Mission Is Plane for Arazi : Kentucky Derby: Colt arrives in Louisville along with Dr Devious and Thyer. Quarantine is expected to end Tuesday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Arazi was the second horse off the plane. It might be the only time he is second this week.

One of the most solidly supported horses ever entered in the Kentucky Derby, Arazi and three other 3-year-olds arrived at Louisville’s Standiford Field Sunday, after an uneventful, 8 1/2-hour flight from Paris.

First off the four-engine DC-8 was Akiko, a stablemate of Arazi who has kept him interested during their long gallops for trainer Francois Boutin at Chantilly this spring.

Next came Arazi, who had a traveling lad at the front, holding his lead shank, and a groom at the rear, holding his tail, as the small chestnut colt calmly made his way down a ramp that led directly into three large vans.

The vans, with middle doors open on both sides, were parked parallel, and there was an extension of the ramp that ran through all three. Arazi walked through the first two vans before he arrived at his, joining Akiko. None of their hoofs ever touched the tarmac.

Akiko won’t be running in the 118th Derby on Saturday. Following Arazi off the plane, which has a 45-horse capacity, were Dr Devious and Thyer, both of whom are expected to run in the Derby.

Dr Devious, who is owned by Sidney and Jenny Craig, is an English-raced horse who will be running in the United States for the first time, as will Thyer, an Irish-based colt. Arazi began his career in France, losing his first start, then winning six in a row before he easily beat American 2-year-olds in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs in November.

Returning from knee surgery, Arazi made his only start this year and won easily in France against a weak field. He has been compared to Secretariat and Affirmed, both Triple Crown champions, and probably will be a heavy betting favorite here Saturday.

The flight that brought the horses to Louisville Sunday cost an estimated $60,000. A plane that took Thyer from Ireland to London on Saturday, and then transported him and Dr Devious to Paris, where they joined the French horses, cost another $17,000. Besides the handlers for the horses, a security guard was on board the flight.

These are small expenses, considering some of the investments. Dr Devious cost Jenny Craig $2.5 million; she bought the colt for her husband as a 60th birthday present.

A spokeswoman for Butler Aviation, which arranged for the arrival of the horse charter, said that Allen Paulson, one of the owners of Arazi, didn’t want visitors at the airport Sunday but eventually agreed to allow reporters to be there. Paulson and Sheik Mohammed Maktoum are equal partners in Arazi.

About three dozen reporters, photographers and Derby officials showed up.

The temperature was about 50 degrees and seemed colder because of the wind. The horses had left similar temperatures in Paris when their plane left at 11:45 a.m., Paris time. They arrived at 2:15 p.m., Louisville time.

Arazi and the other three horses were vanned to a warehouse, which is serving as a holding area across the street from Churchill Downs. Their blood tests were rushed Sunday afternoon by chartered jet to the National Veterinary Service Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. Once the tests clear, the horses will be released from the quarantine area and sent to the track to resume training, which is expected to occur as early as Tuesday.

Ron McAnally, who will begin training Dr Devious for the Craigs this week, was at the airport Sunday. Boutin is not expected in Louisville until Tuesday or Wednesday.

“I was told that the flight went without problems,” McAnally said. “My horse looks great, and so does Arazi. All of these horses should be ready to run. Horses flying here from Europe usually do their best in the first race they run off the plane.”