(UPDATED 3:15 P.M.) LeBlanc returns to Derby with another contender

By BILL DECKER
bdecker@daily-review.com
Janice LeBlanc of Berwick is looking forward to meeting My Boy Jack no later than Sunday. Preferably, they’ll meet in the winner’s circle at Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
LeBlanc, who was part owner of Always Dreaming when that horse won the Derby last year, now is part owner of the 3-year-old thoroughbred that has the No. 10 position in the 144th running of the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Her share is through West Point Thoroughbreds, which offers 2-1/2 to 10 percent ownership stakes in promising horses.
That stake is only a couple of weeks old. LeBlanc said My Boy Jack is an East Coast horse that she hasn’t actually seen. But that could change Sunday, after the big race, when she’ll have a chance to see the horse in Kentucky.
“They say that’s the best part, when you get to see the horse on Sunday,” she said.
LeBlanc said she was offered a share in My Boy Jack a couple of weeks ago, when she was on the Gulf at Orange Beach, Ala. Although they haven’t been formally introduced, LeBlanc knew Jack’s reputation.
“I said yes right away,” LeBlanc said.
According to media accounts, My Boy Jack was a bargain by topflight thoroughbred standards. The horse was purchased by Don’t Tell My Wife Stable at a 2016 yearling sale for $20,000.
Jack was third in the Sham Stakes before he won the Southwest Stakes and finished third in the Louisiana Derby.
“(Late Saints owner) Tom Benson’s horse beat him,” LeBlanc said.
My Boy Jack earned his place in the Kentucky Derby by winning the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 14.
Kent Desormeaux of Maurice gets credit for handling My Boy Jack’s tendency to hang back and finish with a big sprint in the Lexington Stakes. His brother Keith trains the horse. The victories have raised My Boy Jack’s stock, and his price.
What did LeBlanc’s share cost?
“I just bought a new Lexus,” she said. “He cost as much as my Lexus.”
LeBlanc said she’s heard Jack’s odds to win the Derby are 15-1. Some online sources say 30-1.
Handicapper Jody Demling wrote for CBS Sports that My Boy Jack might be a good bet for someone who likes long odds and big payoffs.
“My Boy Jack will be closing late in the Derby, which should have a very strong pace,” Demling said. “He always runs a solid race and will pass plenty of tired horses late.”
If Jack comes through at the wire, his meeting with LeBlanc could come Saturday and not Sunday.
She’s had the winning circle experience before with Always Dreaming.
“It’s better than Vegas,” LeBlanc said. “It was a surreal experience.”