Tapit Trice jockey, trainer, owner and more: What to know about 2023 Kentucky Derby horse
Tapit Trice is one of 20 horses expected to enter the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs.
Spots for the Kentucky Derby are earned by gaining points through a series of prep races that began last September.
The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Monday, May 1. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 6.
Tapit Trice will enter the Kentucky Derby off a victory in the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 8 at Keeneland. He currently ranks fourth on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 150.
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Tapit Trice
Color: Gray/roan
Bred in: Kentucky
Sire: Tapit
Dam: Danzatrice, by Dunkirk
Price tag: $1.3 million at 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale
Owners: Whisper Hill Farm (Mandy Pope) and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck). Pope is 0 for 2 in the Derby, her best finish coming with Mylute (fifth in 2013). Gainesway is 0 for 2 in the Derby, its best finish coming with Hot Rod Charlie (second in 2021).
Trainer: Todd Pletcher, 2 for 62 in Derby. Won with Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017.
Pletcher's strong hand: Tapit Trice gives trainer three strong contenders at Churchill Downs
Jockey: Luis Saez, 0 for 9 in Derby. Best finish was third with Essential Quality in 2021.
Record: 4-0-1 in five starts
Career earnings: $883,650
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 150 (No. 4)
Last race: Won Grade 1 Blue Grass by a neck over Verifying on April 8 at Keeneland
Running style: Closer
Notes: Tapit Trice broke his maiden in his second start last year at Aqueduct and is 3 for 3 as a 3-year-old, winning an allowance optional claiming race on Feb. 4 at Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby on March 11 before his Blue Grass score. The last horse to win the Blue Grass and the Kentucky Derby was Strike the Gold in 1991. … Tapit is one of the top sires in North America, but his progeny is 0 for 13 in the Kentucky Derby. Most recently, Charge It finished 17th last year. … The last gray/roan horse to win the Kentucky Derby was Giacomo in 2005.
What they’re saying: “I think he’s improving all the time,” Pletcher said after the Blue Grass. “We’ve always felt more distance, he was going to be well-suited for that. We’re happy to get him out to a mile and an eighth today, and I think a mile and a quarter is going to be even better for him.”
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2023 horse Tapit Trice trainer, jockey, owners, record
