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The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home...

By DrFunk, Section Other Sports
Posted on Fri May 06 2005 at 7:27 PM EST Printer Friendly Page
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It's derby time, and here are some of my favorite's in the run for the roses! No doubt I am a huge horse racing fan, and the Kentucky Derby is one of my favorite sporting events of the year.

I love everything about the Derby. I love the history and tradition it carries, from hearing the glorious "My old Kentucky home" played while the horses approach the starting gates, to the exquisite blanket of roses placed upon the winning horse. I love the anticipation that grows as the horses stand in the starting gates anxiously awaiting the start of the race. I love the excitement of hearing my favorite line in sports "and down the stretch they come!" accompanied by the thunderous sound of the horses hoofs pounding the track as the desperately try to take the lead in the final stretch of the prestigious race. I love the feel good stories that always seem to associate themselves with the derby, from Seabiscuit to Smarty Jones.

So without further ado, here are some of my favorites to take home the roses on saturday.

"Bellamy Road"- The definite overall favorite in the race, the Steinbrenner owned colt has won 4 of his first 5 races with authority. The horse is trained by Nick Zito, who represents an astonishing 5 horses in this one race. If this horse is able to take it all as he is expected to do, it will be Steinbrenner's first win in the Derby, he is currently 0-5. It will also be by far his cheapest championship as rumor has it he only paid $87,000 for Bellamy Road (an extremely low price for a derby contender), meanwhile the Yankees payroll has reached well over $200 million a year.

"Afleet Alex"- The owners of this horse have decided to donate a large portion of his earnings to a charity called "Alex's lemonade stand" this charity gives money to cancer research, and was started by a little girl named Alexandra Scott, who at the age of four was diagnosed with cancer and started a charity with a lemonade stand to collect money to donate to her hospital. Alex's family decided to continue the charity after Alex passed away. That, combined with the fact that it will be the first time in the derby for the owner, trainer and jockey makes it impossible to not root for this horse. It also doesn't hurt that he finished first or second in 8 of 9 races so far. The other finish (6th place) came only because of a lung infection he had at the time.

"Greater Good"- The one time favorite has been forgotten about because of his 5th place finish in his latest race, however many say this was a result of the washed out track at the Arkansas Derby. Since it is expected to be dry and sunny on Saturday, this shouldn't be a factor. Keeping that in mind, this horse was absolutely dominant in 5 wins in his other 7 races. The two of those races he did not win can be justified. One was his first race, in which he was still adjusting. In the other he had to avoid a horse that fell in front of him. Basically, every time this horse hasn't dominated a race there has been a understandable reason for it.

Well, those are my picks, should I place any bets?

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The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home... | 7 comments (7 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
And down the stretch they come (#1)
by bsd987 on Sat May 07 2005 at 4:32 AM EST
Unless you listen to the race on radio, you don't here that line. Tom Durkin calls the Derby and has done so for 5 years. Dave Matthews used to call the Derby and starting next year he might call the Belmont (waiting for ABC's approval). Either way, they both suck now in comparrison to the other guys. I'd much rather here Luke Kruybosch call the Derby and Dave Rodman call the the Preakness than have Tom Durkin call those two. Durkin can keep the Belmont because he calls the races there. But hopefully he will retire soon and Larry Collmus will go full time at NYRA or they will bring in Michael Chamberlain from Sam Houston.

"If this horse is able to take it all as he is expected to do, it will be Steinbrenner's first win in the Derby, he is currently 0-5."

The comma before "he is currently..." should be a semicolon.

And just one more thing, $87,000 is not so low a number for a Derby contender. If my memory serves right, wasn't Smarty Jones only about $15,000? I know Smarty number was lower than most others (and plus last year was the year which was effected by the "plague" of 2001), but that trumps $87,000.

Good article though.
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Sportscolumn.com's Resident Asshole

$87,000 (#2)
by Google on Sat May 07 2005 at 8:08 AM EST
$87,000 might not be rediculously low, but the average derby contender is atleast 6 figures.

Smarty Jones was a HUGE exception, and definately was rediculously low priced. That was a reason it was such a feel good story, they got him in a claiming race.

[ Parent ]

Radio (#3)
by DrFunk on Sat May 07 2005 at 1:40 PM EST
The derby is much better on the radio.

[ Parent ]
looks like the Baltimore Orioles of the field won (#4)
by Editor on Sat May 07 2005 at 3:24 PM EST
I love an underdog. 50-1! Holy cow.

i'm crying (#5)
by bsd987 on Sat May 07 2005 at 7:12 PM EST
I had Closing Argument though for $50wps. Would have been 6K instead of about 2.5K. I also had 16/8,9,10,11,18. If only I boxed it............
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Sportscolumn.com's Resident Asshole
[ Parent ]
the superfecta? (#6)
by Editor on Sun May 08 2005 at 10:46 AM EST
$1.7M.... did anyone hit it?

[ Parent ]
yup (#7)
by bsd987 on Sun May 08 2005 at 12:07 PM EST
otherwise it would pay 3/4.
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Sportscolumn.com's Resident Asshole
[ Parent ]
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home... | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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