Pato O'Ward looking to change his Indianapolis 500 thirst for victory by finding a cow to milk

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward understands winners drink milk at the Indianapolis 500.

He just doesn't want a small oversight to cause him any more race day consternation. So during Thursday's media day, O'Ward said he plans to participate in a superstition that he hopes will end the tough spills he's endured in his first five Indy 500 starts.

Pole winner Robert Shwartzman recounted how after last weekend's qualifying, he took part in the rookie tradition of milking a cow — and the role it's believed to play in who quenches their thirst in victory lane.

“The woman, she came to me and said, ‘The people who didn’t milk the cow, they never won the Indy 500,’ and they were like (did not finish). It’s bad luck,” Shwartzman said. “Whoever milks the cow. Alexander Rossi did it. He won the 500. You have to milk the cow.”

Shwartzman described his personal experience with a “very calm, cute” cow named Indy.

O'Ward never got his chance to squeeze an udder because his rookie start came in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the race was run in August with no fans and the milking tradition was put on hold.

Since then, he's finished sixth, fourth, second, 24th and second.

Two-time race winner Takuma Sato claimed he never took part in the tradition, but that didn't seem to impress O'Ward, who eventually asked: “Are they always ready to just...?"

Finally, after Shwartzman suggested O'Ward wait until next year to make it right, O'Ward said he wasn't content to have yet another race day spoiled. He wanted to milk a cow immediately.

The Indiana Dairy Association was quick to offer help.

“We know some farmers who know some cows who can make that happen,” the group posted on X.

Ryan Hunter-Reay brought a special guest to the dais Thursday — his oldest son, Ryden.

The soon-to-be-sixth-grader wore a baseball cap, shorts and, of course, No. 23 socks to honor his dad, the 2014 Indy 500 winner.

Spending race week in Indianapolis was only part of the treat for Ryden Hunter-Reay. He also got to miss his last week of school.

“I think it’s better (here),” he said when asked about his absence from class.

And who does he think will win Sunday’s race?

“My dad,” he said.

Colton Herta canceled his local Community Day appearance Wednesday because he was under the weather.

By Thursday, he was feeling well enough to show up for his media day interview.

While Herta seems to be on the mend or Sunday's race, he would feel much better with a higher starting spot. He qualified 29th Saturday, just 4 1/2 hours after crashing on his first qualifying attempt. He'll start 27th because of the penalties assessed to two Team Penske cars.

At least he's comfortable in the backup car his team scrambled to set up Saturday.

“It's just like being in the other car, they patched everything pretty perfectly, which for me has never happened before, so it was a surprise,” Herta said. “It filled me with a lot of confidence, made it easier to get back to work.”

Helio Castroneves is the fourth and most recent member of Indy's four-time winners club. His quest to become the race's first five-time champion has been overshadowed by Kyle Larson's second attempt at running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and by the Team Penske scandal.

The longtime Penske driver who now drives for Meyer Shank Racing will start 22nd after moving up two spots on the starting grid because of the penalties assessed to his two ex-teammates. It's the third-lowest starting position of his 25 career Indy starts after he qualified 28th in 2020 and 27th in 2022.

The 50-year-old Brazilian also is completing his own double this season by competing in the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 in the same year.

“This place has been good to me, this place is amazing and I'm trying to get something special, to rewrite history,” Castroneves said. “So we're going to have hard work to do, but I feel like we're going to be up front very soon.”

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The former winners of the Indianapolis 500, top row, left to right, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, and Marcus Ericsson, of Sweden, bottom bottom row, Will Power, of Australia, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, and Takuma Sato, of Japan, pose for a photo on the start/finish line before practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Colton Herta prepares climbs out of his car during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

The car driven by Colton Herta slides along the track after becoming airborne after hitting the wall in the first turn during a qualification attempt for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirk DeBrunner)

Ryan Hunter-Reay, left, and Alexander Rossi talk as they wait for their turn during qualification for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Pato O'Ward, of Mexico, waves to fans before the start of practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)