Anyone catch the Kentucky Derby?

Waltesefalcon · May 8, 2022

Yesterday was the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby and it had one of the biggest upsets of all time. Rich Strike, the winner, only was in the race because another horse scratched on Friday. It was an amazing run, but you have to watch closely to even notice Rich Strike work through the crowd along the rail and blow into the lead.

kip595 · May 8, 2022

An 80-1 (at close of bets) last minute upset at the Derby...oh to've had a few hundred shekels placed at the off-track yesterday! Oi vey... 🙄

Heckuva horse though, or at least one heck of a run - very interested to see how he performs going forward.

Dan S · May 8, 2022

I remember thinking at the 3/4 mile point that they were so bunched up after the terrible pacing that it was anyone's race, but like everyone, I was watching the front runners. I don't think the announcer even mentioned the winner's name until about 5 seconds before the finish.

Afterwards, everyone just seemed to be in shock. The TV announcers were like "Who? Never heard of the trainer, never heard of the jockey." Prior to the race, they had done stories and interviews on probably half of the horses, but they had nothing on the winner.

Is this just a one-off, or will we see more of this as they (hopefully) crack down on drugs? I was just happy that Baffert's horse didn't win.

txtchfn · May 8, 2022

Sonny Leone rode a perfect race. It was a blistering pace and he stalked the whole time. He took the horse from the inside to the middle and back inside and once they hit the stretch and and he got past the fading Messier it was over. Rich Strike was flying at the end. I live about ten minutes from Church Hill Downs and it’s always good seeing a smaller barn come in and beat the big boys. Hopefully we never see Bob Baffert back at another Kentucky Derby.

Waltesefalcon · May 8, 2022

I had to look up the winner up to learn anything. He is a three year old, owned by Richard Dawson and Red TR Racing, he was bred at Calmuet Farm. This is his second win, with his first coming at Churchill Downs back in September. That first win was a 1 mile race, this one was his first 1 1/4 mile race to rum, he pervious longest was a 1 1/8 mile and he finished third. It's no wonder he was such a long shot.

txtchfn · May 8, 2022

Pretty sure the goat I bet still hasn’t crossed the line.

BeauW · May 8, 2022

It was simply amazing! The big boys decided to set a record pace and the smart jockey with an unknown horse teamed up to make history. I couldn't have been happier to have seen the race go down like that. I wish only the best for Rich Strike but he has absolutely nothing left to prove.

chrisb732 · May 8, 2022

Nice to see excitement & no controversy. The payouts were huge.

connieseamaster · May 8, 2022

Watching the race knowing the winner is a hell of an education. The jockey earned his purse keeping the horse on the rail on that last turn. Everyone swung wide and he gained 5 places in matter of seconds.

Donn Chambers · May 9, 2022

Always try to watch the race if I remember, and really glad I remembered this year. That was one for the ages. Saw Rich Strike coming up fast on the inside and thought to myself, “This horse could overtake the leaders” and sure enough, he did. Very impressive. Rich Strike was clearly fired up. Anyone see how he was biting at the other horse at the end when they were trying to lead him to the winner’s circle?

I hope he was clean!