About the Namesake

Jim's Orbit, the last Texas-bred to race in the Kentucky Derby, was the Texas Champion 2-Year-Old of 1987 and the Texas Champion 3-Year-Old of 1988. The chestnut son of Orbit Dancer won his first stakes in the In Memoriam, now known as the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, at Turfway Park. The following year, he won the Ohio Derby and the Derby Trial to earn a place in the 114th Kentucky Derby, where he finished 10th in a stellar field that included Winning Colors, Forty Niner, Risen Star, Proper Reality, Seeking the Gold, and Private Terms. Jim's Orbit was trained by Clarence Picou for this blog's namesake's namesake, owner/breeder James Cottrell.

Last year Denise Steffanus wrote an excellent piece for the Texas Thoroughbred on the Derby campaign of Jim's Orbit, which I will try to link to or publish here in the coming weeks.