Todd Pletcher’s 0-24 Kentucky streak is over. Whether speaking of Pletcher, golfer Greg Norman not winning the Masters, Buffalo Bill quarterback Jim Kelly not winning the Super Bowl or any other great athlete who never won the big one, it is an overplayed, sensational angle that is both unfair, statistically flawed and boring… Would anybody expect ex-jockey and current television commentator Donna Brothers to be on any horse other than Bob Baffert’s pony Cowboy for the Derby telecast? Just the day before, Cowboy dumped Brothers during a live feature on NBC’s The Today Show. Brothers bounced to her feet, continued the feature and joked about the incident with Al Roker in a later segment. (Video replay shows the wreck was Roker’s fault BTW)… Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
You know you’ve got problems with the weather gods when Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel is on the broadcast team… You know you’ve done something to please the
weather gods when they give you that short ray of sunshine as the horses are loading for the Derby… In Februay of 2007, I was in the racing office at Oaklawn Park listening to Calvin Borel’s agent Jerry Hissam tell me that Calvin was planning to retire at the end of the year. My how life has changed for that team three Kentucky Derby victories later… Seperated at Birth
Churchill Downs Vice President Tom Jenkins (left) and comedian Martin Short (right). It was Jenkins who toted the gold suitcase filled with $100,000 to place the bet for NBC’s
Kentucky Derby Dream Bet Sweepstakes winner Glen Fullerton of Houston… Fullerton bet Super Saver and cashed for more than $900,000… At 6.3-1 final odds, Lookin at Lucky was the longest priced favorite in Kentucky Derby history, exceeding the 6.0-1 odds of Harlans Holiday in 2002. At 31-1, Discreetly Mine had the smallest odds of any the previous longest shot in the Derby since Halo Sunshine in 1995 at 28-1. That year the Derby had 19 runners but only 12 betting interests.One Lucky Winner
Although Looking at Lucky was anything but lucky in the Derby, Blind Luck was nothing short of spectacular in winning the Kentucky Oaks (gr.) Friday at Churchill Downs. Blind Luck did not win the Oaks by 20 lengths as Rachel Alexandra did last year, but she did finish the last sixteenth of a mile in a blazing 6 and change to get up for the nose victory… Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer now has three Kentucky Oaks wins as Blind Luck joins Pike Place Dancer (1996) and Lite Light (1991) as Oaks winners from the Hollendorfer barn… Speaking of Lady Luck, I thoroughly enjoyed Claire Novak’s report from Churchill Downs on the TVG program of the same name. Her knowledge is obvious but her enthusiasm and chemistry with hosts Christina Olivares and Nancy Ury added to an already good program and I hope the producers turn to Novak often in the future… If principal owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen are not going to have a knee jerk reaction to 2009 Rachel Alexandra’s second loss this year in the La Troienne Stakes Friday at Chruchill Downs, I’m not either. While there is plenty of reason for doubt, I would not be surprised if she begins to run like the old Rachel in upcoming races.
