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KENTUCKY DERBY
Kentucky Derby

Sierra Leone trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2024 Kentucky Derby horse

Jason Frakes
Louisville Courier Journal

Sierra Leone is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2024 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September.

The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 27. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.

Sierra Leone will enter the Kentucky Derby off a victory in the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 6 at Keeneland. He currently ranks first on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 155.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, the favorite for the 150th Kentucky Derby, works Monday morning at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky on April 21, 2024.

Color: Dark bay/brown

Bred in: Kentucky

Sire: Gun Runner

Dam: Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon

Price tag: $2.3 million at 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale

Owners: Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Brook Smith, Peter Brant. Magnier is 0 for 13 in the Derby. Tabor is 1 for 20, winning with Thunder Gulch in 1995. Derrick Smith is 0 for 11. Westerberg is 0 for 1. First Derby for Brook Smith. Brant is listed as 0 for 3 in the Derby media guide, though he owned a share of 1984 Derby winner Swale.

Trainer: Chad Brown, 0 for 7 in Derby. Best finish was second with Good Magic (2018).

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione, 0 for 6 in Derby. Best finish was seventh with War of Will (2019).

Record: 3-1-0 in four starts

Career earnings: $918,000

Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 155 (No. 1)

Last race: Won the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 6 at Keeneland by 1 ½ lengths over Just a Touch

Running style: Closer

Notes: Sierra Leone won his debut Nov. 4 at Aqueduct before suffering his lone defeat — by a nose to Dornoch — in the Grade 2 Remsen on Dec. 2 at Aqueduct. He opened his 3-year-old campaign with a half-length victory over Track Phantom in the Grade 2 Risen Star on Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds. … Of the 346 horses nominated to the Triple Crown, Sierra Leone is the highest-priced at $2.3 million. … Gun Runner, Sierra Leone’s sire, was third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and went on to earn Horse of the Year honors as a 4-year-old in 2017.

What they’re saying: “He’s been a star since he was born,” Brown said. “He’s just an unbelievable physical specimen. You can’t fault him anywhere.”

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.

How many horses have won Triple Crown?Meet winners of the Derby, Preakness and Belmont

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