The Truth Or Else Prepares for South Korea start

On an international note: Kenny McPeek has sent The Truth Or Else to Korea for the $610,000 Keeneland Sprint on dirt Sept. 10 at the track near Soul, South Korea. Dylan Davis will go over to ride.

The 5-year-old horse finished seventh in Ellis Park’s Don Bernhardt Memorial in his last start. For his career, he’s 6-4-7 in 32 starts, earning $603,642 for owners Harold Lerner and Magdalena Racing.

McPeek said he got a call from a representative of the Korean Racing Authority. 

“Initially I was like, ‘eh, give me the details,’” he said from Saratoga. “And the details are pretty simple: They pretty much pay for everything, and the race is listed as a 105 on Time Form, which is like a listed stakes or Grade 3. And that is about his speed. He’s a good solid horse. It’s same circumference as (some) American racetracks, a mile and an eighth (including Ellis), and the track plays heavy. We like that for him. He’s a horse that closes and needs the speed to be softened a little bit. Maybe a heavier racetrack helps with that.”

Asked about his desire to try new things, McPeek said, “I’m going to try new things as long as they’re paying for me to try them. They fly the owner, trainer, jockey over and back, (pick up) accommodations. It’s a great experience, and they pay down to fifth. This is a horse that’s very difficult to place anyway, because he’s not a Grade 1 horse but he’s out of allowance conditions. Let’s see. And we’re also looking at the possibility of selling him as a stallion to the Koreans, so that’s another motivation.”