One-time outsider goes for Santa Anita Derby win
April 7, 2011ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) - Myung Kwon Cho drove up to Santa Anita on Derby day in 1986 and was turned away because the lot was too full, dashing his hopes of seeing his first horse race.
His eventual love affair with racing took root across town at Hollywood Park, where he saw the horses in action.
Four years after being shut out of Santa Anita, he was nearly in the winner's circle after his horse Video Ranger finished second in the Derby. Now the 68-year-old clothing manufacturer who was born in North Korea could make it there with Premier Pegasus, the 8-5 favorite for Saturday's $1 million race.
Cho is the breeder, owner and trainer of the colt who rallied from seventh to trounce the field by a record 7 3/4 lengths in last month's San Felipe Stakes.