Wow, sure wish I had placed a big bet on Mine That Bird in yesterday’s 135th Kentucky Derby. What a race, what a colorful event… what an amazing upset!!!
In what felt like a Hollywood scripted ending- the ‘against all odd’ horse and the jockey with a ‘heart of gold’ came from behind in the final stretch of the race…and literally left the competition in their dust.
Mine That Bird becomes the 2nd biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history coming from behind to take home the roses at an astounding 50-1 odds!
I love the pageantry and the tradition of the Kentucky Derby. The hats, the roses, the mint juleps, the bugle player tooting out that familiar race jingle and the sound of the horses as they rush out of the gates… it’s all good.
Okay, maybe these two are taking tradition a bit too far
And since I also love the thrill of a good wager, I always take a hand at picking a ‘race favorite’- which is usually based on which horse I think is the prettiest or has the coolest name. ( We’ll get um next time Chocolate Candy!)
Perhaps my process could use a little tweaking- as usual my less-than-scientific methods left me an OTB loser. Though this year I find myself in pretty impressive company- after all the professional odds makers didn’t fair much better.
As I was watching the replay this morning of yesterday’s events I notice something very interesting about what jockey Calvin Borel was wearing as he galloped around his victory lap, arms in the air, screaming out in his oh -so charming Louisiana drawl- basic black and white. Amongst the sea of colorful jockeys… his ‘no-name’ horse’s silks were equally ‘generic ‘. How fun! ( click on the link to read all about the history of horse racing silks)
An accent of ‘racer’ red on his cuffs and the light pink number 8 gate banner were the only colors this jockey needed to win it all
I realized I have never before factored the horse’s silk colors into my choice…after all the Silks worn by the jockeys are just as much a part of the tradition of horse racing as is the announcing of ‘and they’re off’ at the beginning of the race.
So I did a little color sleuthing to see if perhaps there were any possible colorful clues to picking an ultimate winner and I discovered something very interesting- the colors that surrounded the last Triple Crown winner Affirmed back in 1978 were seemingly similar.
black, white, pink with just a touch of red on his boots…hmmm, interesting indeed
Could this be a precursor…after years of almost Triple Crown winners… could the sport of horse racing finally have a racing hero on their hands?
I looked back at the three horse that have almost taken home the title as of late and noticed something colorfully interesting about them as well. As they each took home the second jewel in the coveted Triple Crown- winning the Preakness, they were all surrounded by shades of red, white and blue. Maybe I am on to something here!
Big Brown- in 2008 he won the Derby and the Preakness ( as seen here ), but fell way short in taking home the final jewel at the Belmont Stakes…perhaps if he had switched out the blue stars for pink on his silks he could have won?
Smarty Jones was the Derby and Preakness winner in 2004 but was beat out by Birdstone ( who just happens to be Mine That Bird’s dad- hey that’s another good sign for our little ‘can-do’horse) in the last race of the crown.
Funny Cide also won the first two titles in 2003 and then went on to lose the Belmont Stakes- I do though have to admit I love this color combo of deep red, gray, bright blue and white.. Funny Cide your colors are a Triple Crown winner in my book any day!
Okay,okay maybe my color theory is a little silly… but you have to admit it is intriguing. So on May 16th as the racing world turns to Black Eyed Susans and Pimlico I will be cheering for and betting on the gelding from New Mexico- Mine That Bird. I’m all for ‘the Cinderella story’.
The only catch… if he doesn’t draw the number 8 gate again ( which happens to be the pink gate) then Calvin I implore you to consider perhaps wearing a pair of pink socks on racing day because when it comes to colors and luck- as my mother always says-’it’s always better to be safe than sorry”.
I do think you are on to something here. I’m ready to replace my less than scientific approach and bet on color. I’m already reaching for my history of horse racing guide and “color calculator” to figure out who has the best odds at Pimilco.
You know I think your “color theory” is as good as any of the ones everyone but a few were using when betting on the Derby.