A Kentucky-bred horse born west of greater Louisville hasn’t won the Kentucky Derby in more than 30 years, but one from southcentral Kentucky is expected to be in the mix this year.

Epicenter, born at Bowling Green’s Westwind Farms, is the 7-2 second choice for Saturday’s 148th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

His connections – Epicenter is now owned by Ron Winchell of Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC in Lexington and trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen – have a high level of confidence in the 3-year-old heading into the Run for the Roses.

“That’s what we’re here for here. You’re doing this and planning on success, trying to put yourself in a position to have success,” Asmussen said. “Epicenter is the caliber of horse that gives you that kind of confidence.”

FAMILY BUSINESS

The 1,000-acre Westwind Farms on Three Springs Road in Bowling Green is owned and operated by brothers Mike, Brent and Kevin Harris and Mike’s sons Justin and Tyler. The three brothers are grandsons of J.R. Bettersworth, who started working with show horses before getting into thoroughbred breeding in 1963 and started selling yearlings to Keeneland in 1965.

The family’s most successful horse was a filly named My Juliet, who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2019.

Before Epicenter, Westwind Farms had only one other horse race in the Kentucky Derby – Helio Rise, who finished 14th in 1971.

“You dream about it,” Westwind Farms President Mike Harris said in an April interview with the Daily News. “Sometimes you can kind of pick out the athletes. But I knew he was a special colt from the get-go. He was the most expensive colt we have ever sold. It came at a time we were really struggling. It really helped us out. Everyone in horse raising needs something like that to happen unless they are a millionaire.”

Epicenter’s connections also come from families still dreaming of a Kentucky Derby victory.

For the Winchells, it’s a dream 70 years in the making.

Ron Winchell’s father, Verne Winchell, got involved with horse racing because of Ron’s grandfather, he says, and the interest in the sport has been passed down numerous generations now.

“My dad was a huge race fan and it really started with his dad who, growing up, he used to go to the track with him. My grandfather used to be a player that bet on horses, but he bet on long shots so he’d follow the horses and as they kind of lowered in races and quality and were able to win, he’d be betting on them. My dad, at an early age, went with him.”

The family moved to California from Illinois when Verne Winchell was 15, the son says, and stopped at the 1930 Kentucky Derby along the way. Ron Winchell says it’s where his father “first kind of got the horse bug” and began the dream of owning race horses.

Verne Winchell eventually opened a drive-thru restaurant in Temple City, Calif., in 1948, and Winchell’s Donut House eventually evolved into one of the top donut chains in the country before being sold to Denny’s in exchange for stock. He got into horse ownership in the 1950s and the family worked toward the Derby victory from there, before Verne Winchell died in 2002. Ron Winchell has continued trying for the title, but is 0-for-8 in Derby attempts, despite some strong contenders, like Tapit – the final horse Ron and Verne Winchell purchased together – and 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner.

“Basically for 50-something years he chased the Derby. He passed away in 2002. It’s something that we did together and I just carried it on and continued the quest,” Ron Winchell said. “That’s where the 70 years comes – 50 years there and the last 20 years that I’ve been chasing the same little gold trophy, if you will.”

Asmussen, too, is still chasing the Derby dream.

He’s North America’s all-time winningest trainer, but has been unable to claim victory in the Kentucky Derby in 23 previous attempts. His entries have finished third twice – Curlin in 2007 and Gun Runner in 2016, and both went on to be named Horse of the Year.

His involvement in the sport began on his family’s farm in Laredo, Texas, and helps him understand the feeling of those at Westwind Farms, where Epicenter’s path to the Kentucky Derby began.

“Proud of it, can relate to it,” Asmussen said. “I have been unbelievably fortunate to be in the position that we are now. I grew up and my mom was the trainer, my dad was the jock and me and my older brother were the majority of the help. I’m very proud of that and I think that upbringing and those experiences and needing to be the person to get it done have allowed me to attain the success that I have. Families and horse racing – I can’t imagine anything tighter than that bond.”

The Harris family knew about Epicenter’s potential since his start in Bowling Green, and the horse has since showed everybody else what it could do.

“He’s a very special horse. He’s been a standout from day one. They knew it then and he’s proven it,” Asmussen said. “I think that is the special part – when you’re around these horses, them going back considerably further than me.

“ … I grew up on a horse farm in south Texas – and you have an opinion immediately. The second you lay eyes on them, ‘Who are you going to be? How good are you going to be, and where do you end up?’ For them to ensure the pride that they have in their opinion of ‘this one’s better than the rest’ – looking at Epicenter at Keeneland when they were showing him, body language, everything – he was their favorite, they liked him, they felt they had a good one and I’m very proud that Epicenter proved that they were right.”

LOCATING A GEM

Epicenter came into Winchell’s possession at Keeneland’s 2020 September sale, where he fetched a price of $260,000.

Winchell’s primary focus when he goes to the sale, he says, is looking for Derby horses, and Asmussen’s interest in Epicenter was how he ended up with Winchell Thoroughbreds. The horse came later in the catalog than Winchell typically buys from, Asmussen says, but Epicenter “was a standout for that section of the sale.”

