Frankel Should Be More Accommodating To The Media
By: William F. Reed

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed by Mr. Reed in this piece, and all of his installments, do not necessarily reflect the sentiments of Churchill Downs Incorporated or the CDSN Network of racetracks and web sites.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Apr. 25, 2003) - The talented and esteemed trainer, Bobby Frankel, has requested that media members wait until the end of training hours before approaching him for interviews about his Kentucky Derby contenders, Empire Maker and Peace Rules, and other horses that will be running next week at Churchill Downs.

As an individual who has been on the Derby trail since 1964, I urge my fellow media members to please honor this request. Mr. Frankel is so busy and important that he should not be bothered with silly media folks who are only trying to promote the sport from which he earns his living.

Would anyone be so crass as to approach a brain surgeon before he goes into the operating room? A rocket scientist when a trip into outer space is approaching? A general when he's about to send troops into combat?

Absolutely not. And surely Mr. Frankel, the genius du jour, deserves that kind of respect and distance. In fact, I doubt that I will approach him, even when he deems it to be appropriate, for fear of asking a question that would somehow distract or upset this brilliant, yet delicate, individual.

I may be wrong, but I don't remember Bob Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, Laz Barrera, Billy Turner, Horatio Luro, Lucien Laurin, Charlie Whittingham, LeRoy Jolley, John Campo, Woody Stephens, or Nick Zito ever making such a request.

Sometimes they were too busy to talk. Their wishes were respected. Yet they also always have been accessible and delighted to talk, even if only in brief snatches of conversation between sending sets of horses to the track.

But, hey, what did they know? They were only interested in doing their utmost to promote Thoroughbred racing and the Kentucky Derby. Mr. Frankel obviously exists on a far higher level, and that most definitely should be respected.

So the poor slobs from the media, some of whom hold degrees from universities such as Harvard and Indiana and Duke, should make every effort to attend Mr. Frankel's 9:15 a.m. (EDT) press conferences, in the hope that they'll be blessed to garner a single pearl of wisdom from this intellectual giant and VIP.

He sure makes Baffert look silly. Why, that guy, who only has won the Derby three times, has even been known to invite media members to jump into his car and accompany him to the front side to watch his horses work out in the week before the Derby.

And speaking of intellectual giants, Madame Wizard has emerged again from her pile of Racing Forms, statistics, printouts, Beyer figs, Dosage numbers, and media releases.

Here is her Derby update:

1. Empire Maker: Florida Derby and Wood Memorial champ is a legitimate favorite to have his name on souvenir mint julep glasses forever, but his failure to switch leads properly and his domination of overmatched rivals will make him the mother of all underlays in a large field.

2. Ten Most Wanted: Lightly raced professional runner recorded a seven-furlong work in 1:25.60 under the Twin Spires with Pat Day in the saddle on Apr. 23 and should handle a mile and a quarter with ease.

3. Buddy Gil: Bullet six-furlong work in 1:11.80 at Churchill on Apr. 21 suggests this son of Eastern Echo has had no negative effects after bleeding slightly in the Santa Anita Derby.

4. Offlee Wild: Third-place finish over Keeneland's speed-favoring surface in the Blue Grass Stakes was better than it looked after 56 days away, and his five-furlong work in 1:01.40 this week signals he's rounding into top form at the right time.

5. Peace Rules: Rode Keeneland's "golden rail" to an unimpressive final time of 1:51.73 in the Blue Grass Stakes and doesn't look like a horse who wants an extra furlong.

6. Funny Cide: Gutsy New York-bred isn't attracting nearly as much attention as fellow gelding Buddy Gil and figures to add value to exotic wagers in Louisville.

7. Kafwain: Don't like the fact that this talented, tenacious son of champion sprinter Cherokee Run missed nine days of training with an infection after the Santa Anita Derby, but he has too much class to place any lower.

8. Atswhatimtalknbout: Has the talent and pedigree but it's asking a lot for this colt to make his first start away Santa Anita in front of a Derby crowd of 140,000, even if blinkers prevent him from gawking at throngs of infield crazies.

9. Scrimshaw: Late-blooming Lukas colt got a masterful ride from Edgar Prado in the Lexington Stakes but needs a new pilot to run for the roses.

10. Indian Express: This $4,500 Utah-bred turned in a remarkable effort first time over a route of ground in the Santa Anita Derby and posted a solid seven-furlong work in company with Kafwain in 1:26 at Churchillo on Apr. 23

Native Kentuckian William F. Reed has been a sports writer in various capacities for 43 years and has missed covering the Kentucky Derby a mere two times since 1966. He has been a high-profile sports writer in Kentucky for the Commonwealth's two largest daily newspapers, the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader and was a national columnist for Sports Illustrated, covering among other sports, Thoroughbred horse racing and college basketball. Reed currently pens a column for the Louisville Sports Report and covered Kentucky Derby 128 for kentuckyderby.com. He will be filing frequent installments for CDSN's (Churchill Downs Simulcasting Network) websites throughout 2003.

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