Brooklyn Strong: From Philly to the Kentucky Derby quickly
Brooklyn Strong needed a few horses to drop out to make the Kentucky Derby and now needs to make it to Churchill Downs at the latest possible minute.
The defection of trainer Brad Cox’s Caddo River on Sunday opened the door for Daniel Velasquez’s Brooklyn Strong to be the 20th and final horse in the field for the Run for the Roses. The New York-bred named after one of New York City’s five boroughs worked out at Parx outside Philadelphia on Monday and will be vanned overnight to Louisville to get settled in for his biggest race.
“It’s absolutely insane,” Velasquez said about the quick turnaround. “I can’t put it into words. ‘Chaos’ is the only thing I can think of because it’s just been that chaotic the last 24 to 48 hours.”