LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 80-to-1 upset by Rich Strike in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby is unquestionably one of the greatest shocks horse racing hasactually seen in a long time. And the chances just inform part of the story.
Rich Strike appears to be the veryfirst Derby winner ever bought through a claim, which is basically a type of race where every horse is for sale at a set rate and can be “claimed” by the brand-new owner previous to post time. In this case, Rich Strike was declared for $30,000 priorto his 2nd profession start last fall. Charismatic, the 1999 Derby winner, ran for a declaring tag early in his profession however went unclaimed.
HORSE RACING AT ITS BEST: Rich Strike simply what distressed sport requires
PREAKNESS NEXT? Rich Strike ‘in truly excellent shape’ following Derby stunner
The horse’s owner, Rick Dawson, stated Saturday he had campaigned less than 10 winners and had not even won an allowance race as an owner, much less a stakes. The fitnessinstructor, Eric Reed, hasactually been in the service for 3 years with simply one previous graded stakes winner. And the jockey, Sonny Leon, has won a lot of races at smallersized tracks however neverever won a graded stakes.
Add in the truth that Rich Strike was on the also-eligible list upuntil Friday earlymorning when Ethereal Road scratched from the race and you’ve got every component of a famous upset.
But where does it rank in Kentucky Derby history? After a day of reflection and researchstudy, here’s the brand-new list of top 5 upsets:
1. Canonero II, 1971
The history books program that Canonero paid simply $19.40 to win, however that’s since there were just 14 person wagering systems enabled at that time. So in the 1971 Derby, the 6 most lightly-regarded horses were clumped together as the “mutuel field,” which brought down the chances. If Canonero hadactually been a standalone entry, he may haveactually been at least 100-to-1.
To this day, it stays the most amazing horse racing story ever: Bought in Kentucky for $1,200 as a yearling, he went to Venezuela where he had a fairly undistinguished record. But fitnessinstructor, Juan Arias, was persuaded to shot the Derby after Canonero won a race versus older horses and then another at Derby range of 1 1/4 miles.
Still, the level of racing in Venezuela simply does not compare to the U.S., so the horse wasn’t taken seriously at all. To leading it off, Canonero’s problem journey to Louisville consistedof several aircrafts with mechanical concerns, a quarantine documentation accident in Miami and a van flight to Louisville. The horse lost a lot of weight throughout the experience and looked horrible when he gothere at Churchill. But versus all standard knowledge, Canonero won — and then did it onceagain 2 weeks lateron in the Preakness.
2. Rich Strike, 2022
We will mostlikely appearance back on Saturday’s race as the supreme Derby fluke. No disrespect to Rich Strike or anybody associated with this fantastic story, however there is just no standard (or non-traditional) handicapping technique that would have pointed in his instructions. He came into the Derby with one win in 7 races, bad speed figures relative to the competitors and not