger purses, um…
It's not a money thing. It's just something you dream about.
Some… Sometimes winning's a relief.
Um, it's, you know, uh, the nature of the beast,
uh, but, you know, you try to enjoy it as much as you can and…
We… We obviously put in a lot of hours just to get to this point,
and hopefully, uh, things go well.
I would like for the opportunity when we win the Derby,
we're gonna get to enjoy all of the ceremony together.
[soft music playing]
But I expect the horses to win.
I expect the trainers
to put the horse in the best position to win.
Twelve, twelve. Perfect pace.
Very good.
Kid's good, isn't he?
[John] Brad has this opportunity to really prove that he has the capability
of, uh, taking us to the Derby.
It's really important for him to deliver.
[music builds]
[music fades]
[cell phone ringing]
Gustavo.
In this sport, the trainers are like the doctors.
Oh, wow.
[chuckles] You don't want them to call you.
When they call you,
they're not telling you that you just won the lottery usually.
Um, it's usually something that's not great.
So what do… what do we think is the issue?
It seems as if Victory Avenue
has taken a step back in his training.
He's not eating, off his feed,
and we're not exactly sure.
These are situations that rarely correct themselves overnight.
The horse always, always has to come first. We know.
And I know that's what you guys do, and that's what I believe in.
It's not a major injury,
but it's an injury that will require probably 30 days,
maybe 60 days, of stall rest.
So this definitely takes us out of the game.
[poignant music playing]
Clearly.
There's no possibility of us making the Kentucky Derby,
because we would clearly miss the Florida Derby.
He hasn't earned enough points to get himself in the Kentucky Derby.
My expectations are this takes us out of the Triple Crown entirely.
The horse needs rest. He needs time.
The excitement of the whole thing definitely played a role in this thing.
And now it's kind of deflated the bubble a little bit.
You want to be in the Derby. You want that exhilaration.
It sucks. It was a lot of money.
But, you know, if there's no gas in the car, the car's not going anywhere.
-[intriguing music playing] -[whooshing]
[whooshing]
[newscaster] A good showing today, and you punch your ticket to Churchill Downs
on the first Saturday in May.
It is the Curlin Florida Derby.
[music turns energetic]
[Michael] The Florida Derby is the biggest day of the year here.
We had Derby aspirations, but it wasn't meant to be.
-Look at the way these women are dressed. -And men.
I mean, if we don't show up,
we are doing a disservice to the racing world.
-Let's get it, man. Let's go get this. -[Michael] Yeah. We're gonna do it.
[reporter] Nobody quite makes an entrance like the Iavarone entourage.
I'm joined by Michael right here.
You've brought quite the crowd out with you today.
[Michael] Yeah, these are our best friends, and they dress the part.
They come in hot.
[reporter] As do you. You look fantastic today.
I'm hot 'cause it's a black suit, and it's 90 degrees right here.
-They're hot 'cause they're hot. -I was gonna go bedazzled too.
-But I decided not to. -You look sharp today.
We're not running Victory Avenue today, but we're betting for everybody.
I gotta do it a thousand at a time.
We're betting against the favorite. Let's get one for the little guy.
[newscaster 2] We have all of our eyes on Fierceness today in this race.
[Mike] Winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
doesn't mean that Fierceness qualified to be in the Kentucky Derby.
We have high hopes, and we know what he's capable of doing.
And he's proved it a few times.
Unfortunately, he has to prove it again if he wants to be in the Kentucky Derby.
That's Todd's job. Not mine.
When he brings his A game, there's nobody better than him.
And Johnny will give him a great ride, and…
So he… he needs to win.
[newscaster 3] Trainer Todd Pletcher, seven Florida Derby wins.
John Velazquez, the jockey, five.
[dramatic sting]
Doing my homework, you know?
Looking at the pace of the race and… uh…
Who to follow, who not to follow and…
Like any other sports,
you do the homework into the competition and everything else.
You know, to have a two-year-old champion is special.
And now I have another chance with Fierceness.
I just wanna see him once.
You show up to these big races,
and you have no idea whether you're gonna win,
you're gonna come in second, or you're gonna come in last.
You only get one chance and the one outcome.
That's the outcome you have to live with the rest of your life.
And here they go.
[newscaster 4] Which Fierceness will show up? The two-year-old champion version,
or something else?
[newscaster 5] Will history repeat itself? He's got the talent.
If he can just get a clean break,
he can show up the way he did in the Breeders' Cup.
