BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Joseph LaCombe and his son, Joe Jr., watch their horse, Favorite Trick, work out Friday.
(Gary Landers photo)
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This is the fourth of five stories documenting West Chester retiree Joseph LaCombe's trip to the Kentucky Derby with his horse, Favorite Trick.
LOUISVILLE -- Joseph LaCombe has listened for weeks to all the reasons his colt Favorite Trick won't win today's Kentucky Derby. Now he's hearing from people who actually like his entry.
The man who'll present today's trophy to the winner, Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton, picks Favorite Trick. Titanic actress Gloria Stuart visited the barn Friday to pet the horse she likes.
"I play bridge a lot," she said. "I like the odds, and I like his record."
All the attention got a chuckle from LaCombe on the day before the Run for the Roses.
"Who knows," he said. "That's what makes horse racing." His trainer, Bill Mott, wasn't surprised.
"Having a champion 2-year-old, I think somebody's going to pick him."
LaCombe will get even more attention during the race today, when he'll wear a microphone for ABC Sports. He was a guest on a live ESPN broadcast from the backside Friday morning, where he and son Joseph Jr. watched Favorite Trick gallop.
With their newfound celebrity status, father and son navigated through throngs of hundreds on the backside in the morning. That was nothing compared with moving through the 94,415 people at the Kentucky Oaks race in the afternoon.
"It's been a little bit hectic getting from here to there," LaCombe said.
Owner and horse held up well despite the attention, Mott said. After the visit to the track Friday morning, LaCombe went to a party at a friend's home, where Hall of Fame Brooklyn Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who knows the friends, attended.
"He's a real gentleman," said LaCombe, a Brooklyn native. "I've certainly always been a Pee Wee Reese fan."
But not a Dodger fan.
LaCombe's a lifelong Reds fan even though he's only lived in Cincinnati the last 20 years. He picked the Reds after his dad picked the Yankees in the 1939 World Series.
He used to be covered in eggs and oranges by the top of the seventh inning at Ebbets Field, he joked.
He went to a friend's country club Friday night, staying away from the posh parties with the Hollywood stars.
"We're really not very much party people," he said. "We're friends people."
• Surprises rule of day
• Sullivan column
• Pitino fulfills dream
• Notebook
• The field
• Neck decides Oaks
• Associated Press coverage
