This column appeared in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Headline: A few Derby tips to go with those mint juleps

May 1, 2003

By Ed Odeven

So you wanna impress your friends — the ones who will be gathering tomorrow to watch the 129th Kentucky Derby — with your extensive knowledge of horse racing?

Well, before the Derby Day festivities begin, my pal Les Witt, who’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer but one sharp cookie when it comes to horse racing, passed on a few tidbits worth remembering and/or blurting out. So jot some of these down or file them in the back of your brain.

Aristides won the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875. …

Ninety-five years later, a horse by the name of Dust Commander was victorious. (In retrospect, isn’t that a superb name for a vacuum cleaner?) …

In 1933, the Derby winner was Brokers Tip. It’s another name that conjures up images of industry — in this case an intra-office memo at a Wall Street firm. …

Perhaps Regret, the 1915 champ, was the worst-ever name for a Derby winner. (Pathetic Plight comes to mind as another never-ever-name-your-racehorse kind of name.) …

Don’t expect the favorite to win. Remember, since Spectacular Bid won the ’79 Derby, only one favorite, Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000, has emerged triumphantly. This year’s favorite is Empire Maker. …

The biggest underdog to ever win the “Run for the Roses” was Donnerail, a 91-to-1 longshot in 1913. This year’s longshots: Outta Here, Supah Blitz, Lone Star Sky, Eye Of the Tiger and Ten Cents a Shine are listed at 50-1. …

Red Smith, a celebrated turf scribe, once wrote, “Opportunity has no great value without the talent to capitalize on it.” This statement might be the best way of saying that a star horse, a star jockey and a star trainer put together can really accomplish great things on the racetrack. …

The man considered by many to be the world’s No. 1 horse trainer, Bob Baffert, grew up in Nogales, Ariz. …

There will be one “junior” racing in Saturday’s extravaganza: Rosemary Homeister Jr. Huh? Homeister is the daughter of a former jockey by the same name. To avoid confusion, the junior was added to the end of her name — her mother is a trainer nowadays. For the record, she’s the fifth female jockey in the history of the Derby, and she’ll be riding Supah Blitz. The others: Diane Crump (the first woman to do so in 1970), Patricia Cookse, Andrea Seefeldt and Julie Krone. Homeister is racing for history: to be the first woman to finish in the top 10. …

Eager to understand a horse’s logic, if there is such a thing? Then remember comic W.C. Fields’ words of wisdom. “Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people,” he once said. …

And, finally, here’s a cautious reminder, for those eager to bet the farm tomorrow because of some silly hunch — it’s the final stanza of Grantland Rice’s “Maxim’s from Methuselah.”

“Did you ever notice, old pal, in the racetrack’s dizzy spin

There are ninety ways that a horse can lose — with only one way to win?”