When walking by Barn 42 on the backstretch of Churchill Downs in the final week leading up to the May 4 Kentucky Derby (G1), there is a strong probability that you will hear the laughter and see the smiles of trainer Larry Demeritte and his team.
Demeritte's West Saratoga will likely be one of the longest shots on the board come the first Saturday in May, but beating the odds is nothing new to Demeritte. Seeing the joy that he shares with his team on a daily basis, no one would ever guess just how big of a longshot Demeritte was to ever get to this moment.
Demeritte suffers from multiple myeloma, a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called plasma cells, and from amyloidosis, a rare disease that impacts his heart.
Upon receiving his first cancer diagnosis in 1996, Demeritte was given five years to live. When he developed amyloidosis in 2018, he was told he wouldn't survive more than six months.
"I always say, doctors can't count," Demeritte said. "Faith, prayer, and just believing that I am here for a purpose. It was pretty rough, and it's rough now. By evening time, my legs are swollen. I have to take medicine to keep my heart going."
And yet, despite all the physical tolls his diseases and his treatments have caused him, Demeritte still shows up at the barn every morning to do what he loves.
"Every day (I'm exhausted). Some days, my boys have to give me a ride back home because I'm so sick," Demeritte said. "I don't focus inward, that may make the difference. I never sit and worry about what I have and what I am dealing with, that never comes to mind. You just have to keep on, and why wouldn't you want to when you're training West Saratoga?"
Growing up the son of a horse trainer in the Bahamas, Demeritte developed his love for horses early on. Every Friday, he and his brothers would run when school ended to hop on their neighbor's truck and head to the track.
"I really saw the love that (my dad) had for the horses," Demeritte said. "All of us brothers developed that."
Demeritte became a pretty good trainer himself in the Bahamas, but a dream to come to America and win the Kentucky Derby was born when he saw the magnificence of a chestnut colt named Secretariat on television.
"That's when I knew I wanted to come to the United States," Demeritte said. "We had a Bahamian Derby and I got beat in that. I was so disappointed, I finished second and third. I said, 'I got to win the ultimate Derby, I got to go to Kentucky.'"
Demeritte made the move in 1976. Knowing he needed to work his way up to achieve his dream, Demeritte started off as a groom for trainer Oscar Dishman Jr. thanks to a connection with owner Dr. Archie Donaldson, who was also from the Bahamas.
During his first year with Dishman, Demeritte worked with Silver Series, a leading contender on the trail to the 1977 Kentucky Derby. After a victory in the Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park, it appeared as though Demeritte would find instant success at winning his dream race, but it was not to be. Unfortunately, the Florida-bred son of Chieftain was injured in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G3) and missed the Kentucky Derby.
Once healthy that summer, Silver Series would go on to sweep three Derbies: the Hawthorne Derby (G3), Ohio Derby (G2), and American Derby Handicap (G2).
"He won three Derbies, but nobody cares about those," Demeritte said. "I always say they were my Derby practice. I may be a rookie in the Kentucky Derby, but I have the experience preparing horses for the big times."
Nearly four decades later, Demeritte finds himself in his very first Kentucky Derby with Harry Veruchi's West Saratoga.
It is rare to see a horse start in the first 2-year-old race of the year held at Keeneland in April make the Kentucky Derby more than a year later, but West Saratoga has been as consistent as they come. After a victory in the Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs Sept. 16, Demeritte knew he had a potential Derby horse on his hands and laid forth a path that would get his colt to the starting gate ready to fire his best shot.
"The route we took was the best route for him," Demeritte said. "Not that I don't think he couldn't compete with the best, but I didn't need him to hit that competition early. After I got the first points in the Iroquois, I had the utmost confidence. I feel like I had the map, the journey, not only to get the points, but to not put him through a lot of stress. When the right day comes with the big boys, he'll be ready for them."
Demeritte has had plenty of experience working with top horses. During his time managing Mare Haven Farm for Dr. William O. Reed, Demeritte helped raise Gone West and Goodbye Halo, among others.
"I know what champions are like," Demeritte said. "(Reed) had a lot of confidence in me on what I look for in horses. (The good ones) all pretty much have that same personality, and that's what I look for when I go to the sales. I don't buy paper, I am going to make paper with the horses I bought."
West Saratoga has been quite the paper maker for his connections. An $11,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the son of Exaggerator has banked nearly half a million.
His purchase price is far beneath the $2.3 million spent on Sierra Leone, one of the favorites for this year's Derby, but Demeritte believes he has the horse he needs to get him to the Derby winner's circle.
"This is the first horse I have trained in a long time that has gears," Demeritte said. "I won't trade him for no other horse—win, lose, or draw—because he has the disposition of a champion."
It is yet to be determined if West Saratoga will become the champion Demeritte believes him to be, but regardless of his success on the track, his presence in the barn has done wonders to help motivate Demeritte to keep going through all his struggles.
"I come because what is the use in staying home feeling sorry for yourself when the horse is going to bring a smile to your face," Demeritte said. "You got to get up and go."
Demeritte keeps going. He drove West Saratoga from The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington to Churchill Downs himself. He will continue to make the trip to and from during Derby week despite undergoing another chemotherapy treatment last week.
Demeritte is looked out for by a dedicated team of workers who not only look after his horses, but look after him. Donte Lowery, who rides West Saratoga in the mornings, has worked with Demeritte for nine years and has taken over the responsibility of saddling the horses in the paddock, which will include West Saratoga in the Derby.
"He inspires me in a big way," Lowery said. "He's always smiling, happy. You can't ask for somebody better to work for.
"I am always going to be there for him. (Demeritte) waking up in the morning knowing he's got something big like this, he has to come out and see him. I think that's what keeps him going every day, knowing he's got this big one here. This is his dream, coming from the Bahamas to Kentucky to win the Kentucky Derby. He's made it this far."
Demeritte hopes that his horsemanship, enthusiasm, and passion for the sport rub off on the younger generation working in his barn.
"I am so thankful for my staff and the youngsters," Demeritte said. "I encourage them to be a sponge, try to absorb everything you can about this game. It's more than just to win it for the money. If you do it just for the money, you won't be in it long. There are some hardships in this game, but it's the love of the horses. That's first. If you love something, you can care for it the best you can."
Win or lose in the Kentucky Derby, Demeritte sees giving hope to others in similar situations as a victory.
"I believe in my faith, and I believe in destiny," Demeritte said. "I always tell my friends—I lose a lot of friends to cancer—I say 'if God is not through with you yet, you will still be here.'
"I am blessed and feel like I am on a mission. The Kentucky Derby is great, but I think it is deeper than that. If I could be an encouragement to people with cancer, that's why I don't mind speaking about it. If I could help someone, encourage them to make their journey a lot easier, that's what I want to do."
What would winning the Derby mean to Demeritte? Perhaps it would best be described by the words of Demeritte's favorite song, the song of his journey and that plays in his barn: "The Impossible Dream" from the Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha."
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
