The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday

[Johar]

Kentucky Derby 2012 field! (barring any last-minute scratches)

Post Position/Horse/Jockey/Morning-Line Odds

1. Daddy Long Legs, Colm O'Donoghue, 30-1
2. Optimizer, Jon Court, 50-1
3. Take Charge Indy, Calvin Borel, 15-1
4. Union Rags, Julien Leparoux, 9-2
5. Dullahan, Kent Desormeaux, 8-1
6. Bodemeister, Mike Smith, 4-1
7. Rousing Sermon, Jose Lezcano, 50-1
8. Creative Cause, Joel Rosario, 12-1
9. Trinniberg, Willie Martinez, 50-1
10. Daddy Nose Best, Garrett Gomez, 15-1
11. Alpha, Rajiv Maragh, 15-1
12. Prospective, Luis Contreras, 30-1
13. Went The Day Well, John Velazquez, 20-1
14. Hansen, Ramon Dominguez, 10-1
15. Gemologist, Javier Castellano, 6-1
16. El Padrino, Raphael Bejarano, 20-1
17. Done Talking, Sheldon Russell, 50-1
18. Sabercat, Corey Nakatani, 30-1
19. I'll Have Another, Martin Gutierrez, 12-1
20. Liaison, Martin Garcia, 50-1

Alternate Entry (he gets in if someone else scratches out):
My Adonis, Elvis Trujillo

[Olympia]

Mom used to love watching. We'd choose a winner in the classical way--if we liked the colors of the jockey's outfit. I don't think we every picked correctly. A perfect record!

[Johar]

Photos of the contenders:

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/contenders/union-rags

[Olympia]

Gotta love it! Action photos of the horses. What gorgeous steeds. I guess we can start the clock on hoping for a triple crown winner again. I was in love with Smarty Jones, who almost made it to the Crown. One of my favorite photos ever is this one of Secretariat (and no other horse except waaay in the background) at the Belmont Stakes. This photo is called "Secretariat humbles the field." A few instants after this photo was shot, he won the Belmont Stakes by about two dozen lengths. Never before, never since.

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl...:13,s:21,i:149

[Johar]

Secretariat had a big heart, literally. What a special horse he was! And he loved people and would pose for cameras!

[iluvtodd]

We'll be watching! Loved the movie Secretariat (and Seabiscuit). BTW, about a year and a half ago, we visited the Racing Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY (coming home from SOI in Lake Placid after Thanksgiving Weekend). What an interesting museum for racing fans! Some day, we would to attend at least one of the Triple Crown events. The Preakness in Baltimore would probably be the most feasible for us. My husband did get to visit the museum @ Churchill Downs @ the beginning of Derby Week one year (he had a business trip to Louisville, and @ the time, one of his uncles was still living there, so it was a nice business/pleasure trip/visit).

[Tonichelle]

and people make fun of the names of sled dogs... "daddy long legs" really?

enjoy!

[Olympia]

That's actually one of the sedate names.

[Johar]

Saturday May 5th
11-4 Undercard races NBC Sports
5-7 Derby coverage NBC


I had a woman ask me yesterday if there were any other races besides the Derby. A few years ago a guy asked me if there were other races that day at the track or if they sat there all day to watch a 2 minute race. ROTF!

[Tonichelle]

Johar - it's the same with sled dog racing... you can only educate one person at a time, though...

[100yen]

and people make fun of the names of sled dogs... "daddy long legs" really?

enjoy!

What are some interesting dog names you've come across?

[Tonichelle]

Refridgerator, Mudflap, Mudshark, Demon (very popular name, btw), LaFonda, Tread, Zebra (who is an all white dog, btw), D-2, Kosher, Sparkle

just to name a very small few... litters are normally named in themes... Lafonda is from the Napoleon Dynamite litter in the Seavey Kennel, for example... (not all dogs named above are Seavey dogs, btw).

[100yen]

A Napoleon-themed litter....priceless. Collectively as a team they can be known as "Canned Heat"

[Olympia]

Johar - it's the same with sled dog racing... you can only educate one person at a time, though...

Well, how would we be aware unless people like you tell us? For racing, I did read several of the Black Stallion books as a kid, but the mechanics of racing are not what I remember about the books. I depend on the expertise of those in the know.

Speaking of names, I sometimes entertain myself by listening to the names of the dog champions at the Westminster Dog Show. Sled dogs have nothing on those critters! They have some highfalutin' long name with many parts and then also a nickname. Sometimes even the breed name is funny, like the PBGV. I think its full name is the Petit Basset Griffon Verdeen. Yipes! I keep wanting to call it the PBJ (peanut butter and jelly, for those not in the U.S.).

[Mathman]

Aww. Daddy Long Legs finished last.