Like most jockeys riding in the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs, Corey Lanerie has not yet tasted success in the 1 1/4-mile classic. But he has an inkling of the euphoria he might experience after threatening to win the 2017 race.
Riding the rail on late-running 33-1 longshot Lookin At Lee , Lanerie grew excited on the second turn as his mount picked off rivals from the back of the pack to pull into second in early stretch, with only Always Dreaming to catch.
"Then it was like a parachute came out and I just sailed in," he said as Lookin At Lee's bid stalled and Always Dreaming kicked away for a 2 3/4-length victory. "I was just like, 'No!' But that feeling I had at the quarter pole was second to none."
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Well, second only to victory. And Lanerie's chances at victory in the Kentucky Derby appear stronger than ever this year with the 47-year-old jockey having the mount on Smile Happy, a consistent and high-achieving colt projected to start in the Derby around 12-1 or 15-1 odds. Not once in his prior five rides in the Derby has Lanerie had a mount go off at a price lower than 25-1.
"I've won a lot of races—I think I'm only like (114) from 5,000 (winners)—but I haven't won the big ones," he said, meaning a Triple Crown or Breeders' Cup race. "It might be this year. It only takes one horse."
Five years removed from riding Lookin At Lee to his runner-up finish in the Derby, Lanerie's life is far different than it was in 2017. After taking the three riding meet titles at Churchill that year, 2018 began with troubling news that his wife, Shantel, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
She underwent chemotherapy and was doing well through the middle of the year, Lanerie said, before developing sepsis and quickly deteriorating. She was admitted into a Louisville hospital June 21, 2018, and died the next day.
"She played tennis Monday and was gone Thursday," he said.
Lanerie is now a single father, raising his 14-year-old daughter, Brittlyn. But he is reluctant to view himself as on his own, pointing to the support he has received from friends. He points to his friendship with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and Brian's wife, Jamie, and similar bonds with Churchill Downs executive Gary Palmisano and longtime friend Paul Gillis.
He is also quick to credit the help of Denise Melancon, wife of late jockey Larry Melancon, for moving into his Kentucky home "with Brittlyn so she could stay here and go to school" while he rode the winter at Gulfstream Park in Florida.
"Even when Shantel was sick, we had him over to the house. Shantel and my wife, Jamie, they had gotten really, really close," Brian Hernandez said. "We always told her, whenever she needed us, we'd be there for Brit. We never expected her to pass like she did. We thought she'd beat the cancer, but unfortunately that wasn't the circumstances.
"Being from Louisiana and being as close as we are, we are more of a family than anything else, and you always want to see family succeed."
On April 11, Lanerie posted photos on Facebook of him with Shantel from years gone by with the message, "Happy anniversary my love miss you."
"It would have been our 28th anniversary, I think," Lanerie said in a late April interview at Keeneland. "It's been up and down, a lot of hard times. But you remember the good times. We were blessed to have her as long as we did."
Though Shantel Lanerie is gone, her memory is not. Soon after her passing, Rick Mocklin, one of Lanerie's prior jockey agents and a friend of the couple's, organized with others to form the Shantel Lanerie Breast Cancer Foundation. The Foundation raises funds and supports those fighting the disease, assisting 73 women in four years of existence, Mocklin said.
"We wanted to do this to keep Shantel's name alive," he said.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots also named a stakes race in her memory.
"I don't know anybody that would say one bad thing about her. I don't know if the same would go for me," Lanerie said.
Few can find fault with what Lanerie has accomplished at Churchill Downs, where has notched 19 riding titles, second only to Hall of Famer Pat Day's 33.
None have come since the fall of 2019. Since then, Tyler Gaffalione has swept the six meet titles at Churchill.
"It never gets old," Lanerie said of chasing meet-end honors. "It's gotten harder. The competition has gotten tougher, and Tyler has kind of taken over that position, but I'm not going to go away without fighting."
Lanerie is encouraged by his opportunities this year, which include being the regular rider of Bell's the One, who on Saturday will seek to win her second Derby City Distaff Presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery (G1) on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
One key to Lanerie's success at Churchill is his willingness to save ground.
