The highly anticipated 150th annual Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs is around the corner, a thrilling event where a horse competing could earn a staggering 500 times its modest purchase price.

In 2022, Harry L. Veruchi made a wise investment, purchasing West Saratoga for a head-turning $11,000. Despite the horse’s impressive winnings of over $300,000, the Kentucky Derby purse, a prize shared among the top five finishers, could prove that success in horse racing is not always determined by the initial purchase price.

West Saratoga, a horse with a rich lineage, is the offspring of Exaggerator, the 2016 Preakness winner and second-place winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby. Its dam is Mo Wicked, an unraced mare and daughter of the 2010 champion Uncle Mo, which produced the 2022 Belmont hero Mo Donegal. 

Get ready for the excitement of Saturday’s race as we delve into everything you need to know about the promising West Saratoga.

Kentucky Derby field: Full horses list and odds for the 2024 Kentucky Derby

West Saratoga: Trainer, Jockey, Owner and Pedigree

Trainer: Larry Demeritte

Jockey: Jesus Castanon

Owner: Harry L. Veruchi

Sire: Exaggerator

Dam: Mo Wicked

Bred: Two Hearts Farm II LLC, Kentucky, United States

West Saratoga: Past performances and career earnings

Past performances:

Career Earnings: $363,640

West Saratoga: Predictions, odds and analysis

Prediction, expert analysis:

Kentucky Derby experts: One of six experts have West Saratoga in the top 10

Dornoch odds: 50-1 (morning line)

Post number: 13

Kentucky Derby 2024: Latest field odds

Looking to bet: Wager on the Kentucky Derby with FanDuel

Odds via CBS Sports:

• Fierceness (5-2)
• Sierra Leone (3-1)
• Catching Freedom (8-1)
• Forever Young (10-1)
• Just a Touch (10-1)
• Dornoch (20-1)
• Mystik Dan (20-1)
• Just Steel (20-1)
• Honor Marie (20-1)
• Encino (20-1)
• Track Phanton (20-1)
• Stronghold (20-1)
• Resilience (20-1)
• Catalytic (30-1)
• T O Password (30-1)
• Endlessly (30-1)
• Domestic Product (30-1)
• Grand Mo the First (50-1)
• Society Man (50-1)
• West Saratoga (50-1)

Kentucky Derby 2024: TV, streaming and where to watch

• When: Saturday, May 4
• Coverage starts: 2:30 p.m. ET
• Post time: 6:57 p.m. ET
• Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville Kentucky
• Cable TV: NBC
• Streaming: Peacock; YouTube TV; fuboTV

HOW TO WATCH: See the full Kentucky Derby with a subscription to Peacock

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If you are a fan of the Kentucky Wildcats, then Wednesday was an awesome day as the basketball program landed two more commitments for the 2024-25 season.

Dayton transfer Koby Brea was the first addition to the roster on Wednesday as he announced he would be taking his talents to Kentucky.

Brea was a 3-point shooting machine last season, averaging 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 49% from 3.

In an interview with ESPN, Brea said it was always his dream to be a Wildcat.

“Growing up, I was told I was dreaming too big whenever I’d say my dream was to play for the University of Kentucky,” Brea said. “I feel like God does everything for a reason, and He has put me in a position where I’m able to play for my dream school in my last year of college, while playing for something bigger than myself.”

A perfect fit for Mark Pope’s system and a massive get for the Wildcats heading into next season.

The second domino that fell on Wednesday was former Arizona and West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa committing to the Cats.

Kriisa is another sharpshooting guard, as he averaged 11 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds last season while shooting 42% from 3.

The biggest blemish on Kriisa’s game is the 2.9 turnovers per game, but hopefully we see that number drop back to the 1.3 range we saw his freshman year.

While at BYU, Pope actually recruited Kriisa twice. The first was in 2020 when Pope flew to Lithuania to try and secure his commitment out of high school. The second was when he was looking for a new home after leaving Arizona. The third time proved to be the charm for Pope.

Pope’s roster now sits at eight with these two additions, and he is now just a couple of pieces away from putting together a very good roster in year one as the Kentucky head coach.

Tweet(s) of the Day

Good times.

Headlines

Koby Brea, Nation’s 3-Point Leader, Joins Wildcats – UK Athletics
Led the country in 3-point percentage at 49.8% with a minimum of 2.5 makes per game.

Film Room: Kerr Kriisa – On3
Kentucky landed their second commitment of the day, and sixth in six days, in West Virginia’s Kerr Kriisa on Wednesday afternoon.

