Fantastic that Graham Motion won! Was so bummed out when Toby’s Corner had to scratch.
One for the good guys!
(And my bank says thank you as well - had to place a back-up bet on Animal Kingdom. I loved his face, too, after the race!)
Grrrr
Had I played the super…which I didn’t…I would have struck pay-dirt! Actually, had Animal Kingdom, Shackleford and MMM along with Pants on fire tucked into my kitchen drawer with not a penny to show for it…simply to chronicle my hunches.
Congrats to Velasquez and his connections. So sorry Robby, but you did have a score today. Probably doesn’t ease the pain any…
Archacharch
Is there a way to get in contact with archie’s owners or trainers? Just walked out of churchill gates. Had my money on j
Him. Was glad hr was able to climb into ambulance. Had brief flasbsck to ruffian. Anyway!! It’s a long shot but I’m willing to make a home offer if he’s done running.
[QUOTE=ksetrider;5593934]
Is there a way to get in contact with archie’s owners or trainers? Just walked out of churchill gates. Had my money on j
Him. Was glad hr was able to climb into ambulance. Had brief flasbsck to ruffian. Anyway!! It’s a long shot but I’m willing to make a home offer if he’s done running.[/QUOTE]
Dr Bramlage was already on for a post-race interview - he has a lateral condylar(?) fracture - not life threatening - requires surgery, but not an emergency - will involve screws in the ankle, and many have come back from the injury and even raced. Too soon to say how he will do…
Plus he is a colt - he could go on to other “jobs” perhaps.
out of curiosity, is Graham Motion related to the Motion family that runs the Middleburg Tack Exchange?
I can’t honestly remember where I read a recent article on Graham Motion- might even have been in the International Herald Tribune while I was overseas recently- but he sure is my kind of trainer! I had decided to root for Toby’s Corner based on the article, had no idea he even had a second horse running!
I do like Animal Kingdom- but was mightily impressed with MMM’s finish too.
out of curiosity, is Graham Motion related to the Motion family that runs the Middleburg Tack Exchange?
Yes, his mother owns the store. Lots of winner’s circle photos behind the cash register. 
Bits and pieces
Highest Derby day attendance ever
Churchill reported that attendance on Derby day was 164,858, a record, besting the mark set in 1974, when 163,628 were on hand. It was helped by the weather being mild and partly cloudy with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees, though some rain fell midway through the afternoon.
Wagering was 3rd highest ever
All-sources wagering on the 13-race Kentucky Derby card on Saturday at Churchill Downs was $165.2 million.
“It appears my horse chipped his left ankle,” Miller told Churchill Downs officials. “We could see it when we brought him back. I believe we’ll have Dr. [Wayne] McIlwrath from Colorado State University take it out in the next little while.”
Miller said that Comma to the Top would be out of training for at least 60 days following that surgery.
That follows news that Archarcharch suffered a lateral condylar fracture on his left front leg.
Bramlage said the injury will require surgery, but it’s “not a life-threatening injury. It wasn’t a situation where he was in that much trouble.”
Jockey Jon Court said Archarcharch, who appeared to take a bad step just out of the gate, also took a bad step at the 16th pole. Court said his saddle slipped in the race.
“I felt him take a couple bobbling steps and he never really recovered from it, just right up here by the wire,” Court said. “I just tried to pull him up the best I could. He was definitely gimping on that left front. It was just the final stride.”
Final order of finish for Derby 137:
Complete order of finish for the 2011 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Animal Kingdom handed trainer Graham Motion his first Kentucky Derby win.
- Animal Kingdom
- Nehro
- Mucho Macho Man
- Shackleford
- Master of Hounds
- Santiva
- Brilliant Speed
- Dialed In
- Pants On Fire
- Twice The Appeal
- Soldat
- Stay Thirsty
- Derby Kitten
- Decisive Moment
- Archarcharch
- Midnight Interlude
- Twinspired
- Watch Me Go
- Comma to the Top
Final time: 2m02.04s
Video replay: 2011 Kentucky Derby - with Mark Johnson calling the race
I know its premature but sadly Larry Collmus’ call was highly unremarkable. It was further hampered by NBC not being able to fully drown out Johnson’s calling in the background.
I thought the audio was horrible for the race.
[QUOTE=VirginiaBred;5594663]
I thought the audio was horrible for the race.[/QUOTE]
You had company !!! It was awful.