Like three-time Kentucky Derby winner and Louisiana native Calvin Borel did at Churchill Downs before him, Lanerie will often place mounts within just a few feet of the inside rail.
"I used to watch Calvin do that at Louisiana Downs when I had the bug (an apprentice weight allowance) before he came to Kentucky. He did it all the time. Being raised in Louisiana and riding around there, everybody would get mad if you go wide. They'd rather you get stuck on the fence than go around and win. It was instilled in my brain.
"Then I rode a few years for Steve Asmussen (trainer of Lookin At Lee), and he was another big ground saver. And he taught me a lot, made me a much better rider—saving ground, a lot of things he has taught me over the years."
Borel wasn't the only Hall of Fame jockey to whom Lanerie would listen. He said he took advice from Edgar Prado on riding horses that might not be the best based on their pre-race credentials.
"He told me one day, 'You're on a longshot. You're only chance is to save ground and get lucky and get through. If you get stopped, oh well, you're probably not gonna go around and win, anyhow,'" Lanerie recalled. "That was just a few years ago, but you can learn something at any time."
Though Lanerie and Hernandez were born in Louisiana, they are Louisville, Ky., residents from spring through fall.
Appropriately, Smile Happy's owners, Lucky Seven Stable, are also from the Derby City. Their stable name is derived from its number of founding members, parents Ginny and Leo Mackin, and their children Mike, Jeff, Kim, Jay, and Craig.
"Boy, it would be an unbelievable thing to pull it off for them here locally," said Smile Happy's trainer, Kenny McPeek. "In a way, I feel like they have a lot of good mojo going. Their mother and father have both passed away. I believe in angels. They've got their mom and dad up there, and here we have Lucky Seven and all the five kids are actively enjoying this. It's a neat deal."
As for Hernandez, he was Smile Happy's initial jockey, piloting him to a debut win last October at Keeneland, but the ride on the promising colt became available in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last November when McPeek wanted to run both Smile Happy and Tiz the Bomb in the prestigious fall-meet race at Churchill.
Hernandez took the call on Tiz the Bomb, who had been second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar at start earlier. But McPeek had to scratch Tiz the Bomb from the Kentucky Jockey Club when the colt developed a leg infection.
Hernandez ended up on the sidelines for the race, as Smile Happy rolled to a 3 1/4-length score under Lanerie.
With his 2-for-2 record as a juvenile, the Runhappy colt became a slight favorite among individual betting interests in early pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager this year. His stock has dropped somewhat with bettors following two runner-up finishers —though his defeats came behind two of the leading Derby contenders, Epicenter and Zandon .
Smile Happy rallied from eighth under Lanerie to finish 2 3/4 lengths behind Epicenter in the Feb. 19 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) at Fair Grounds, then sat closer to the pace in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland before he caught and defeated 2 1/2 lengths by Zandon.
"I might not have beat Epicenter (in the Risen Star), but he still showed a good run at the end and learned a lot," Lanerie said. "He was in traffic. As we all know in the Derby, you don't always get the smoothest trip. It was probably good for him to get that learning experience. I was proud of him.
"Then we came back for the Blue Grass. I thought I couldn't lose turning for home. He was running so easy—he had his ears up—but we got run down by Zandon for one reason or another. Kenny says he got a little tired. He'll have him cranked up a little more for the Derby.
"Another positive, it's his third race off a layoff—usually their best. So I'm hoping it is and we can get lucky and win the Kentucky Derby."
To win he'll have to defeat Tiz the Bomb, under Hernandez, and barring any scratches, 18 other 3-year-olds. Magdalena Racing Lessee's Tiz the Bomb qualified for the Derby by winning the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park on synthetic.
"I liken this to a home game for us," McPeek said from Churchill. "Between Brian and Corey— I think they're both in the top-10 (among active jockeys) here. These guys have been around this oval all their life. Two solid, solid journeyman riders.
"I don't know how many riding titles Corey has here at Churchill," he added, suggesting it has been so often it is difficult to keep track. "So I don't have much concern about them knowing their way around there. I think both Corey and Brian are due a signature horse. Maybe one of them has got it this week."
