Trainer Tim Yakteen is back on the Kentucky Derby trail, and this year it’s not all about Bob. A year ago at this time, with trainer Bob Baffert on suspension owing to the medication positive incurred by Medina Spirit in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Yakteen deputized over the development of 3-year-olds Taiba and Messier. Those two horses ran one-two in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, qualifying both for the Kentucky Derby, where Taiba finished 12th and Messier 15th as the second and fourth choices, respectively. This year, though Yakteen is once again preparing 3-year-olds previously trained by Baffert – serving out the second year of a two-year ban by Churchill Downs from the Kentucky Derby – he also has one Derby prospect of his own in Practical Move. By virtue of Grade 2 stakes victories in the Los Alamitos Futurity in December and the San Felipe in March, Practical Move has risen to the top of the West Coast class of Kentucky Derby prospects. Practical Move, the co-second choice at 8-1 on David Aragona’s DRF Derby Watch line, will be favored to remain in that position in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, the final Southern California stepping–stone to the May 6 Kentucky Derby. The Santa Anita Derby, the Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland, and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct are the last of the 200-point Kentucky Derby qualifying points races on the schedule. Yakteen also will send out for the first time National Treasure, a former Baffert trainee that Yakteen was preparing for the San Felipe on March 4 before a foot abscess ended that plan. “They’re both training well in the morning,” Yakteen said. “I always had the utmost respect for National Treasure. I thought he ran some genuine races and was a bit unlucky in his 2-year-old career in the [Grade 1] American Pharoah and even with the trip he got” when third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more “Both of my horses are ready to run. You’re stepping up to the plate; you’re going to take a swing at a big race. I think I have both of them ready and prepared to run a good race.” Yakteen, 58, has been well prepared for the big stage over the last 40 years, or since he came to the U.S. from his native Germany in 1982. He worked as an assistant for Baffert on two different occasions, sandwiched around a six-year stint working for the legendary Charlie Whittingham. Under Whittingham, Yakteen worked with such talented runners as Flawlessly, Sir Beaufort, and Golden Pheasant, whom Yakteen traveled with to win the 1991 Japan Cup. Yakteen also got his first Derby experience with Whittingham, helping prepare Strodes Creek to a runner-up finish behind Go for Gin in 1994 and helping with Corker, who ran 11th behind Grindstone in 1996. Yakteen returned to Baffert’s barn the following year and was around Derby winners Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), and War Emblem (2002) before he went out on his own in 2004. “As a horseman, you’re always absorbing as much knowledge from your past experiences and from your current experiences,” said Yakteen, who trained 2013 champion sprinter Points Offthebench. “You’re continuously learning and I think that’s basically how life is, otherwise you’d be pretty static.” Yakteen maintains about a 40-horse stable, and just a quarter way through 2023 he’s on pace for his best year yet. His stable includes Johannes, a 3-year-old colt who made it 3 for 3 on turf with his victory in Sunday’s Pasadena Stakes; Cast Member, a California-bred filly who is a two-time stakes winner; and Blessed Touch, most recently third in the Santa Ysabel Stakes. Kangaroo Court, a Cal-bred gelding by Dads Caps, is 2 for 3 and looks to have stakes potential. “I would say this is probably the deepest my stable has been as far as the 3-year-old division,” Yakteen said. Practical Move’s rise in the ranks has coincided with Yakteen stretching him out around two turns. Practical Move, a son of Practical Joke who counts Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown among his breeders, showed tactical speed and a good finishing kick in both the Los Alamitos Futurity and San Felipe. “He’s a big horse, he’s 1,200-plus pounds,” said Yakteen, who trains Practical Move for Pierre and Leslie Amestoy and Roger Beasley. “He’s always had a big frame, he’s always known how to use it, but I think he’s learned how to use it more efficiently. He’s become more confident, and I think that’s what we’re seeing.” Last year, Yakteen was given Taiba and Messier shortly before the Santa Anita Derby. This year, he’s had National Treasure and Reincarnate – also likely for the Derby after third-place finishes in the Rebel and Arkansas Derby – since the end of February. Those horses are owned by a group that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, and Stonestreet Stables. National Treasure, who figures to be returned to Baffert, will need a one-two finish to have a chance of making the Kentucky Derby. That he will have to do so against Practical Move is of little concern to Tom Ryan, managing partner of SF Racing. “Tim is the consummate professional,” Ryan said. “He’ll put both horses in position to run their best races. We’ve often found ourselves in Bob’s barn running against his other various clients. It’s the same, no difference, in Tim’s barn.” Though the shadow of Baffert hovered over him at last year’s Derby – and could again this year – Yakteen said he enjoyed his Derby experience in 2022 and plans to again this year. “If you can’t enjoy those moments, reaching the pinnacle of this game, you may want to look for another profession,” he said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.