Actor Tony Danza will be at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday to cheer on the horse named after him.
One of the favorites to win the race is a 3-year-old colt named “Danza.” Danza was sired by Street Boss, so the owners wanted a name that would follow a similar theme. They tried the name “Who’s the Boss?” but that, as well as the name of Danza’s character in the ’80s show, Tony Micelli, were rejected. They eventually settled on Danza.
“Everybody loves Tony Danza. He’s an icon in American culture,” the horse’s owner, Aron Wellman, told ABC. “It’s been a lot of fun and thankfully the horse has been a very good horse and has done the name proud.”
Tony found out about the horse named after him after the colt won the Arkansas Derby in April. He got in touch with the horse’s owners and decided to head out to Louisville for the race:
About to get on a plane to the @KentuckyDerby! Hope you're all placing your bets on Danza! (@EclipseTBP)
— Tony Danza (@TonyDanza) May 3, 2014
Very excited. Going to @KentuckyDerby to root for "Danza"! That's right!! Tune in to watch Saturday! See you soon @EclipseTBP !
— Tony Danza (@TonyDanza) May 1, 2014
.@TonyDanza namesake and @KentuckyDerby contender Danza looked great floating over the track this morning! #KyDerby pic.twitter.com/xFCXqJJocA
— Americas Best Racing (@ABRLive) April 30, 2014