[Billy] Fierceness had a lot of hype, especially after the Breeders' Cup,
but he's a bit of an enigma, because sometimes he runs awesome,
sometimes he doesn't.
On numbers, he's by far the fastest horse in this race.
If Fierceness loses the Florida Derby,
it will be a tough 24 hours.
And if Fierceness wins the Florida Derby, it's gonna be a tough five weeks.
[music turns resolute]
[horses neigh]
[newscaster 6] Getting set for the Florida Derby,
all eyes on trying to get to the Kentucky Derby.
[bell rings]
[announcer] And they're off in the Florida Derby.
Ten horse got a good break.
[announcer] Fierceness. He's on the accelerator early, is Johnny V.
He's up and around horses, and he wants to lead.
He's gonna be tough to beat.
[announcer] Fierceness on his A game so far. He's a length in front.
[Michael] Ten'll win by the length of his stretch.
-Wow. -Wow.
I have goose bumps.
[announcer] Johnny V sitting pretty.
Catalytic is second, Grand Mo the First is third on the outside,
but they all have too much to do.
Fierceness is putting on a show in Hallandale today.
Fierceness, the real Fierceness,
has showed up to South Florida.
[audience cheers]
[newscaster] The real deal.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we just saw our Kentucky Derby favorite.
[cheering]
How does team Repole celebrate? You got quite the crew.
-[Mike] Fuel! -[all] Yeah!
[rock and roll music playing]
[Mike] You have that 48 hours of celebration,
and now you're lucky if you get ten hours of sleep for the entire five weeks.
I've said this to a lot of people. Pressure's a privilege.
I mean, hey, I chose to be in horse racing.
I wanted the great horses.
So if you can't handle it, you know what? Then don't be in it.
[music fades]
The truth of the matter is,
watching the way that horse ran in that race,
Victory Avenue, he wasn't beating that, honestly, today.
-Nobody was beating that horse today. -Okay. If you say so.
-That's it. Divine timing. -Nobody.
-[upbeat Latin music playing] -[laughing]
[greetings in Spanish]
[in Spanish] Johnny, congratulations on the Florida Derby.
How does it feel to once again pass the finish line in front?
Very happy.
I was really expecting this horse to run the way he did.
[newscaster 2, in English] This is a tour de force.
[newscaster 3] Velazquez gets his record sixth win in the Florida Derby.
Blessing. [chuckles]
[music fades]
[twangy guitar music playing]
[newscaster] The Grade I Toyota Blue Grass Stakes.
A hundred points to the winner of this race
towards getting into the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby.
This is a résumé maker.
[newscaster 2] Absolutely. I mean, the quality and the history of this race
is second to none.
[horse neighs]
[John] The Blue Grass is our shot to make it to the Derby.
Everybody in the horse industry wants to win the Derby,
but for someone that is from Kentucky to have a horse in the Derby,
uh, that would just be a phenomenal event for me.
So six horses won six times today.
-Guess what number we are? -Six. I know.
Going into the Blue Grass, this is an opportunity for Brad
to demonstrate to me, as a new owner,
who's investing significantly in the sport,
that he can put Just a Touch in the best position to win.
[intriguing music playing]
[Brad] Just a Touch is doing very well.
It's up to getting a good trip.
A lot of really good horses in the race.
Hopefully, we can, uh, have a successful day.
[indistinct chatter]
[man] Jayson, how you doing, buddy?
I'm try… I'm holding it together.
[chuckles]
Holding it together best I can.
[fan] Jayson!
-You guys are from Philly, right? -Yeah, we're Philly fans, baby.
If you were Mets fans, I'd tell you to fuck off.
No, we're not. We're out of Philly.
-I like the fit, man. -All right.
-You wanna get a picture? -Let's do it, man.
[Jayson Werth] I love everything about horse racing.
This sport fills that void left
after I retired from baseball and professional sports.
And now I am co-owner of Dornoch.
-Appreciate it, man. -Gotta roll. Thanks.
All right, man. Good luck. Thank you.
[indistinct chatter]
He's training great. He looks good. He's a lot fitter.
[Jayson] Danny's a lot of fun.
I met Danny at the yearling sale.
He came over and said, you know,
"Let's go. This is the type of horse we need a guy like you in on."
"It'll give you a chance at the Derby trail."
[Danny Gargan] Grew up in Kentucky.
Louisville neighborhood, right aside… right outside the racetrack.
My father was a jockey,
so, uh, pretty much been in horse racing my whole life.
