For The Third Time Local Saratoga Springs Investor Is A Partner In A Kentucky Derby Contender
Mo Donegal Emerging as a Favorite in 2022 Kentucky Derby
Saratoga Springs/ Louisville, KY — Donegal Racing’s Mo Donegal has not only qualified for the Kentucky Derby, the three-year-old — owned by several partners including Raymond CH Bryan, of Saratoga Springs — is quickly gaining plaudits as a favorite to capture the first jewel in this year’s Triple Crown.
Mo Donegal cinched his Derby berth with an upset, off-the-pace win in the Wood Memorial Stakes on April 9 at Aqueduct in Queens, NY. At one point, Mo Donegal (pictured above) slipped into last place before starting his roaring surge at the far turn. As others faded, Mo Donegal pressed and caught the leader, Early Voting, in the home stretch near the finish line for the win by a neck.
Jerry Crawford, CEO of Donegal Racing, says the agile, athletic horse is well-suited and prepared for the heavy traffic of the Kentucky Derby, which features a field of 20 horses.
“A recent article said that he has the fastest closing fractions in the country by quite some margin,” Crawford notes. “At Aqueduct, he closed 12 lengths. No othver horse did that in any race on that track, while we were there. I’m optimistic for the mile and a quarter on May 7th.”
“We have great confidence in Mo Donegal, more than any other horse we’ve brought this far,” Crawford emphasizes.
Post time for the 2022 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 7, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. The race started in 1875 and has run without interruption since. (The 2020 race was postponed until September of that year.) The Derby record for the 1.25 mile race is held by Secretariat, achieved in 1973.
Donegal Racing was founded in 2008 by Jerry and Linda Crawford. The group identifies horses with the qualities and genetics most likely to produce stakes-race-winning horses with an eye on competing in the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown. Three other Donegal horses have made it to the Derby and enjoyed successful stakes careers: Paddy O’Prado, Dullahan and Keen Ice.
