Louisville Magazine

APR 2014

Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.

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4.14 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 5 5 I always thought people got a bigger kick out of you and Bob Bafert not being animated but just kind of Mister Cool. "Funny thing about Bafert and I. When we both came along — I was ahead of him a little — but the media always tried to develop this rivalry between us. But the reality was that, after dealing with 30 or 40 reporters each day, we'd look at each other and say, 'Well, I guess we'll go along with this and let 'em develop the story line.' We were good friends and have always been good friends. I remember one time there was a story where we had this intense rivalry and we did a live interview in the morning of Derby Week, and after everybody left I said to Bob, 'Where do you want to go to dinner tonight?' It was funny." You live in Louisville now, correct? "Yes. I live in Lake Forest." How long have you been there? "Tis is my 10th year. I was in Los Angeles, and I got tired of having to plan my day by the trafc patterns. I'm just enough cowboy that I like the clean air and a little more green around me. I thought, 'If ever I'm going to be in my element in the environment I like, it'd have to be Kentucky.' So I moved to Kentucky, and I thought it was one of the best decisions I ever made." How so? "For one thing, as a trainer you have a certain status in the area that you don't have in any other place in America. You get a feeling that the pageantry. Tey just want to know how to make two into six. But the better the horses, the more interest across the board. Te Derby takes that to the highest level." Do you think we'll ever see a casino in Kentucky? "No. You know, every racetrack that's got a casino eventually sees the racetrack as a nuisance. Except here (on the grounds at Oaklawn, where the track recently opened a facility for 'electronic games of skill'). At least in Arkansas they appreciate the horse and horsemen. New York is just printing money with that casino at Aqueduct. Tey've added purse money, but what's going to happen is, a year or two from now those legislators are going to step up and wonder why they're giving all this money to racing. Tey'll have other priorities." Do you still get nervous on Derby Day? "I never did get nervous. I don't know if it's my coaching background, but I get real analytical. We're quite organized, and I want everything to run smoothly. When we won those six Triple Crown races in a row (1994-'96), somebody from NBC or ABC, whichever was televising it at the time, came to me and said, 'When they cross the fnish line, could you just be a little more animated? Could you hug somebody? Or throw your program in the air? Or jump up and down or cheer? Just standing there stoically and watching them cross the fnish line is not good television.'" Were you able to pull it of? "No, I forgot all about that by the time they hit the line." Lukas in his barn 44 Churchill ofce. 44-63.indd 55 3/19/14 5:22 PM

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