MOUNT PLEASENT (WWJ) - When Mount Pleasant native Jareth Loveberry first started racing horses at the Great Lakes Downs racetrack in Muskegon County, he never thought it would begin a nearly two decades-long journey to the starting gates in Louisville, Ky.
But on Saturday, May 6, Loveberry will captain the three-year-old chestnut colt, Two Phil's, out of post position #3 at Churchill Downs in the 149th Kentucky Derby.
Currently, Two Phil's sits at 7-1 odds to win the Derby after the heavy 3-1 favorite Forte scratched hours before the race on Saturday. Two Phil's and Loveberry will start out just inside of fellow contender and leading Derby favorite Tapit Trice and right next to Verifying, the son of Justify, the most recent Triple Crown winner from 2018.
As reported by WOODTV, Loveberry was an architecture major at Baker College when he kickstarted his jockey career, but trading in drafting pens and trace paper for breeches and a 1,000 lb. animal seems to have paid off for Loveberry.
So far, he has won 1,759 races -- and he hopes to make it 1,760 with a Derby win.
Loveberry's most recent triumph in the Jeff Ruby stakes at Turfway Park secured his and Two Phil's position in the "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports."
The Kentucky Derby will be the first for not only the Michigander, but also for the thoroughbred's trainer and owners.
“It’s the derby, it’s the Super Bowl of horse racing. I mean, it’s amazing," Loveberry said to WOODTV. "After 18 years of riding, finally making it here is pretty special."
Loveberry expressed confidence at getting Two Phil's into the winner's circle on Saturday, stating the Chicago-based horse that no one originally had interest in developed into a real contender on the track.
“Just everything this horse has gone through, shipping to a bunch of different tracks, and his maturity level growing and getting better and he’s developed into a great horse this spring and he’s proven it in getting here,” said Loveberry.
Loveberry and Two Phil's will race with 150,000 spectators looking on, a far cry from the roughly 100 people that saw Loveberry's first appearance at Great Lakes Downs.
The 2023 Kentucky Derby will air on Saturday, May 6 from 12 to 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Post time for the main race is 6:57 p.m. ET.