On Friday, May 2, 2025 — just one day before the 151st Kentucky Derby — Metallica frontman James Hetfield met a horse named Sandman, a three-year-old gray colt whose name is inspired by Metallica’s legendary 1991 hit “Enter Sandman.”
Sandman isn’t just any horse — he’s a real contender. Trained by Mark Casse and owned in part by Jonathan Green, the colt entered the Kentucky Derby after winning the Arkansas Derby and currently holds 6-1 odds for the big race.
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Earlier this year, Metallica donated official band t-shirts to Sandman’s barn crew, who proudly wore them in a widely shared post by the Kentucky Derby’s official Facebook page. The post featured a photo of the workers all in Metallica merch, with Sandman himself seemingly staring straight into the camera like a rock star in training.
The name Sandman came from co-owner Jonathan Green, a lifelong Yankees fan who named the colt in tribute to Hall of Fame Yankees closer Mariano Rivera — whose entrance song was none other than “Enter Sandman.” Green hopes Sandman will “close” races the same way Rivera closed games.
“Enter Sandman” peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991 and went on to become one of the most iconic metal songs of all time. So yes — a Metallica song indirectly led to one of the most bizarre and glorious crossovers between heavy metal and horse racing history.
As Hetfield posed with Sandman at Churchill Downs, it was less a press opportunity and more a full-circle metal moment: a horse inspired by Metallica’s biggest hit, heading into the biggest race in America, blessed by Papa Het himself.
Whether Sandman takes the crown or not, one thing’s for sure: he’s already a legend in the metal community.