[QUOTE=Cammie;5594263]
Yes, his mother owns the store. Lots of winner’s circle photos behind the cash register. :)[/QUOTE]
I love looking at those whenever I go in and when they said his name, a light bulb went off. How exciting for them!
I really missed hearing:
“And down the stretch they come!”
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;5593801]
By Brazilian bred miler out of German damline trained by an English dude in Maryland, and with no prior starts on dirt… love it!!![/QUOTE]
Me too! Congratulations to his connections.
So if Velasquez was only riding because the original rider got hurt, but V rode him great and won the Kentucky Derby, who gets the ride in the Preakness? Stay on a roll or go back to the original rider?
You NEVER take a jock off a winner. Multiply that by about 100 when it’s the Derby that he won.
Albarado has had bad karma all around him this year. Can you imagine if Animal Kingdom had won with this still fresh in everyone’s mind?
[URL=“http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110420/NEWS01/304200117/1037/SPORTS08/Albarado-pleads-guilty-reduced-charge-domestic-case”]
Albarado pleads guilty to reduced charge in domestic case
Instead of a PR nightmare we have a feel good story going into the Preakness.
(Although I suppose the PR nightmare may have boosted ratings… guess we’ll never know…)
Several Derby runners will be Preakness runners too
And Dialed In will go after the $5,500,000 bonus he alone is eligible for if he wins the Preakness Stakes!
“All horses are different,” Zito said outside his Churchill Downs barn. “This horse might like being wheeled right back. And, you’re right, we’ve thought about the big bonus.”
Zito said Dialed In had his late rush compromised by the surprisingly slow pace in the Derby, and was proud his colt rallied from last place in the field of 19 to eighth in the final half-mile.
“He still came with his run,” Zito said. “He came back good. That’s the important thing. We certainly want to go on to Baltimore.”
Frankly I think this will be the far bigger storyline then Valor’s Animal Kingdom also running in the Preakness.
Updates with next steps:
Animal Kingdom will enter the Preakness
There were 19 horses who ran in the Derby, and a large field seems likely for the Preakness, too. In addition to Animal Kingdom, Mucho Macho Man (third in the Derby) and Dialed In (eighth) are definite. Shackleford (fourth) and Santiva (sixth) are possible.
Horses who did not run in the Derby, but are expected for the Preakness, include Astrology, Concealed Identity, Dance City, Flashpoint, King Congie, Norman Asbjornson, Prime Cut, and Sway Away, and possibly Mr. Commons.
Nehro to skip Preakness; Point for Belmont Stakes
“I would prefer, as of now, to run in the Belmont and maybe the Haskell and then we’ll see,’’ said Zayat, who added that his primary objective is to return to Churchill Downs in November for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. “We’ll take it a day a time, but we’re probably going to point him to the Belmont. [The Preakness] is a possibility, but not probable.’’
In regards to Rosie and Pants on Fire, she received (as expected) gobs of positive media attention and support at the windows. Further she has made history by being the highest female finisher in a Kentucky Derby race ever.
That said Pants on Fire did not due well due to “significant bleeding” and at this point will not be seen again until the Haskell Stakes in Jersey (July 31st) at best.
"He bled a significant amount. We are not going to the Preakness,’’ Breen said. "We are going to try and heal him up inside out. My main goal right now is in three months is the Haskell.’’
Breen said that aside from the bleeding episode, Pants on Fire was otherwise physically fine.
Pants on Fire was shipped to the Monmouth track this afternoon (Sunday May 8th) where he’ll be based for the summer.
2011 prelim overnight Derby Ratings
NBC Sports reported overnight television ratings of 7.4/17 for its three-hour telecast of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) May 7 from Churchill Downs in Louisville. Final national ratings will not be available until May 10.
The numbers measure the Derby telecast from 5-7 p.m. EDT on the Peacock Network. An additional hour of coverage began at 4 p.m. but was not part of the ratings numbers. The 7.4 rating represents a 7% decline from 2010 numbers, which were the highest for the last 20 years of Derby telecasts.
The race segment of the show, from 6-7 p.m., received a 9.7/22 rating, also down 7% from a year ago. The number after the slash represents the percentage of TVs in use that were tuned into the program.
National ratings were expected to show the Derby was seen in about 15 million United States households, which would rank the Derby alongside other major sporting events this year such as the final round of the Masters golf tournament, the Daytona 500, and the semifinals of college basketball’s Final Four.
