70-year-old trainer will saddle his first Kentucky Derby Starter

April 29, 2011 - One of Arkansas’ favorite horsemen and a long-time fixture on the Churchill Downs racing scene, Jinks Fires is on the verge of reaching a personal milestone that has eluded him for nearly 50 years. The 70-year-old trainer will finally saddle his first Kentucky Derby starter in Archarcharch.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Fires, who remembers his first Kentucky Derby in 1961 when Carry Back won.

With the exception of a two-year stint (1963-65) in the United States Army, Fires has been on the grounds for every edition of America’s most famous race since the Hall of Famer Carry Back.

“I’ve always wanted to run in it,” Fires explained, “but I never had the right horse.”

Archarcharch developed into the right horse at Oaklawn Park, winning the Arkansas Derby (G1) and Southwest Stakes (G3). He surprised bettors on each occasion, striking at 14-1 odds in the February 21 Southwest prior to his 25-1 upset in the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 16, but the outcomes were popular with the local crowd.

Born in Riverdale, Arkansas, Fires hails from an illustrious horse racing family in the Razorback State. Every person in Arkansas with an association to horse racing probably knows a Fires relative. From 11 siblings, Jinks is one of eight sons to be involved in the industry, including Hall of Fame brother Earlie Fires, who retired about three years ago as the ninth-ranked jockey by wins in North American Thoroughbred history. In the picture-laden eateries at Oaklawn, there are scores of generational photos of the Fires clan.

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