Horses had just come off the track, so trainers were still in shock somewhat about what they’d just seen. Therefore, when asked about how their horse’s trip went, how they’d come out of it, or how they felt, they can be forgiven for not having their Trainer Speak phasers on stun.
Graham Motion didn’t lose, so he doesn’t count.
Only Nick Zito had a prepared an excuse: “he was dead last and they never came back”. Of the 19 losing horses’ 18 trainers (Maker had 2), Peter Miller and Kathleen O’Connell are the only ones not quoted. This means that they were not found immediately after the race, either by crowd or by choice.
Off the official “Kentucky Derby Losing Trainer Quotes” list, there are:
- 5 No excuses/Ran good/Never stopped
- 4 Not Our Day
- 3 Proud/Pleased with my horse
- 2 Fabulous/Delighted
If your first inclination – to a reporter, into a microphone – is that the race didn’t suck for your horse, you don’t get to retract that tomorrow. So, other than Jinx Fires, no one gets to rev up the Excuse Generator.
