Chapter 28

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, this is Jim Hastings. I’m here with my CBS colleague and turf expert, Jed Clancy. We’re here at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky for this year’s Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby. Jed, your take?”

“Thanks, Jim, and hello to all you turf fans as well as the millions of folks out there for whom this is the only horse race that matters. In my opinion this race, run since 1875, ranks up there in the sports world with the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

“While this race carries a big purse — one million dollars — it’s not the biggest; The Breeder’s Cup is purse is larger. [Author’s note: In 2005 the Derby purse was increased to $2 million.] Similarly, there are golf tournaments with richer prizes than the Masters. Notwithstanding, there’s not a golfer in the world who wouldn’t want one of those green jackets. Similarly, there’s not a breeder or trainer anywhere who wouldn’t want to say that he saddled a Kentucky Derby winner.”

“I agree with you, Jed. Folks, that’s just our opinion, but I truly believe that it’s an opinion that’s widely shared. Now, Jed, how about today’s race?”

“Good question, Jim. All indications are that this will be the closest Derby in modern times, anyway. It’s been a very interesting season for this year’s three-year-olds. Going back to last year’s big two-year-old races and this year’s Derby prep races culminating in The Wood Memorial, no horse has won two races. And in The Wood a few weeks ago, believe it or not there were seven horses within less than a single length as the winner crossed the line.”

Hastings chuckled and said, “Well, what’s that say about the Visa Triple Crown prize?”

Clancy also chuckled and replied, “Jim, I think Visa’s money is safe for another year. For you folks out there who may not know it, for the last few years Visa has offered a five million dollar prize to the winner of horse racing’s Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and The Belmont Stakes. Each of those races carries a million-dollar purse, but if a single horse takes them all, Visa adds five million more.

“The reason you may not even be aware of the existence of the prize is that it’s never been awarded; there has been no Triple Crown winner since it was first announced. In fact, there have been no Triple Crown winners since Affirmed took it in 1978.

“The history of the Triple Crown is fascinating,” Clancy continued. “Although all three races have been run since 1875, the first Triple Crown winner was Sir Barton in 1919, 44 years later. For that matter, there have only been 11 in history. The odd thing is that there has been only a single pair of back-to-back winners: Seattle Slew in 1977 and then Affirmed in 1978. But he was the last one. We’ve now gone over 25 years without one.”

Following was a discussion of the top horses in the race, their stables, trainers and jockeys. Jed Clancy concluded his preview of the 20-horse race by saying, “I’m nearly certain that we’re going to see a highly tactical race today. There’s going to be a high premium on the jockeys’ performance and I really think it’s going to be the best rider who wins today.

“But the identity of that ‘best rider’ remains to be seen.”

“Jed, there are a couple of horses you haven’t mentioned yet today: King of Bluegrass Farm and Black Silk. What about them?”

“Great question, Jim. First of all, if this were an equine beauty contest, those two would win in a walk. They are two of the most beautiful, handsomely-conformed horses I’ve ever seen. But it’s not a beauty contest; it’s a horse race. Furthermore, with a lot of people here today, they’re the sentimental favorites; they were raised just up the road in Lexington, the very heart of the Kentucky bluegrass country.

“But there’s more: I saw them work out this morning and there’s a very strange thing. As you probably know, in the wild a stallion will try to build his herd of mares to be as large as possible, while other stallions try to steal mares from his herd. But it’s as if King of Bluegrass Farm never got the word. Believe me when I say that he only has eyes for Black Silk and she only has eyes for him. As you know, the stables here are loaded with fillies, but as far as King is concerned, they don’t exist. And if a stallion tried to take Black Silk, I think she would drive him off before King ever had a chance to.

“There’s another thing: The word has been around for quite a while that no one else has ever been able to get on King’s back, and since her new owner appeared, the same thing is true of Blackie. This morning while the horses were exercising on the track, I watched that pair. In the first place, they’re never apart. Beyond that, they’re constantly nuzzling each other. Believe it or not, those horses love each other.

“But while exercise riders were on the other mounts, King and Blackie were being ridden by their owners. And with their owners aboard, those horses were as proud as punch. And another thing: While I certainly can’t be sure, I’m almost certain that the entire time they were out on the track, those horses had free rein. Their riders were aboard, but the horses were doing whatever they wanted to do. All their riders appeared to do was to stroke them, pat them, and talk quietly to them. And the horses seemed to love it.

“Which brings me to their riders and the problem in today’s race. First, King’s rider is Tatiana Corcoran, and Blackie’s rider is Natasha Corcoran. The girls are co-owners of both horses. The Corcoran girls are twins and were adopted from a school in Russia. And because the girls are tall — both about five feet ten — those horses will be carrying at least ten more pounds than any other horse in the race. Until the formal weigh-in, we won’t know the exact weight handicap, but it’s sure to be at least ten pounds.

“And ten pounds is a big handicap to give up, particularly in a race as evenly matched as this one with the world’s top three-year-olds.”

