West Saratoga running in a race.
West Saratoga, a horse competing in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, has connection with the community of Maysville.
A.P. Perry is a Mason County graduate and is on the team for West Saratoga and a hot walker.
“It feels amazing being able to say I am on a team going to the Kentucky Derby,” Perry stated.
He said he started working with thoroughbreds in Dec. 2023 and going to the Derby is an indescribable feeling with it being a short amount of time.
“I am super excited. I first started working for Mr. Larry in December 2023. My college mate Jayden Hamilton had taken me to the thoroughbred center and I instantly knew that training race horses is what I wanted to do,” Perry stated.
He said that the journey since December has been fun and he is blessed to learn from Mr. Larry and the team.
His friend, Jayden Hamilton, who has also worked with the horse stated, “He was in the last day of the sales and Larry the trainer you know he was just looking at him and he had his eyes targeted on him and his kind of philosophy for horses is that he doesn’t buy cheap horses he buys good horses cheap and when it hit $11,000 I was like that’s his but he said if it would’ve went to $12,000 he would’ve never gotten it.”
Once Saratoga was being broken in it was being called one of the smartest horses and going to be the real deal according to Hamilton.
“Once they got going and got to the track in a couple of days he looked like he’s being doing it forever so he knew breaking him he was going to be a legit horse,” Hamilton stated.
In the first start for West Saratoga he finished fourth and through it he kept getting better and got three to four seconds in a row Hamilton stated.
After deciding to try in a race at Churchill Downs Hamilton stated, “He won as an upset and he was actually that was actually the first derby race so he got ten points from there so he started off really good.”
Saratoga ran another race that earned him 25 more points along with an additional race, the Jeff Ruby race where he earned second place.
“I mean just the moment I mean it was a beautiful moment it felt like we almost won the race as we knew we was making history so I think that was really the biggest moment,” Hamilton stated.
He said that Saratoga has a lot of heart and that he is a smart horse and jockeys say that if you want him to go faster he will.
In preparing for the derby race Hamilton stated you want to keep Saratoga happy and healthy, that he has already done a lot of prep work you just want a happy and healthy horse.
“That is the key goal right now keeping him comfortable keeping him you know quiet you don’t want him to get over anxious you know it’s a new setting he has to get familiar with it it’s a little bit different when you have 20 other people around you with cameras on you the whole time and just a lot of actions going on,” Hamilton stated.
“Now we’re here he’s prepping good for the derby and we’re just counting down now,” Hamilton stated.
