Kentucky Derby 2020 Results, Pay Outs, and Strangeness

 In 2020, we've learned to expect strange news and odd happenings.  Yesterday, a "boat parade" in support of President Trump in Texas, had four participating boats sunk by a much larger vessel, whose captain decided that he should be leading the flotilla; so he gunned his engines and flew past the other boats.  The waves from that larger boat's wake were what sunk the four other boats....  Who'd'a thunk it?

   The same sort of strange happenings infected the 2020 Kentucky Derby, too.  Originally, there were 18 entries for the classic race, run without a crowd in the grandstand.  There are scratches, of course, in the normal run of things.  The first scratch was King Guillermo, who spiked a fever, and vacated post number 6.  Then Finnick The Fierce was scratched because of a change in his walk and running - a sore foot - so the Gate 1 starter was gone.  Then, in the paddock, as the horses were being saddled, Thousand Words, trained by Bob Baffert, reared and flipped over, taking assistant trainer Jimmie Barnes with him.  Following protocol, the colt was immediately scratched, leaving Baffert with only one horse in the race - and not yet aware that his assistant trainer was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, after getting Thousand Words back into his stall.  Barnes has a smashed wrist and will have an operation in California later this week to put pins in place for his wrist to heal....

Thousand Words going over in the Kentucky Derby paddock

  The betting favorite as the horses entered the starting gate was Tiz The Law, who had won the Belmont Stakes on 20 June, and the Travers in August.  We were told by the announcers that the four horses to watch were all on the outside, being (in post number) Ny Traffic, Honor A.P., Tiz The Law, and Authentic.  Authentic had seemed to barely hang on for his last racing win, by a nose, at 1 1/8 miles; most commentators agreed that the 1 1/4 Derby would be too far for the colt to win.

  Now, I have to disagree (being anal-retentive and a tad OCD) with the headlines last night and this morning that state Authentic led the race "wire to wire."  Authentic is a slow breaker from the starting gate.  He might have been in the first 8 stepping out of the gate, but he was not the first, so he couldn't have led "wire to wire." (Just my little nit-pick there.)  Anyway, John R Velasquez allowed the colt to find his stride, then took him to the lead just before the first turn - and then he led all the way to the finish line.  Tiz The Law engaged Authentic in the stretch, but just could not pass the bay son of Into Mischief.  

   Authentic ran the 1 1/4 miles (10 furlongs) in 2:00.61 and won by 1 1/4 lengths.  Tiz The Law was second by 2 lengths, ahead of Mr. Big News ( a long shot) in third, who was 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Honor A.P. in fourth.

Authentic, center, winning the Derby; Tiz The Law at left

with white shadow roll

   In betting payouts (each of these a $2 bet), Authentic paid $18.80 to win; Tiz The Law paid $3.40 to place; and and Mr. Big News paid $16.80 to show.  The Exacta (again, all $2 bets) paid $41; the Trifecta paid $2,623.60; and the Superfecta paid $15,851.60.

   It was announced today that Authentic and Thousand Words will both be entered in the (now third leg of the Triple Crown) Preakness Stakes, to be run October 4 at Pimlico Racetrack.  In this odd year, the Preakness will be run 4 weeks after the Derby, instead of the usual 2 weeks.  However, it will be run at it's normal length 1 3/16 miles, and at it's usual track, "Old Hilltop" outside of Baltimore, Mayland.

   To top of the weirdness of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, after Thousand Words flipped in the paddock, in the Winner's Circle after the race, Authenic spooked at something, and sent several people flying, including his trainer, Bob Baffert.  Baffert, seeing the colt start to spin uncontrollably, pushed several people to safety, before being hit by Authentic's hindquarters....   No one was harmed, thankfully.

Bob Baffert, white hair and blue jacket, going down as Authentic

spins in Winner's Circle

The complete order of finish in the 2020 Kentucky Derby:

1   -  Authentic

2   -  Tiz The Law

3   -  Mr. Big News

4   -  Honor A.P.

5   -  Max Player

6   -  Storm The Court

7   -  Enforceable

8   -  Ny Traffic

9   -  Necker Island

10 -  Major Fed

11 -  Sole Volante

12 -  Winning Impression

13 -  Money Moves

14 -  Attachment Rate

15 -  South Bend

 

A Kentucky Derby Run in September?

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of changes around the world.  Countries, provinces, states, counties and cities are under separate quarantines, depending upon where you live.  The United Kingdom has shut down horse racing completely - both on the flat and over fences.  Equestrian trials and competitions have been closed all over the world - but the United States continues to have horse racing, in some localities.
   On Saturday, 28 March, Gulfstream Park hosted the Curlin Florida Derby - without anyone in the stands or club house.  Just the horses, jockeys, trainers, owners, gate men, outriders, starter, announcer, barn workers and stewards.  A field of eight colts started in the 1 1/8 mile race, for a total purse of $750,000.  The winner was the favorite, Tiz the Law, who won by 4 1/4 lengths in a time of 1:50.00.  Second was Shivaree by 3/4 length; Ete Indien was third by a neck; and Governour Morris was fourth. The other four starters finished in this order: Independence Hall, My First Grammy, As Seen On Tv, and Rogue Element.  All were fine Sunday.
   Now, the Kentucky Derby is usually run on the first Saturday in May.  The first edition of the Kentucky Derby was actually on May 17, 1875 - and Aristides was the winner in a field of 15, at a distance of 1 and 1/2 miles.  During the first 20 years, the Derby fluctuated between the first and second Saturday in May; then settled down on the first Saturday. 
   The Preakness and the Belmont Stakes  have missed runnings - in the 1890s, and during World War I, but the Kentucky Derby has always been run in early May, in every year, since 1875. 
   The big challenge of the Kentucky Derby was for a young horse to be able to run such a great distance at such an early age.  (Remember, no matter when a foal is born - even June or July - it is counted a year old on 1 January of the following year - and 3 years old on 1 January 2020, no matter when it was actually born in 2017. - This isn't so bad in this day and age, when mares are coaxed with special lights to be ready for breeding in January; but that wasn't done in 1875.)  Many things have changed since 1875....
   With the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been decided to run the Kentucky Derby on September 5 of this year.  Soon after, Governor Hogan of Maryland declared the Preakness would also be run in September.  With a move to that month, the Maryland Jockey Club will have to make a decision on where to host the race. Pimlico's racing season has been abbreviated in recent years to a short window in May, anchored by the Preakness. September racing is usually held at Laurel Park.  An October Belmont Stakes would align with NYRA's racing calendar, as Belmont Park hosts fall racing between Saratoga's and Aqueduct's dates.

Tiz the Law winning the 2020 Florida Derby

  BUT that means this series of the Triple Crown the 2020 editions of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes - will forever have an asterisk beside them. - these colts will be 4 months older than all of their counterparts who ran these races before this year.  They will (possibly) have more racing experience than they would in May. They will have more training, more muscle, more life experience. They will be more mature individuals.
   They will be running over the same tracks.  They will be carrying the same weights. But they will be much different individuals in September and October than they will be in May and June.  Depending on what's happening in the world at that time, it may be much hotter or much cooler than it would have been in the Spring. 
   It will be interesting to see what happens - will track records be broken during the Triple Crown?  Will favorites make it to fall racing?  And so much depends on plain old... "racing luck"....