Epicenter’s hip number was 1,956 – there were over 4,200 in the sale – and was higher than most all others in the Derby at that same sale. Only Zandon was later of the six – Ethereal Road, Epicenter, Mo Donegal, Pioneer of Medina, Tawny Port and Zandon. Keeneland sales have 12 graduates entered for Saturday’s 1 1/4-mile race, and have produced 23 Kentucky Derby winners total, including four of the past six champions.

“No stone unturned. What wouldn’t you do to be in this position?” Asmussen said. “Being involved in horse racing, it’s what you make of the opportunities. It’s not decided before it happens. The Keeneland sale is the perfect example of it. Four thousand catalog, probably had six different books. Consigners, breeders put what they feel is their best prospects or most expensive horses early, and there’s the trickle-down effect.

“But I think you get a few books in there, that to find or feel that you’ve located a gem such as Epicenter is what makes this such a wonderful sport. It’s there for everybody, not only the elite. You must do the work.”

Epicenter has won four of its six starts, and after losing his debut, his only defeat came by a head to finish second in the Fair Grounds’ Lecomte Stakes (G3). Since then, he’s won the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star (G2) by 2 3/4 lengths and the 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby by 2 1/2 lengths. Epicenter’s career earnings total $1,010,639.

Winchell, who has ties to southcentral Kentucky as co-owner and co-managing partner of The Mint and Kentucky Downs in Franklin and The Mint Bowling Green, was unaware Epicenter was originally from the area at the time of his purchase but believes it gives those there an easy horse to cheer for.

“When I purchased him out of the September sale, I didn’t really look back and say, ‘Oh, he’s a Bowling Green horse,’ “ Winchell said. “Sometimes we do look back and see where they came from just because you kind of want to know where they’re raised and how they’re raised, but in this particular instance, we didn’t and then later on I figured out he was from Bowling Green and it’s pretty significant with the business interests that we have in The Mint Bowling Green and that region.

“I think it’s just a cool story. He’s also just kind of a really cool horse. He has the mindset that makes it applicable for what we need to do in the Derby. I think when you look at him physically and what he’s done and the races he’s had – the race he had in the Louisiana Derby, the distance he’s on, his style of running up toward the front with a lot of tactical speed – I think for people in Bowling Green, it really gives him a great shot at hopefully winning the Kentucky Derby.”

The last Kentucky-bred horse born west of greater Louisville to win the Kentucky Derby was Spend a Buck, who was born in Daviess County, in 1985, and before that the last Derby winner from the western or southcentral part of the state was Flying Ebony, a horse from Christian County who won in 1925.

What makes Epicenter stand out to the trainer was the way he moves.

Asmussen says he’s going faster than others he’s brought to the Derby – like Curlin and Gun Runner – sooner than they were, and Winchell believes Epicenter is more accomplished at this stage of his career than others he’s brought to Louisville. It’s why they both believe this could possibly be their best chance at a Kentucky Derby victory.

“Just even at a slow gear, he is best described as a slinky,” Asmussen said. “He’s just extremely fluid and a great mover.

DERBY DAY

Asmussen has six horses entered at Churchill Downs throughout Derby day, which he says, “which will help distract us until the main event.”

After drawing the No. 3 post in Monday’s draw, Epicenter was the 7-2 second favorite. He entered the day expected by many to be the favorite after consecutive graded stakes wins, but the Chad Brown-trained Zandon starting from the No. 10 post drew 3-1 odds for the $3 million race.

When asked following the draw if he was surprised Epicenter wasn’t the favorite, Asmussen responded: “I’ll be surprised if he gets beat, the rest I have nothing to do with.”

Asmussen began working with the Winchell family back at his family’s training center in Laredo, and Winchell says he’s “never seen a trainer that has the attention to detail that he has.” It’s showed in recent prep for the race, which has an approximate post time of 5:57 p.m. CT.

“The starting gate is fairly new here where they have 20 horses instead of two starting gates. I asked Steve the other day, ‘Have you taken him through the starting gate?’ ‘Yup, already did that.’ It’s every little detail that makes him who he is.

“In fact, he’s even schooled him out by the area where they start just because horses, especially Epicenter, if they have something new, they look around. You don’t want them to be there the first time on Derby day looking around and seeing what’s new around them. I think stuff like that is what makes Steve a little bit different, is every little attention to detail – there’s no stone unturned with him.”

The new 20-horse gate was introduced in 2020 to replace the old one, which featured a 14-stall main gate plus an auxiliary barrier for six more horses, and the new 65-foot gate featured more room for horses along the rail.

Asmussen believes it has leveled the playing field as much as possible – an important piece with Epicenter’s post position near the inside.

“With that said, you have no control over how 20 3-year-olds will handle this volume of crowd for the first time. None of them have been in a race that’s had that many runners in it,” Asmussen said. “Going back to the fact that we’re in the three-hole, I think the further you are inside, the more important the first step is because of the natural chain reaction of somebody being where you hope to be.”

There’s confidence from Epicenter’s connections for the horse to fulfill long-time Derby dreams for three families, and the hope is to soon be able to showcase a trophy in the city where Epicenter’s journey to the Kentucky Derby began.

“I think it would be awesome,” Winchell said. “I’d love to take the Derby trophy on a little trip to Bowling Green and display it in The Mint and give people the opportunity to come over and see it if we’re so fortunate to find the winner’s circle.”