miaowang123: since being traded during the off-season. "A lot of

since being traded during the off-season. "A lot of

28 Apr 2018 at 05:08

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Corey Brown Jersey . -- The owners of California Chrome are putting all their hopes into the chestnut colt to win the Kentucky Derby. After all, hes the only horse they own. California Chrome, based at lesser-known Los Alamitos racetrack in suburban Los Angeles, is the early 5-2 favourite for Saturdays 140th Derby with good reason. He has won four straight races by a combined 24 1/4 lengths under Victor Espinoza, who won the Derby in 2002 with War Emblem. "Hes so light on his feet," Espinoza said. "He just does things so easy and makes my job easy." California Chromes owners, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, are no Kentucky blue bloods. Theyre a couple of working stiffs who live near Reno, Nevada. A trainer called them "dumb asses" for getting into the racing game, inspiring the duo to put the letters DAP on their silks, which stands for Dumb Ass Partners. "Were going to go down in history," Coburn predicted. California Chrome is the product of an $8,000 mare and a $2,500 stallion. Hes earned more than $1 million already, making it somewhat easier for Coburn and Martin to turn down a pre-Derby offer of $6 million for a 51 per cent stake in the horse. "Weve been blessed with this colt," Coburn said. "The first time we saw him, we knew it was going to be something special." If their tale seems improbable, well, its happened before at Churchill Downs. Mine That Bird, a 50-1 shot owned and trained by two guys from New Mexico mocked as cowboys, pulled off the stunning upset in the 2009 Derby. At 77, Art Sherman, who oversees California Chrome, would be the oldest trainer to win. His colt would be the first California-bred to wear the garland of red roses in 52 years. "Hes feeling good and hes doing good," Sherman said. "Hes coming up to this race right." Rosie Napravnik wants to grab history, too. No female jockey has won the Derby, although she came closest -- fifth last year. Napravnik will ride 20-1 shot Vicars In Trouble. Her husband, Joe Sharp, works closely with the Louisiana-bred colt as assistant to trainer Mike Maker. "The story would almost be too good if we won it," she said. Wicked Strong is the early 6-1 second choice. The colt is named for the victims of last years Boston Marathon bombings and is trained by Jimmy Jerkens, who has his first Derby horse. Trainer Todd Pletcher has four horses in the Derby -- Danza and Intense Holiday are both 8-1 while his other two are longer shots, 30-1 Vinceremos and 50-1 We Miss Artie. Danza is named for "Taxi" actor Tony Danza, who planned to attend the Derby. Maker will saddle three horses, all long shots. Besides Vicars In Trouble, he has 15-1 General a Rod and 50-1 Harrys Holiday. "When those gates open, anything can happen," Maker said. Three-time Derby winner Bob Baffert is down to 20-1 shot Chitu after being forced to scratch early second favourite Hoppertunity because of a minor foot problem. "California Chrome has proven hes a really good horse," Baffert said, adding, "Theres a lot of parity in this field. Everybody might have a chance." Getting the ideal trip in the 1 1/4-mile Derby is important, especially with the traffic from 19 horses making a chaotic charge into the first turn. Jockeys want to avoid anything that would prevent their horse from getting into rhythm, like being bumped, cut off or blocked. Sherman believes the key is the first 70 yards. "You want to get out and get yourself some position," he said. Trainer Steve Asmussen takes a shot with Tapiture, who started three times at Churchill Downs as a 2-year-old. Asmussen is under investigation by Kentucky and New York racing officials after an animal rights group alleged he and his former assistant mistreated horses in their care. The forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 73 degrees, with a crowd of at least 140,000 expected. Keep an eye on jockey Calvin Borel. He and 15-1 shot Ride On Curlin will break from the No. 18 spot in the starting gate. Borel will try to hustle the colt over to his favourite path on the track -- the rail. The rider nicknamed "Bo-rail" for his fence-skimming rides has three Derby wins in the last seven years. Doug Flutie Jersey . Eller said the Oilers were a "junior team" that was "all over the place" before Edmontons 4-3 victory over Montreal on Tuesday night, Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins took offence to Ellers comments and used it to motivate