Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, has been bouncing around from one possible Derby mount to another all spring. Now it appears he’ll be riding a total outsider, Talk Is Money, in the May 5 Run for the Roses.
Bailey began the season as the pilot of 2-year-old champ Macho Uno, but when he fell by the wayside, Jerry went to Outofthebox. After Outofthebox lost the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby, Bailey jumped ship. Then, given his chance to ride Hero’s Tribute in the Blue Grass or Congaree in the Wood, Bailey chose Hero’s Tribute.
Congaree won for fun, but Hero’s Tribute didn’t run a lick and was declared out of the Derby. So Bailey and his agent, Ron Anderson, went shopping for another top mount. No luck. Victor Espinoza will stay aboard Congaree, Pat Day sticks with Dollar Bill, Jorge Chavez is firm on Monarchos, and Mark Guidry has a tight hold on Balto Star.
Bailey was offered the mount on Songandaprayer, who won the Fountain of Youth and was second in the Blue Grass, but turned it down. Surprisingly, he landed on Talk Is Money, who was second last Saturday in the Federico Tesio at Laurel but ran poorly before that in Florida.
The proviso is that if one of the top Derby contenders suddenly needs a new rider, Bailey is free to make the switch.
“These people [Talk Is Money’s connections] were willing to bend with the situation,” said Anderson, who pooh-poohed rumors Bailey is being paid $30,000 to ride the colt.