ANKENY, Iowa — The Kentucky Derby is the Super Bowl of horse racing – and three Iowa horses will be participating.
Angel of Empire of Albaugh Family Stables in Ankeny has caught a lot of momentum.
Depending on what sports book you look at, he's a consensus top five favorite to win the Kentucky Derby.
"I said, 'If he can win this Arkansas Derby, he's going to stamp himself as one of the Kentucky Derby favorites'," said Jason Loutsch, co-owner of Albaugh Family Stables. "And the way he did it that day, winning by five links, just gives us tremendous confidence going forward."
"He gets out of the gate fine and then he kind of wants to run with the pack," added co-owner Dennis Albaugh. "Then when the race is about half over, he seems to get his energy and pick up speed."
Angel of Empire's journey here wasn't typical. In the 2020 auction, he was the cheapest horse the Albaugh's bought.
"When we bought him, he wasn't the best looking and what you'd call a racehorse," Albaugh said. "But we're buying them as yearlings, then they mature an awful lot."
Albaugh Family Stables spent just $70,000 on Angel of Empire, but he's already made over a million dollars.
"It was unexpected," Loutsch said. "But it's one of those things where you know, there's diamonds in the rough and he just kept getting better and better."
There are roughly 20,000 American thoroughbred racehorses born each year in America. The odds of having one horse make the derby is .001 percent.
But, it's not just Angel of Empire. Albaugh Family Stables also have Jace's Road in the race as another top 10 favorite, along with Cyclone Mischief.
Getting three in is a huge achievement, but Loutsch and Albaugh have their sights set on a win.
"I hope I get to experience it," Albaugh said. "That's definitely on my bucket list to try to win that someday."
On Saturday, Albaugh and Loutsch get to see if that dream comes true.
"It's something you dream as a kid," said Loutsch. "I've been watching the Kentucky Derby my whole life and to be a participant and actually have a chance to win this race... it's hard to imagine."