THOROUGHBRED RACING BLUE GRASS STAKES : Lizza Hopes Tank’s Number Will Return Him to Louisville

One of the 11 horses running in today’s $500,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland is owned by Carl Lizza, who turned the Kentucky Derby upside down in 1981 by entering a filly at Churchill Downs.

When Tank’s Number was entered for today’s race, there was nothing like the stir Lizza caused 11 years ago when he entered the filly, Wayward Lass, and a colt, Noble Nashua, in the Derby. The Derby had a 20-horse limit on starters then, as it does now, and the Lizza horses threatened to prevent two others--Flying Nashua and Mythical Ruler--from running.

Entries for the Derby were taken Thursday, and Friday, the day before the race, the owners of Flying Nashua and Mythical Ruler went to court in an attempt to get their horses in the race. A circuit judge ruled that Flying Nashua and Mythical Ruler should be allowed to run, and then Lizza, unhappy with the No. 20 post position Wayward Lass had drawn, scratched her in favor of running in the Kentucky Oaks, a stake for 3-year-old fillies, the day before the Derby.

As a result of this maneuvering, Churchill Downs, unsure of the exact field, was unable to conduct advance wagering the day before the Derby. At that time, advance betting on the Derby was averaging about $350,000 a year. In 1981, Churchill Downs’ mutuel department paid 60 extra ticket sellers for working on the Friday before the race, even though there was no work to do. About 50,000 Derby inserts, printed for the Friday program, wound up as trash.

The mess of ’81 forced Churchill Downs to rewrite a Derby rule, which now states that a multiple-horse entry can exclude other horses from running. The Derby’s 20-horse maximum, which went into effect after 1974, when a record 23 horses ran in the 100th running of the race, has been based on horses’ earnings. The current rule uses the money won by horses in graded stakes races.

Lizza was vilified for entering Wayward Lass in the Derby. There were accusations that he entered the filly to keep Angel Cordero, who had the mount on Flying Nashua, from riding in the Derby. Cordero had been the regular rider on Lizza’s Noble Nashua.

“The only reason I entered Wayward Lass was because I intended to run her if she drew a good post,” Lizza said this week at Keeneland. “It cost me $4,000 to find out what post we would get, and when she got the 20, I decided to run her in the Oaks.”

None of the horses involved in the controversy were factors in the Derby, which had a 21-horse field, the only time since 1975 that more than 20 horses have started. Flying Nashua finished eighth, Noble Nashua was ninth and Mythical Ruler ran 17th. Pleasant Colony won the race.

Wayward Lass finished third in the Oaks, behind Heavenly Cause and De La Rose. Later, Wayward Lass won the Mother Goose and Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont Park, and she was voted the 3-year-old filly championship.

Before 1981, only two fillies had run in the Derby in 21 years, Silver Spoon finishing fifth in 1959 and Genuine Risk winning in 1980.

“It was no secret that we were considering Wayward Lass for the Derby,” Lizza said. “But nobody asked me coming up to the race about her running, and that’s why it took everybody by surprise when I dropped her name in. The filly everybody was talking about that spring was (trainer) Woody Stephens’ filly, Heavenly Cause.

“In 1981, we were right in what we did. But the rule today is the way the rule should be. It’s a fair rule.”

Jose Martin trained Wayward Lass and Noble Nashua. He is the son of Pancho Martin, a Hall of Fame trainer, and the father of Carlos Martin, who trains Tank’s Number.

The youngest Martin, 22, has been training on his own since 1988. “This is a fresh horse,” he said. “We feel that he’s peaking at the right time. The last two years, the Blue Grass set up Unbridled and Strike The Gold for their Derby wins, and we’re hoping it will do the same thing for our horse.”

Lizza, owner of a construction company on Long Island, N.Y., bought Tank’s Number for $62,000 at the dispersal sale of the late Gene Klein. Tank’s Number’s sire, Tank’s Prospect, won the Preakness for Klein and his wife, Joyce, in 1985.

Tank’s Number ran four times, winning twice, before he was introduced to stakes competition. He was second in the Whirlaway at Aqueduct and, after trailing by 17 lengths, was fourth behind Technology, Dance Floor and Pistols And Roses, in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 14.

Jorge Velasquez, whose only Kentucky Derby victory in 11 tries was on Pleasant Colony, rode Tank’s Number in the Florida Derby and has the mount again today.

“In the Florida Derby,” Martin said, “Jorge made a judgment call, wheeled the horse out five wide at the head of the lane, and then we just did get beat for second and third.”

Tank’s Number finished 4 3/4 lengths behind Technology. Dance Floor is the 9-5 favorite, with Pistols And Roses next on the morning line at 7-2. The numbers shoot up after that, with Tank’s Number at 15-1.

Horse Racing Notes

Ecstatic Ride, a Blue Grass longshot, won’t be ridden by Gerard Melancon, who was listed on him at entry time. Melancon was implicated in a race-fixing scheme at the Fair Grounds a few years ago, and Kentucky won’t issue him a license. He has ridden Ecstatic Ride in his last four races, including two starts at the Fair Grounds. A likely replacement is Ron Ardoin. . . . The Keeneland track should be fast, although there is a 40% chance of thundershowers, with temperatures in the 70s. . . . Chris Antley, who won the Blue Grass last year aboard Strike The Gold, has the mount on Dance Floor.

After the Santa Anita Derby, trainer Shelley Riley defended jockey Alan Patterson’s performance aboard her Casual Lies. For the Kentucky Derby, she has replaced him with Gary Stevens. . . . For the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct a week from today, Kent Desormeaux will ride Snappy Landing, who was last ridden by Stevens. . . . Casual Lies, third in the Santa Anita Derby, has settled in at Churchill Downs. The 1-2 finishers in the race, A.P. Indy and Bertrando, are scheduled to arrive in Louisville on the same plane Sunday.