[soft music playing]
Just been lucky enough to end up being the trainer of, uh, Dornoch.
Been in the Derby before with a talented horse.
We didn't win it, but I think Dornoch's a lot better horse.
This year, I think we have a chance to win the race.
[horse snorts]
Dornoch winning the Fountain of Youth basically put him in the Derby.
[announcer] It's Dornoch who has to finish the job.
The Fountain of Youth Stakes goes to Dornoch.
[announcer 2] Into the winner's circle for Dornoch,
who makes his three-year-old debut upping his point total.
Secures himself a spot in the starting gate for the Derby.
[Jayson] This is the first colt I bought,
and we're in the Kentucky Derby.
[Danny] Our strategy today,
if we can educate him and learn something in the Blue Grass.
Because the Derby's a demanding race to try to go wire to wire.
Hopefully, it works out well, and we can be tough enough to win the Derby.
[resolute music playing]
[newscaster] We're just minutes away from one of the biggest races in the country.
A race that will determine maybe a couple of spots
into the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby.
-Never done this before. [chuckles] -[Danny chuckles]
-[producer] You never walked over? -Not like this, uh-uh.
-You're gonna do it in the Derby too. -Yeah. Let's go.
[newscaster 2] I think it's one of the deepest Kentucky Derby prep fields
we've had to date.
Again, the points leading to the Kentucky Derby.
This is a résumé maker.
You become a Grade I winner,
but you also get $600,000 for winning the race.
[audience cheering]
[indistinct chatter]
[bugler plays "Assembly"]
[music ends]
[Brad] It's my spot over here. It's my spot.
[expectant music playing]
Sometimes I hang out over there.
-[man] Too many people over there. -I know it.
Way too many. We started watching here last year. Last fall.
Opening… Opening day, the two we ran, I watched from over there.
It's, like, "I'm going back to my old spot."
[music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
[newscaster] Just a Touch has the advantage,
given the way the track has played.
But he's gonna have to earn it.
[newscaster 2] It is post time for the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass Stakes,
the one hundredth running.
[twangy string music playing]
-[bell rings] -[gates clang]
[announcer] And they're off in the Toyota Blue Grass.
Right out of the gate and right to the front, Just a Touch.
-[music continues] -[horses clopping]
-Dornoch away third. -Come on. Get away!
Just a Touch goes second, just off his flank at 23.
Point one five seconds for the opening quarter.
Dornoch is fourth against the rail.
Buried on the rail.
[announcer] Dornoch has to shift lanes along with Sierra Leone,
still five lengths off the lead.
Just a Touch has taken the lead!
[cheering]
Sierra Leone is running on from the outside.
A sixteenth to go.
[Brad] Keep fighting! Keep fighting!
[announcer] Sierra Leone comes forward for the lead
in deep stretch,
and wins the Toyota Blue Grass for Tyler Gaffalione.
Just a Touch was second.
[indistinct chatter]
Tough trip right there.
-Four? -Right.
Hopefully he learned something. [laughs]
Whoo!
Crazy.
I feel good about him.
You know, there's this thing where you get a bad trip,
but I don't want to peak at the Blue Grass.
I want to peak, you know, winning the Triple Crown.
-[Brad] He'll get in. -It was awesome.
[Brad] I mean, he kind of had…
He kind of had to keep the horse on the lead honest. Uh…
You know, the horse on the lead, he's going quick.
[John] It's perfectly set up for what we got next.
-Exactly. Exactly. -[John] Perfectly set up.
It's absolutely unreal for Just a Touch to come in second.
And, you know, I was disappointed for, like, a second because he didn't win.
And then I realized we had earned enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby.
Look… you know, this solidifies with me
that Brad was the right choice to train Just a Touch
and, uh, gives us the best opportunity to do well in the Derby.
[Brad] Good run. Uh, lightly raced horse, getting better all the time.
Um, I think he's… he's got a big future.
Hopefully, he can, uh, take a step forward in four weeks.
-[John] You got four weeks. -[Brad] Four weeks.
He'll be fine. We'll be ready.
[resolute music playing]
[John] Look, I think Just a Touch is well positioned to win the Kentucky Derby.
It's only his fourth race. He's gotten better with each race.
When you look at all of the data, when you look at all the information,
if we have a clean run,
then I think he'll be right in the mix at the Derby.
-[audience cheering] -[music swells]
[music fades]
[twangy guitar music playing]
[music fades]