Jayson Werth won a World Series title and multiple National League East division titles during his 15-year MLB career.
Now, he aims to become the owner of a winning horse in the 150th Kentucky Derby.
The 2008 World Series champion with the Philadelphia Phillies is co-owner of Dornoch, who will exit the No. 1 post at Churchill Downs on Saturday in the premier horse racing event of the season.
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Here’s what you need to know about Werth and Dornoch leading Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs:
Who is Jayson Werth?
Werth is a retired Major League Baseball player who played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Phillies and Washington Nationals. A former Rule 5 draft pick, Werth’s career took off as a member of the Phillies from 2007-2010. He was a member of the Phillies’ 2008 World Series team, a season in which he hit 24 home runs and batted .273 at the plate.
Werth, a former first-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1997 MLB Draft, hit a career .267 with a .455 slugging percentage and a .360 on-base percentage while recording nearly 1,500 hits (1,465) and 229 home runs .
As noted by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Werth entered horse racing in 2021 after a round of golf with friends in Florida:
“I played baseball my whole life and then you stop playing baseball and you don’t have much to be excited about,” Werth told The Inquirer in March.
On Wednesday, he joined MLB Network’s “MLB Central” to talk about how he got into horse racing and what it’s like to own a horse.
“I never stressed, I never worried about a (baseball) game as long as I lived,” Werth said. “Entering a horse race is like a nervous wreck.”
He added, “It’s like winning a postseason game when you win. It’s as big as it gets.”
Jayson Werth Kentucky Derby Horse
As previously reported by the Courier-Journal, Werth is co-owner of Dornoch along with racehorse management group Oracle Bloodstock. The two purchased Dornoch – brother of 2023 Kentucky Derby champion Mage – in 2022 for $325,000. Werth told MLB Central that he owns 10% of Dornoch.
Dornoch Kentucky Derby Odds
According to the latest odds from CBS Sports and USA Today, Dornoch enters the Kentucky Derby with winning odds of 20-1 — which is tied for the sixth-best odds with Mystik Dan, Just Steel, Honor Marie, Track Phantom, Stronghold and Resilience.
Dornoch is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes in early April. Here’s a full look at Dornoch’s performance over the last few races:
- Inaugural Special Weight (07/29/23 in Saratoga) – 2nd
- 2023 Seedling (26/08/23 at Monmouth Park) – 2nd
- Inaugural Special Weight (10/14/23 at Keeneland) – 1st
- 2023 Remsen (02/12/23 at Aqueduct) – 1st
- 2024 Fountain of Youth (3/2/24 at Gulfstream Park) – 1st
- 2024 Blue Grass Stakes (4/6/24 at Keeneland) – 4th
