As the horses in Saturday’s KY Derby came before the crowd together for the sec and last time, it looked same a classic duel was shaping upwards between Epicenter and Zandon, ii of the favorites inwards the race. But they ne'er saw Rich Strike coming.
Nobody did.
The gymnastic horse that wasn’t inward the field of force until the real shoemaker's last second and went turned at 80-1 turned a classic Kentucky Derby into an epic one. Jockey Sonny Leon guided Rich Strike through the field of view and found daylight on the rail cut down the extend to flap Epicenter, the post-time favorite past three-quarters of a length.
Paying $163.60 to win on a $2 bet, Rich Strike was the second-biggest longshot to win the Derby. Only Donerail, who went away at 91-1 in 1913, paid bettors a higher price. Rich Strike, a $30,000 claimer, paid $74.20 to place, and $29.40 to show.
Epicenter, who went turned at 4-1 odds, paid $7.40 and $5.20. Morning-line favourite Zandon, who went turned at 6-1, paid $5.60 for third.
The epic turnover produced a $4,101.20 exacta on a $2 bet, and $7,435.35 for a 50-cent trifecta. The $1 superfecta paid $321,500.10, and at that place was simply $1 super-high-five winner that received $741,018.90.
‘Lightning’ Strikes
In the paddock as he saw his horse wee his run for the win, trainer Eric John Reed collapsed. A trainer for nearly 40 years, Reed has won more than 1,400 races, but the Derby pronounced just his arcsecond stratified stakes win.
Reed was more than OK.
Reed admitted that “on paper” his colt should feature been 80-1. Rich Strike hadn’t won since breaking his maiden endure year in a 17-1/2-length romp hither at Winston Churchill Downs. His lastly rush was endure month at Turfway Park, where he ruined tertiary inward the Jeff Ruby Steaks.
I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve had some really skillful horses,” Walter Reed said. “We knew what we had. I’m non telling you past any substance we knew we had a Derby winner, but if we didn’t consider we were going to follow inwards the Derby, we wouldn’t make been prepping for this year. We knew we had a gymnastic horse that was subject of running good, and so anybody that’s in this business, lightning can buoy strike.”
That third-place on April 2 goal gave Rich Strike 20 Derby qualifying points and a fourth-place finish a month earlier inwards a Turfway stakes rush gave him another point. With other horses coming off the Derby trail, that left Rich Strike as the number 1 alternate when the station positions were drawn Monday.
Reed and proprietor Rick Dawson entered their colt wise(p) it would have a later(a) engrave past no more later than 9 am Fri morning to get Rich Strike inwards the race.
By 8:45 am Friday, John Reed said he received word that the theater would live set. But as he stony-broke the word to his team, word came shoot down that Ethereal Road was scratched at the in conclusion minute. So, inward the field of operations of 20, Rich Strike became betting option 21.
A daylight and a half later, he made history.
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