Baffert Is Living on a Prayer in W.Va. Derby

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Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert calls them "the dirt road derbys."

They are big-money races at out-of-the-way tracks, where cell phone signals and nearby international airports may be lacking but the winning purses are just as green.

"I'm taking the back road with those," Baffert said. "There's a lot of money."

Baffert-trained Prayer for Relief is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday's $750,000 Grade 2 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester, W.Va.

In his last race, the son of Jump Start won the $250,000 Grade 3 Iowa Derby at another far-away track, Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. Baffert is trying to repeat …