Horse Co-Owned by Buffett Aims for Kentucky Derby

In 2007 Jimmy Buffett and several partners formed Last Mango Racing Stables, a horse racing owners group.

Last Mango is hoping to field their horse Daddy Forty Nine in this year’s Kentucky Derby:

A total of 366 three-year-olds are nominated to the Derby and the other Triple Crown races, from two-year-old champion Lookin At Lucky, to a long shot gelding co-owned by Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees, to a full brother of ill-fated 2006 Derby winner Barbaro.

The Derby field is limited to 20 starters, and it’ll be the prep races from Arkansas to Arcadia, Calif., New Orleans to New York, and Gulfstream to Keeneland that determine who ends up at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.

The usual Derby-driven trainers dominate the list of nominees. Four-time Derby winner D. Wayne Lukas has 19 nominees, two-time Derby winner Nick Zito has 15 and three-time Derby winner Bob Baffert has 13. Todd Pletcher tops them all with 20 as he seeks his first Derby winner (he’s 0-for-24).

Brees’ Derby hopeful is Daddy Forty Nine. The gelding is owned by Last Mango Racing Stable, formed by New Orleans Saints vice president of communications Greg Bensel. Other partners include Saints coach Sean Payton, singer Jimmy Buffett and the Monday Night Football announcing crew of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden.

The owners group enjoyed limited success in 2008 with a horse named Pulaski County.