Kenny Brooks Has Hired Ciara Gregory as an Assistant Coach, Director of Recruiting Operations – UK Athletics
Gregory spent the last five seasons at Charlotte.

Dayton transfer Koby Brea brings 3-point prowess to Kentucky – ESPN
Dayton transfer Koby Brea has committed to Kentucky, picking the Wildcats over a list of schools that included Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and UConn.

Dan Hurley says ‘no way’ he would have left UConn for Kentucky to replace John Calipari – CBSSports
Hurley addressed the rumors of him being a top candidate for the Kentucky job

Laney Frye Selected to All-SEC First Team, Marissa Wenzler Named to SEC Community Service Team – UK Athletics
Frye owns a 70.7 stroke average through 26 rounds thus far.

Film Room: Koby Brea – On3
Dayton’s Koby Brea, the best shooter in college basketball, became Kentucky’s fifth commitment in six days on Wednesday afternoon.

West Virginia transfer Kerr Kriisa commits to Kentucky – ESPN
West Virginia transfer Kerr Kriisa has committed to Kentucky, he told ESPN on Wednesday.

LeBron James should leave Lakers and sign with 76ers if his primary goal is a fifth championship – CBSSports
The Lakers are no longer LeBron’s best chance at winning

Former Florida Atlantic star Johnell Davis commits to Arkansas – ESPN
Former Florida Atlantic star guard Johnell Davis, one of the best players in the transfer portal, announced his commitment to Arkansas on Wednesday.

Kenny Brooks hires Charlotte’s Ciara Gregory as Assistant Coach, Director of Recruiting Operations
Kenny Brooks continues to fill out his debut coaching staff at Kentucky, this time bringing in Charlotte’s Ciara Gregory.

MBB recruiting – Meet the new No. 1s in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 classes – ESPN
Paul Biancardi introduces the new No. 1 prospects in the next three recruiting classes.

USC, UCLA set for two games each at Big Ten’s easternmost schools – ESPN
The USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins men’s basketball programs will play two road games apiece against the Big Ten’s easternmost schools.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark says league’s coaches are in favor of NCAA Tournament expansion – CBSSports
The Big 12 leader is just the latest college basketball power broker to advocate for a larger NCAA Tournament field. Booooo.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – An 18-year-old dies, and a juvenile is hospitalized after what is presumed by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office to be a fentanyl overdose in Bowling Green.

Drug overdose leads to one dead, one hospitalized in Bowling Green

WCSO and local drug task forces have raised concerns over fentanyl-related overdoses, incidents and deaths in the area, as the drug, and its deadly nature plague south central Kentucky.

“Two high school kids or they were little about high school, about 19 years old. Last year they split a split an M30A blue fentanyl pill. They bought it and they split it. One took one, half one took the other. One of them overdosed and died, and one of them lived because that one that overdosed and died had a hot spot of fentanyl in it,” Director of the South Central Kentucky Drug Task Force Jacky Hunt said.

The South Central Kentucky Drug Task Force has reported the amount of fentanyl pill seizures in 2024 is seven times what it was in 2023; that year having 50 interceptions, and 2024 seeing 350 already this year.

“I have [spent] 20 plus years in narcotics alone,” Hunt said. “These last few years I’ve never seen a drug like fentanyl, ever.”

The DTF over the past two years has investigated over 120 known fentanyl overdose cases in Logan and Simpson Counties alone.

Although recent statistics from Kentucky’s Office of Drug Control Policy show that in 2022, fentanyl-related deaths have decreased 5% from 2021, the number of pill seizures and recent fentanyl-related overdoses are still concerning numbers to law enforcement agencies.

“Roughly just in round numbers, one-third of the overdose death cases in Kentucky are attributed to methamphetamine and the other two-thirds to fentanyl,” Director of the Warren County Drug Task Force Tommy Loving said. “I think the fentanyl is probably the worst thing we’ve seen because it is so deadly and so unpredictable.”

Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower is urging the community to not buy or use any pills or drugs from a third party, because substances such as Valium, Xanax, and marijuana, have the potential to be laced with fentanyl.

“So many people think it’s just one pill, but one pill can kill and. And that’s all it takes. You absolutely cannot take any pill it seems like right now, period, that’s from the street in any way,” Hightower said.

Administering Narcan can save the life of someone experiencing a fentanyl-related overdose.

Narcan distributors in Kentucky can be found here.

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