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BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Half of the 24 Thoroughbreds entered to run in Saturday’s 152nd edition of the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) have ties to horsemen based in Ocala and Marion County, the Horse Capital of the World®. 

Niall Brennan Stables in Ocala has two graduates listed on the Kentucky Derby program in Emerging Market, winner of the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds in New Orleans; and Santa Anita Derby (G1) second-place finisher Potente. Emerging Market is trained by Chad Brown for Seth Klarmin’s Klaravich Stables and is 15-1 on the morning line. Potente is trained by Bob Baffert for Speedway Stables and is listed at 20-1 on the morning line.

Renegade, the 4-1 morning line favorite, graduated from the early training program of J.J. Pletcher at his Payton Training Center in Ocala. Trained by Pletcher’s son Todd Pletcher, Renegade is owned by Robert and Lawana L. Low and Mike Repole’s Repole Stable. He was an impressive, come-from-behind winner of the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park and with earnings of $1,002,500, he is one of two millionaires in the Derby field.

The other millionaire is Spendthrift Farm’s Further Ado with $1,146,328 to his credit. A former pupil of Scott Kintz at his Six K’s Training and Sales located in Citra. Further Ado finished second to Derby rival The Puma in the ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs in March before winning the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on April 4. Trained by Brad Cox, Further Ado is a co-second choice on the morning line at 6-1.

Further Ado and The Puma are two of six Derby entrants who were purchased locally at Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company. Further Ado a $550,000 purchase by Spendthrift at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training where he was consigned by Kintz and his Six K’s Training and Sales.

The Puma received his initial schooling locally at South Training Division of Hidden Brook Farm in Williston. He was a $150,000 purchase by Marquee Bloodstock at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale out of the Hidden Brook consignment. Second in the Curlin Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park on March 28, The Puma is trained by Gustavo Delgado for OGMA Investments, JR Ranch and High Step Racing, TCC Stables and Bruce Zoldan.

Santa Anita Derby (G1)-winner So Happy is another OBS graduate having been purchased by Rodolfo Garcia’s First Call consignment for $150,000 by trainer Mark Glatt. Now owned by Norman Stables LLC and Saints or Sinners, So Happy is listed at 15-1 in the program.

Intrepido passed before the OBS auctioneers from the consignment of Cardoza’s Brothers. Owned by Michelle Arthur’s Dutch Girl Holding LLC and Ruben Islas’s Irving Ventures LLC, both of San Diego, Intrepido is 50-1 on the morning line and trained by Jeff Mullins. Intrepido was most recently fourth in the Santa Anita Derby.

Arthur and Islas were in Ocala earlier this month to accept honors for their Queen Maxima, the 2025 Florida-bred Champion Turf Female who is set to go for her second straight victory in Friday’s Unbridled Sidney Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Corona de Oro, on the Derby also-eligible list, spent time as a yearling with Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association board member Beth Bayer of Ocala. Bayer consigned the colt to the 2024 OBS October Yearling Sale where Michael Sucher of West Palm Beach, Florida purchased him for $100,000 in the name of his Champion Equine. Corona de Oro received his early schooling from Tom McCrocklin of Ocala.

Sucher was also on hand at the FTBOA Awards Gala in recognition as the breeder of 2025 Florida-bred Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Ground Support and owner of FTBOA Broodmare of the Year Her Special Way.

Scanlon will be represented in the Run for the Roses by the Bob Baffert-trained Litmus Test, who was seventh in the Arkansas Derby after a poor start. Owned by a long list of partners that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, Litmus Test found the Derby starting gate with a third-place finish in the Rebel Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park in March and a victory in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) in December. He is 50-1 in the program.

Becky Thomas purchased Right to Party as a yearling in Kentucky as an agent for Mary and Chester Broman Sr. then trained the chestnut colt at her Sequel at Winding Oaks training center located in Ocala. Now racing in the name of Chester Broman Sr., Right to Party exits a second-place finisher to Derby-contender Albus in the Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct Racetrack. Right to Party is 30-1 on the morning line and is trained by Kenneth McPeek, who has his Silverleaf Hills Training Center in Summerfield, Florida.

Silent Tactic, now scratched from the Kentucky Derby field, is trained by longtime Ocala resident Mark Casse. Casse is chairman of Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company and he and his wife Tina have long owned Casse Training Center locally. Silent Tactic, an earner of $1,051,922, is a graduate of the 2025 OBS Spring Sale where he was consigned by Nick Sallusto’s Thorostock based in Morriston, Florida and purchased by Ocala’s Justin Casse for $500,000.

St. Elias Stable and Starlight Racing’s Fulleffort, scratched on Thursday afternoon, graduated Eddie Woods’ early training program at Eddie Woods Training Center. Woods and his wife Angela retired last year and sold their renowned 240-acre facility in Ocala to David Scanlon and his Scanlon Training and Sales. Fulleffort will make his first start on dirt in the Kentucky Derby after making his first four starts on grass and running his last three races over the synthetic track at Turfway Park where he won the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) on March 21. Fulleffort is 20-1 on the morning line.

Editor’s Note: We do our best to find all of the Kentucky Derby horses with local connections in the Ocala/Marion County area. If you feel we have missed one, or have inaccurate information, please contact Wire to Wire Editor Brock Sheridan via email at: bsheridan@ftboa.com or call during business hours at 352-291-2895.

Return to the April 30 issue of Wire to Wire