Pants on Fire to race in Kentucky Derby

PolitiFact usually doesn’t make picks for the Kentucky Derby, but this year is different. There’s a horse in the race named Pants on Fire.

The 3-year-old colt, a descendant of Secretariat, will be ridden by Rosie Napravnik, who would be the first female jockey to win the Derby.

Napravnik describes him as a gentle horse:

“He’s very kind. He’s very easy to get along with . . . He’s very comfortable with whatever you ask him to do. I’ve said before that if there’s one horse I could ride in a field of 20, it’s him, because he’ll do exactly what you ask him to do.”

Pants on Fire has performed well in clutch situations, trainer Kelly Breen told the Newark Star-Ledger:

“He pulled the trigger when it counted. That’s why he’s in the Kentucky Derby,” said Breen. “I think we’re learning more about him as we go along. Maybe getting him out of New York and into the warmer weather helped. I don’t know what caused him to go forward and to get to the point where he needed to be, but he’s doing awesome now.”

The horse is owned by Rumson, N.J., residents George and Lori Hall. According to the Associated Press, the name was inspired not by the rhyme “liar, liar…”, but by the  below-the-belt passions of the horse’s sire and as an acknowledgement of some Louisiana firefighters the couple knows.

Lori Hall “has her reasoning behind all the names, whether it’s certain things in the breeding, certain things with friends,” Breen told the AP.

Pants on Fire won the Louisiana Derby by a neck, beating Mucho Macho Man and Nehro. Both horses will also be in the field Saturday.

The winning odds on Pants on Fire have been in the 20-to-1 range. So on Saturday, host a Derby party, mix up a batch of mint juleps and cheer for our horse!