(LEX 18) — There's a first time for everything, and perhaps you'll never forget attending your first Kentucky Derby. And Saturday will be a wild ride for one person, who might just have one of the best seats in all of Churchill Downs.
Jareth Loveberry has been a jockey for 18 years, but this will be his first Kentucky Derby and he has a horse in the race with a pretty good shot.
In the days leading up to the Derby, it's like waiting for the most magical day of the year.
"Been getting on horses since I was 13, 14 years old," said Loveberry. "For a summer job, I'd walk across the street and clean stalls, groom horses and just help out."
Loveberry's teenage years are behind him. But when he races Two Phil's under the Twin Spires, a childhood dream comes true.
"Just being around them, it gets in your blood and you can't get away from it," he said.
But at one point, it almost did.
"I was in school to be an architect, but man, the love of the horses and winning races kept me in the game," said Loveberry.
Loveberry and Two Phil's have won some big races. The Jeff Ruby to get here to Churchill Downs. It's a track where Two Phil's has already been a winner.
"I have a big relationship with this horse," Loveberry said. "Been getting on him for over a year now. I started getting on him as a baby in April last spring."
Just a baby a year ago, now with a seat at the big kid's table.
"Last year we had the right two-year-old, and he's become a great three-year-old," he said. "[Two Phil's] was always good. But I thought he developed and just got better and his mentality made him better. He got smarter and more mature and that's what you need in a great racehorse."
A great racehorse on the greatest stage.
"From where I started, I didn't know if it was possible to make it to the Derby," said Loveberry. "And now this year, being here-- it's like -- pretty amazing. It's surreal actually."
