Enough with health care, Wall Street reforms, immigration and all of that political stuff. The first Saturday in May is almost here, and that means Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.
I became a horse racing fan thanks to my father, spending Saturday afternoons at Laurel Race Course in Maryland, and taking a good number of trips to see big races like the Derby or the Breeder's Cup.
And we will meet out at Laurel tomorrow to see if we can decode the 136th Derby.
The Derby is a unique race at 1 and 1/4 miles. The 3-year old horses of today have never run that distance before, making it even more difficult to figure out who is going to win.
But let's see if we can find some nuggets in the field.
The favorite is #1 Lookin At Lucky. He will need to be lucky, because the last time the horse on the rail won the Derby was 1986.
The second betting choice is #20 Sidney's Candy. But he's on the far outside, where only two horses have won since 1900. One of those was Big Brown in 2008.
Last year's winner, Mine That Bird, was in Post 8, ridden by Calvin Borel, who has won two of the last three Derbies. He rides #4 Super Saver, who won a Grade II race at Churchill last November.
As usual, I'm looking for long odds. The pace of this race should be fast, which usually means that a horse that likes to rally from far back can win, or a horse that stalks the leaders from the middle of the pack.
You want longshots? How about #6 Stately Victor. He won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland with a late move.
Maybe there is #10 Paddy
O'P
rado, ridden by Kent Desormeaux. He threw in a bullet workout last week.
Or how about the #14 Mission Impazible, who won the Louisiana Derby with a three wide late rally.
You want a foreign horse? then look at #16 Awesome Act, who won the Gotham earlier this year, though he flattened a bit in the Wood.
Time to make the picks.
I will throw #16 Awesome Act, #6 Stately Victor and #14 Mission Impazible into an exacta, then sit back and enjoy the race.
