Rick Pitino back to Louisville? For the 2018 Kentucky Oaks, maybe

Rick Pitino may have reason to return to Louisville, not to continue his Hall of Fame basketball coaching career, but rather in his other well-known capacity.

Campaigned in part by Pitino's RAP Racing, Coach Rocks won Saturday's Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks with the sort of late kick that shows she won't mind another 1/16 of a mile.

The Oxbow filly is trained by Dale Romans. While Coach Rocks took seven starts to break her maiden, she's now won consecutive races, getting good at the right time.

Pitino was dismissed last fall by the University of Louisville after the men's basketball program was found to have a connection to the FBI's probe into college hoops. That added to the NCAA investigation recently concluded that vacated the school's 2013 national title.

So on a weekend in which Pitino for most of his career would be networking at the Final Four, he was able to enjoy one of his biggest wins on the racetrack in South Florida.

Will that be enough to bring him back to the Kentucky Derby city on May 4?

"I will not (go to Churchill Downs)," Pitino said in the winner's circle, according to BloodHorse, "unless (chairman) David Grissom and the pizza guy, Papa John (Schnatter), retire from the (university's) board of trustees. Then, I'll be there."

Roddy Valentine, who co-owns Coach Rocks with Pitino, said, "He's going to Churchill Downs, believe me," Valente said. "He said he was never going back to Kentucky after he lost the job. He can throw that right out the door right now. He'll be there with me."