Tonight shortly after 6:00, they will run the 135th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. BlueClaws pitcher and U of L grad BJ Rosenberg is ready to go by the way. The question: who should you root for…what is the connection between the race and the BlueClaws? Simple…

Riding #14 Atomic Rain (50-1) is none other than “Jersey Joe,” Joe Bravo, the winningest rider in New Jersey history and native of Long Branch, New Jersey. Joe will be at FirstEnergy Park on Tuesday for Monmouth Park’s annual “Haskell Prize Package” giveaway night with the BlueClaws, and we would love for a Kentucky Derby winning rider to be a part of the festivities.

Joe rode rabbit Spanish Chestnut in the 2005 Kentucky Derby, won by longshot Giacomo. Spanish Chestnut faded to to 16th.

So root for Atomic Rain and their Jersey-based connections, trainer Kelly Breen of Farmingdale, owners George and Lori Hall of Rumson, and of course, “Jersey Joe,” so we can bring a Derby winning rider to the ballpark on Tuesday.

Update: Oops…forgot to add #3 Mr. Hot Stuff (30-1), ridden by John Velasquez…no relation to but a similar name to BlueClaws RHP Jon Velasquez.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at 2:06 pm and is filed under BlueClaws Promo Nights, Other Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.