Jed paused and then continued, “Let’s review the bidding: First, the horses are beautiful and perfectly conformed. And they’re both big and strong. But they’ve never ever raced! The Kentucky Derby will be their very first race. Talk about starting at the very top! Then there are their owner/riders. Neither girl has ever ridden in a race anywhere. They certainly appear to be at home in the saddle, but they’ll be competing against the very best jockeys in the world.”

“Wow!” Jim Hastings exclaimed. “It’s their first appearance in public, too.”

“No, Jim,” Jed responded, “that’s not true. The fact is that both of those young women — only fifteen years old, by the way — are not making their first appearance before a large audience. First of all, believe it or not, as high-school freshmen, both girls earned varsity letters last fall... in football! Natasha is the punter and Tatiana is the place-kicker and both accounted for a number of scores. Tasha even completed a pass for a two-point conversion to give Memorial High School a last-second one-point victory.

“But that’s not all. Those two girls led the Memorial High girls’ soccer team to win the state championship.”

“Okay, Jed, I get your point. They’ve appeared in public.”

“But there’s more, Jim. Last summer those two girls qualified one-two for places on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team. But they turned down the positions. Aside from everything else, they’re truly world-class gymnasts.”

“Wow!” Hastings exclaimed. “But it’s time for the race. The horses are about to leave the paddock as the band plays “My Old Kentucky Home.” Then there will be the call to the colors and the parade of horses to the starting gate. Let’s listen.”

In the owners’ box, Jill and Mel were standing and cheering as the horses began their parade to the starting gate. King wasn’t walking, he was prancing with his head held high. And, as usual, Blackie was beside him to his right as they nuzzled each other. But the two horses were in step.

As the horses moved past the grandstand, Jill looked at the tote board and saw that #7, the Bluegrass Farm entry, was posted at 99 to 1, but there was a red light shining beside the odds number. “What’s that mean?” she asked as a general question.

Neither Tom Brady nor Jack Murphy knew the answer, but Josh Barrett did. “That’s a very interesting question and in today’s computer age I guess the answer is a little odd. You may notice that there’s only room on the tote board to post two-digit numbers, so the highest number possible is 99. But when that red light is lighted — as it is now — it means that the real odds are greater than 99 to 1.” He chuckled and added, “I guess to a long-shot bettor, it doesn’t matter if it’s 99 to 1 or 110 to 1; if the horse wins, he’s going to have a big payday.”

Simultaneously, both he and Henry Clay recognized the significance of what he had just said. Calling over a runner, he gave her $40 to put on Number 7 to win. Clay did the same thing, and then the two partners shook hands. They had just ensured a winning day by arbitraging their bet with Jill. If, by some miracle, King or Blackie won, they would win $4,000 at the track. If they lost as expected, they were in Jill’s thousand.

One thing the group noticed was what appeared to be a stream of bettors going to the low-priced betting windows — most of whom were women. It seemed that they were so impressed with the appearance of King and Blackie they decided to take the long odds.

Jim Hastings maintained his commentary as the horses reached the starting gate and the starter’s assistants started to load them into the gates. He noticed that King and Blackie just stood together, seeming to be above it all. What they did do, though, was to continue to nuzzle each other. Then he was handed a track notice. He read it and passed it to Jed Clancy with a chuckle.

Clancy read it, laughed and then spoke into his microphone. “Folks, we’ve just received some interesting news. You see that the Corcoran twins on the Bluegrass Farm entry are wearing red and white. We’ve just been advised that they’re here today representing Bluegrass Farm... and the Memorial High School Equestrian Team! Memorial High is the school in Lexington, Kentucky where they’re both freshmen.”

“Can you imagine the spring sports awards assembly at Memorial this year?” Hastings commented. “I can see it now: Those two girls, Tanya and Natasha Corcoran receiving varsity letters ... for appearing in the Kentucky Derby.

“But as you said, Jed, there’s nothing like starting at the very top.”

When it was time for King to enter the gate, it appeared that Tanya just spoke a word or two to him and in he went with Blackie going as quietly into the gate beside him to his right. There they just stood motionless while most of the rest of the horses appeared to be quite restless as the full field was loaded into gates.

“It may be their first race,” Clancy commented, “but you would never know it to look at their behavior. They seem far more comfortable in the starting gate than horses that have raced and won a number of times.”

Hastings took over the announcing. “The horses are all in the gates and ... Wait! I can see what appears to be King and Blackie dropping their hind quarters; they seem to almost be in a crouch.”

At that, the bell sounded and the gates popped open simultaneously. “And they’re off!” Hastings shouted.

When the gates opened, both King and Blackie were out as if they had been shot from guns. The girls were forward over their necks and their stirrups were back as they put their weight into them.

“Good grief, Jim!” Clancy exclaimed. “I’ve never seen anything like this in a thoroughbred race. Those two horses broke from the gate like quarterhorses. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, quarterhorses were developed from cow ponies, and many actually are. They’re smaller than thoroughbreds but much faster in acceleration. Particularly in the West, there are a lot of quarterhorse races ... but they’re only for a quarter of a mile. That’s where they got the name.