James Hetfield Meets Metallica Sandman Horse for Kentucky Derby

Let me start by saying that I am definitely not the Veronica Corningstone of MetalSucks, and this is not my version of the cat fashion show (though, if I’m being honest, I’d cover that too because HELLO!). I genuinely think this is so goddamn precious. This past Friday, May 2, Metallica frontman James Hetfield had the pleasure of meeting Sandman, a three-year-old horse who, you guessed it, was named after the band’s 1991 massive hit “Enter Sandman.” The gray colt was part of the Kentucky Derby festivities yesterday, Saturday, May 3, at the Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville.

Sure, Sandman (who is trained by the legendary horse racehorse trainer Mark Casse) got his name from the Metallica track, but it didn’t necessarily come by in the most direct way. One of Sandman’s owners Jonathan Green is a huge fan of Hall of Fame Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, who would play “Enter Sandman” as he walked out on the field for the games. Apparently, Green hoped Sandman would close out races the same way Rivera would close games. Talk about trying to manifest some good juju.

Metallica clearly caught wind of this, since earlier this year, the band sent a grip of merch to the team that runs the Casse bar, where Sandman is housed. The crew posted about it on the Kentucky Derby’s official Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, showing them all donning Metallica tees. It included the caption “Shout out to Metallica for outfitting the Casse barn with merch!”.

Just a little bit of cuteness to brighten your Sunday.