GMB Racing’s Lone Sailor draws post 8 for Kentucky Derby
Lone Sailor, the third Kentucky Derby starter for the Benson family’s GMB Racing in the last three years, drew post position No. 8 Tuesday for the 144th edition of the first leg of the Triple Crown.
Lone Sailor earned his spot in Louisville by finishing second to Noble Indy in the Louisiana Derby in his last start on March 24 – one day after stable patriarch Tom Benson was laid to rest.
Since the Louisiana Derby, Lone Sailor has had three workouts over the Churchill Downs oval, including a bullet :57.60 for five furlongs on April 19.
Lone Sailor’s appearance in the Kentucky Derby will mark the midpoint of a busy weekend for Gayle Benson, as the Pelicans play host to the Golden State Warriors in Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively, at Smoothie King Center.
The Tom Amoss trainee is one of the four 50-1 longshots in the field, according to the morning line set by Churchill Downs linemaker Mike Battaglia. James Graham will ride Lone Sailor.
Undefeated Justify is the 3-1 morning line favorite and will start alongside Lone Sailor in post No. 7.
Three Louisiana-born jockeys have drawn assignments in the race – Robby Albarado aboard Free Drop Billy, who drew post No. 2; Corey Lanerie on Promises Fulfilled, who breaks from the third post position, and Kent Desormeaux on My Boy Jack in post No. 10. My Boy Jack is trained by Desormeaux’s brother Keith.
Post time for the Kentucky Derby is 5:50 p.m. CDT Saturday. NBC will televise the race.
The full post position rundown for the 144th Kentucky Derby, with trainers, jockeys and morning line odds:
| PP | HORSE | TRAINER | JOCKEY | ML ODDS |
| 1 | Firenze Fire | Jason Servis | Paco Lopez | 50-1 |
| 2 | Free Drop Billy | Dale Romans | Robby Albarado | 30-1 |
| 3 | Promises Fulfilled | Dale Romans | Corey Lanerie | 30-1 |
| 4 | Flameaway | Mark Casse | Jose Lezcano | 30-1 |
| 5 | Audible | Todd Pletcher | Javier Castellano | 8-1 |
| 6 | Good Magic | Chad Brown | Jose Ortiz | 12-1 |
| 7 | Justify | Bob Baffert | Mike Smith | 3-1 |
| 8 | Lone Sailor | Tom Amoss | James Graham | 50-1 |
| 9 | Hofburg | Bill Mott | Irad Ortiz Jr. | 20-1 |
| 10 | My Boy Jack | Keith Desormeaux | Kent Desormeaux | 30-1 |
| 11 | Bolt d’Oro | Mick Ruis | Victor Espinoza | 8-1 |
| 12 | Enticed | Kiaran McLaughlin | Junior Alvarado | 30-1 |
| 13 | Bravazo | D. Wayne Lukas | Luis Contreras | 50-1 |
| 14 | Mendelssohn | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore | 5-1 |
| 15 | Instilled Regard | Jerry Hollendorfer | Drayden Van Dyke | 50-1 |
| 16 | Magnum Moon | Todd Pletcher | Luis Saez | 6-1 |
| 17 | Solomini | Bob Baffert | Flavien Prat | 30-1 |
| 18 | Vino Rosso | Todd Pletcher | John Velazquez | 12-1 |
| 19 | Noble Indy | Todd Pletcher | Florent Geroux | 30-1 |
| 20 | Combatant | Steve Asmussen | Ricardo Santana Jr. | 50-1 |
| AE | Blended Citizen | Doug O’Neill | Kyle Frey | 50-1 |
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Lenny Vangilder
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Lenny was involved in college athletics starting in the early 1980s, when he began working Tulane University sporting events while still attending Archbishop Rummel High School. He continued that relationship as a student at Loyola University, where he graduated in 1987. For the next 11 years, Vangilder worked in the sports information offices at Southwestern Louisiana (now UL-Lafayette) and Tulane;…
