{{Infobox thoroughbred racehorse , horsename = Brother Derek , image = , caption = , sire = Benchmark , grandsire =

Alydar Alydar (March 23, 1975 – November 15, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, race horse and sire. A chestnut colt, he was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown of Thoro ...

, dam = Miss Soft Sell , damsire = Siyah Kalem , sex =

Stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

, foaled = 2003 , country =

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, colour =

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, breeder = Mary H. Caldwell , owner = Cecil N. Peacock , trainer =

Dan L. Hendricks Dan L. Hendricks (born December 5, 1958, in Los Angeles, California) is an American Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing horse trainer, trainer. Hendricks took out his trainer's license in 1987 after working for Richard E. Mandella, ...

, record = 16: 6-1-3 , earnings = $1,593,458 , race = Norfolk Stakes (2005)

Hollywood Futurity The Los Alamitos Futurity is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds run over a distance of one and one sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on the dirt held annually in early December at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Californi ...

(2005)

San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race was a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and was open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) o ...

(2006)

Santa Catalina Stakes The Robert B. Lewis Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old horses at the distance of one mile on the dirt held annually in late January or early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. History In ...

(2006)

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...

(2006) , awards= , honours = , updated = Brother Derek (foaled March 31, 2003 in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) is a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse. He was bred by Mary H. Caldwell and owned by Cecil N. Peacock. Trained by

Dan Hendricks Dan L. Hendricks (born December 5, 1958, in Los Angeles, California) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. Hendricks took out his trainer's license in 1987 after working for Richard Mandella for nine years. On July 7, 2004, Dan was p ...

, Brother Derek began racing at age two in California. He won his 2005 debut race as well as the Norfolk Stakes before finishing fourth to winner Stevie Wonderboy in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...

. Family: Son Fred Peacock, grand daughters Lindsay Reiling, Tammy Peacock and Janelle Ivey

Three-year-old season

In 2006, following three straight stakes wins in California including the Grade I

, Brother Derek was regarded as a leading contender for the Triple Crown. He was made the pre-race

betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

favorite for the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

but as a horse who traditionally is a front runner, after drawing the very difficult outside post position #18 his

odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outcome. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. For example for an event that is 40% probable, one could say that the odds are or When gambling, o ...

dropped sharply. In the Derby, he finished in a

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

for fourth place with

Jazil Jazil (February 11, 2003 – October 11, 2014) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. In 2006, Jazil dead-heated for fourth place in the Kentucky Derby but then won the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown of Tho ...

. Then two weeks later in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

Brother Derek broke slow and had to be steadied by his jockey

Alex Solis Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964) is a Panamanian jockey based in the United States. He lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He got his big break and his first gained national prominence when he won the 1 ...

after being bumped. Then he checked off the heals of Barbaro and as they passed the stands for the first time, Brother Derek was four lengths back. Going into the club house turn he altered course way out in the five path rushed up to within a head of the leader Like Now down the back stretch in :46-3/5 for a half mile. At the beginning of the final turn eventual runner-up

Sweetnorthernsaint Sweetnorthernsaint is a Thoroughbred race horse. A Florida foal of March 2003, he was a top contender for the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Triple Crown in 2006. Late in his two-year-old season, he was very hard to handle, so his owners h ...

passed Brother Derek and then Like Now to take the lead. Brother Derek continued to chase the leaders drifting out four wide on this turn. At the quarter poll Eclipse Award Champion Bernardini passed Brother Derek and the others and to win while Brother Derek faded to fourth earning his second straight check in a classic race, this one for $60,000.

Four-year-old season

In 2007 Brother Derek finished third in both the

San Fernando Stakes The San Fernando Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to four-year-old horses, it is contested on at a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt main track. ...

and the

Strub Stakes The Strub Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, each year. Currently a Grade II stakes race with a purse of $200,000, it is for four-year-olds, at one and one-eighth miles on Santa Ani ...

after which he underwent

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

to have a

bone chip Osteochondritis is a painful type of osteochondrosis where the cartilage or bone in a joint is inflamed. It often refers to osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). The term ''dissecans'' refers to the "creation of a flap of cartilage that further dissect ...

removed from an

ankle The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...

. He did not race again until 2008 but after one start, in late July his owner announced that Brother Derek was being retired from racing and would enter

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

in 2009 at Airdrie Stud in

Midway, Kentucky Midway is a Home rule, home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, Woodford County, Kentucky, in the United States. Its population was 1,741 at the time of the year 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan St ...

References

Brother Derek's pedigree and partial racing stats

National Thoroughbred Racing Association's bio
2003 racehorse births Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 1-g