I'm a longshot bettor and this year's Kentucky Derby rewarded my faith in longshots.
On a sloppy track and with a full field of 20 horses, Mine That Bird came from last place at the 3/4 pole to win by over 6 lengths under a heart stopping rail ride by Calvin Borel (who is a complete ass but I was nicely rewardly with the win).
With his win Mine That Bird became the second biggest underdog of all time to win the Kentucky Derby (the biggest upset was Donerail's famous 91-1 shocker in 1913 and while I may be old I wasn't alive to make THAT bet).
For all those people who gave me grief (and you know who you are....) when I made my bets on Derby Day I say "naner naner naner".
Now it's on to the Preakness (the second leg of the Triple Crown) at Pimilico in Maryland this Saturday. It's being billed as a battle of the sexes since the filly Rachel Alexandra will be running. The post positions are being drawn today and we'll see who gets installed as the morning line favorite (I'll bet it's Rachel Alexandra - after all, she did win the Kentucky Oaks, which is the "girl's version" of the Kentucky Derby and was run the day before the Derby, by 20 3/4 lengths). Can Mine that Bird repeat his Derby run? Will the filly beat the boys? Will there be another longshot that'll give us a thrilling ride? Only time will tell...
Official Derby Payoffs (would love to see these sort of payoffs at the Preakness but I doubt it'll happen - of the 3 legs of the Triple Crown the Preakness usually has the lowest payoffs. But hey, anything is possible...):
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
8 Mine That Bird Borel 103.20 54.00 25.80
16 Pioneerof the Nile Gomez 8.40 6.40
2 Musket Man Coa 12.00
$2 Exacta 8-16 2,074.80
$2 Trifecta 8-16-2 41,500.60
$2 Superfecta 8-16-2-7 557,006.40
Winning Time: 2:02.66
This video shows the race and the post race. One warning - Borel acts like an ass in the post race:
Here's the Derby from an overhead position:
