Sports

Derby win meant big changes for Orb

Jennifer Patterson, exercise rider and assistant to trainer Shug McGaughey, will help guide Kentucky Derby winner Orb through his schedule this week en route to Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore, Maryland. As told to Anthony Affrunti.

What an unbelievable experience the last week has been. The Derby was just a whole different atmosphere, and it couldn’t have gone any better. I’m not sure what day it is. Is it Saturday? Sunday?

It was great to have my parents come to the Derby. They’ve been involved in the racing scene for years, and now had the excuse to go since I was involved in it with Orb. We went out to celebrate after the win on Saturday night with the Phippses, then packed Sunday morning and drove back home to Delaware for a few days. My mom drove most of the way while I slept in the car.

It was great to have a few days off and see my friends and family. They had a big party for me Monday night. I was welcomed with open arms. I don’t get to go home very often, and really needed some rest, but I’m not complaining.

Everybody has been so nice since I got back to Belmont. The other trainers, riders and all the other people have all been wishing us well. The morale is very high at the barn. We’re really rolling now.

I wasn’t sure what to expect coming back. I thought we might have a few days without cameras and press, but Fox News was here the other day. It builds each day. Lots of media around the barn. Shug has a great staff here. I get to work with great people. We all pitch in and get everything done. I do all the travelling. I get to go with most of the horses when they ship out of state, and it’s great. I get to meet new people, and now with the added media stuff each day, it adds to the fun. Somebody recognized me the other day, away from the track. They asked “Are you the girl that rides the Derby winner?”

With Orb we just try to keep him in the same routine. He breezes every Monday before he runs. If you keep them on a schedule, it seems to keep them happy. I’ve been working at Belmont for seven years and have seen the Triple Crown hopefuls that have been here in past years. I’ve never been a part of that. Now experiencing this first hand, with the Preakness only two weeks later, the small amount of time to prepare, and trying to keep the horse’s schedule the same, it gets hard. I can see where it could be easy to lose focus.

We’re asking a lot from these horses. They’re still babies. It’s been a big team effort, and a good time. We’re having fun with this. He’s turned into something special. It’s been great watching him grow. There never was any pressure early on, but they have to be special to get through this. It’s our job to not let the stress get to you. Shug has been great with that.

Orb has come out of the race as good as you could expect. The weather has been real bad this week, but hopefully we’ll get a good track this morning. He’ll breeze around 6 a.m., then ship out to Baltimore at 10. I’m gonna try to get on the road a little earlier so I can get a head start and set up the barn and get everything ready. Then we kick off Preakness week.