his youthful team. Patrick DiMarco Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. BALTIMORE -- These Oakland Athletics, they wont back down. Not when confronted by an angry opponent, not when theyre dodging inside fastballs and definitely not when trailing late in the game. Pinch-hitter Stephen Vogt singled in the tiebreaking run in the 11th inning, and the Athletics got home runs from Josh ;Donaldson and Derek Norris in a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. It was the sixth win in seven games for the Athletics, who own the best record in the AL (38-23) and the best road record in the majors (21-11). In the third inning, Donaldson tagged Manny Machado in the chest near third base for the third out, causing Machado to lose his balance and topple backward. Machado quickly stood up and yelled close-up at Donaldson, apparently questioning the force of the tag, and players from both sides crowded around the duo before Orioles manager Buck Showalter pulled Machado away. "I just tried to tag the guy. I was walking over there to go pick his helmet up for him, then he jumps up and starts yelling at me," Donaldson said. "I dont know what happened on his end, but Im just trying to do my job and play the game of baseball." Machado said: "Right play, he made the right play, but I just didnt agree on the tag that he made on me and I just had to get up and confront him. You get in the heat of the moment and things start flying." That appeared to be the end of it, but with two outs and nobody on in the sixth inning, Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen threw an inside pitch near Donaldsons chin. After retreating from the batters box, Donaldson smiled knowingly. But he expressed anger minutes later, when Chen hit him with another inside fastball. "I understand them pitching in. Thats fine," Donaldson said. "It was just on my hand. (Baltimores) Nellie Cruz took one on the hand just the other day, and he doesnt seem too fond of that either." In the eighth, though, the As trailed 3-2. Pinch-hitter Coco Crisp drew a walk from Darren ODay, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Yoenis Cespedes. That led to Oaklands eighth win this season when trailing after seven innings. "We dont give up untiil that last out is made," Oakland starter Tommy Milone said. Colton Schmidt Jersey. "You see if in the last few games, it seems like were always in every game, and we find ways to win." John Jaso led off the 11th with a pinch-hit double off Evan Meek (0-2). With one out, Gold Glove shortstop J.J. Hardy botched a grounder, his fourth error in two games. Meek went to third on the play and scored when Vogt hit a liner to left. Fernando Abad (1-2) worked the 10th and Sean ;Doolittle got three outs for his eighth save. The Orioles missed a chance to win it in the 10th when Nick Markakis was thrown out at the plate by Moss on Adam Jones one-out single to right. Cruz was then cut down trying to steal home. "Saw it, felt it, went for it, didnt work out," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. Prior to that, Chen retired 10 straight batters. Chen gave up two runs -- both on homers -- in 6 1-3 innings. Milone allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. Donaldson put the As up 1-0 in the first with his 17th home run, and Norris connected leading off the second. Baltimore used three straight two-out singles, the last by rookie Jonathan Schoop, to get a run back in the bottom of the second. Chris ;Davis tied it in the fourth with an opposite-field drive to left, and Machado homered in the fifth for a 3-2 lead. NOTES: The Orioles put RHP Miguel Gonzalez (strained right oblique) on the 15-day DL, recalled RHP Tim Berry from Double-A Bowie, purchased the contract of Meek from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned RHP Preston Guilmet to the same club. ... Kevin Gausman replaced Gonzalez as Baltimores starter vs. Oakland on Saturday. The As will call upon right-hander Sonny Gray (6-1, 2.45 ERA). ... Former Orioles closer Jim Johnson returned to Baltimore for the first time since being traded during the off-season. "A lot of memories. Its obviously different going into a different clubhouse. Its cool," Johnson said. ... Oakland has homered in 14 straight games. ... LHP Johan Santana, who hoped to make a comeback with the Orioles, tore his Achilles tendon in extended spring training and is lost for the year.Cheap NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Store Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys ' ' '



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