Hansen Gets Ride on Video Ranger

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —  Ron Hansen, who was banned from riding by Golden Gate Fields officials earlier this year, will ride Video Ranger in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

Hansen, 30, replaces Eddie Delahoussaye, who finished second aboard Video Ranger in the Santa Anita Derby. Delahoussaye told Ian Jory, Video Ranger’s trainer, that he didn’t want to ride the colt, who was claimed from trainer Wayne Lukas in January for $40,000.

Hansen, who has never ridden in a Derby, was implicated in an investigation into bribery of jockeys at Golden Gate. He appealed the ban to the California Horse Racing Board, and after a hearing, an administrative law judge ruled in Hansen’s favor. He resumed riding after missing about a month of action.

“I don’t care about that (the ban),” Jory said. “Hansen rides most of my horses up there (Bay Meadows and Golden Gate). He’s won about 15 races for me. Ron also is closest to Eddie with a riding style that fits Video Ranger.”

Silver Ending, the winner of the Arkansas Derby, completed his serious preparations for the Kentucky Derby Sunday with a six-furlong workout in 1:13, the fastest time of the morning at that distance. The work assured trainer Ron McAnally that the cut Silver Ending sustained when he kicked himself near the barn Saturday was only a minor injury.