| Advertisement |
Odds and ends from Saturday's 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby: The TVG online wagering site crashed Saturday at the worst possible time -- the hour leading up to Derby post time. The failure, blamed on "human error", compounded the crush caused by Churchill Downs' refusal to let Daily Racing Form's DRF Bets take wagers on Friday and Saturday races.
Advertisement
The latest example of the racing industry shooting itself in the foot contributed to a steep decline in total wagering on the Derby despite high interest. Churchill Downs reported $124.7 million was wagered on the race, down from a record $137.9 million in 2015. The total was the least wagered on the Kentucky Derby since 2011. Perhaps not coincidentally, Churchill Downs' own site, TwinSpires, logged a 22 percent increase on the Derby to $16.6 million and a 29 percent jump on the day's total program.
Ken Ramsey, one of the sport's most enthusiastic supporters, has made no secret of his desire to win the Kentucky Derby. So it was no real surprise that Ramsey, owner of the super stallion Kitten's Joy, ponied up a $200,000 supplemental entry fee to get Oscar Nominated into the Run for the Roses even though the colt had never raced on a dirt course. Oscar Nominated finished seventeenth, earning nothing, and trainer Mike Maker said he will return immediately to the turf.
The offspring of freshman sire Uncle Mo have been burning up race tracks all over the country this spring, with three of them, including undefeated winner Nyquist, starting in the Kentucky Derby. Also Saturday, another Uncle Mo colt, Abiding Star, won the Parx Derby in Pennsylvania. Stay tuned as we see how far they can run.
Churchill Downs starter Scott Jordan said the NBC-TV crew broadcasting the Derby told him they were holding five minutes of air time for him to get all 20 runners into the gate. He said he told them two minutes would be plenty, and they adjusted their planning to three minutes.
"We started loading and it was going pretty good," Jordan said Sunday morning while visiting Nyquist's barn. "The NBC guys said I had to slow it down. I told them 'Sorry, fellas, you're on my time now.' We got 'em all in in a minute and 38."
Victor Espinoza, who won the last two Kentucky Derbies, did even worse in Saturday's renewal than he did as an early-exit contestant last fall on "Dancing With the Stars." Riding Whitmore, Espinoza beat only one rival. Trainer Ron Moquette said Sunday, "I think the jock made it look worse than it really was."
