Two first-time trainers in the Kentucky Derby this year

Ethan West and Lonnie Briley will make their Derby debuts

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- Ethan West and Lonnie Briley are separated by 40 years of age, but they are both on even ground this 151st Kentucky Derby week.

The pair are this year’s first timers taking part in the race. Both have a lot to be happy about heading into a week both say is unlike any other they’ve experienced at a race track before.

“It’s incredible. We’re super proud of the horse. He’s carried us a long way. Just excited to be here and be apart of the festivities. It’s a team aspect. It’s not an individual. It’s my name up there, but there’s so much more behind the scenes that people don’t understand,” said West, who is preparing Chunk of Gold for a ride with jockey Jareth Loveberry.

“When you stumble across a horse that has this kind of ability and they win four stakes in a row, three of them Derby races you give him a chance,” said Briley, who trains Rebel Stakes winner Coal Battle.

West’s longshot 30-1 horse has proven he can hold up going a distance in the 9.5 furlong Louisiana Derby, in which he placed second.

“He was a little more forward in the Louisiana Derby than expected, no fault to anybody just how the race shaped up,” said West. “But, I think with the right trip and the right pace we’ll make a run at them.”

Briley has been pleased with his three-year-old too, who he says has gotten better through every workout on the track at Churchill Downs, on which he has never raced on before.

“He’s had four works and every one was better than the last. He’s feeling good,” said Briley.