Rookies Beat Bookies
Jockey Sonny Leon’s Incredible Riding Skills
Lead Rookie Thoroughbred, RICH STRIKE, from Back of Race
To Beat All the Bookies’ Favorites
5/07/2022 Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky / Posted 5/08/2022*
Rich Strike won the 148th Kentucky Derby (5/07/2022) on 80:1 “longshot” odds with jockey, Sonny Leon’s skillful navigation from the back of the racers, up along the rail, squeezing through to take the lead and win “by a neck” (a ‘length’ in racing jargon).
Rich Strike, who not only beat the odds to win the race, also beat the weather odds calling for a muddy track.
While clouds threatened all day, no rain impacted the race, and Churchill Downs reported a record $391.8 million sales for Derby week.
Rich Strike was entered in the Derby at the last minute when another entry withdrew.
Rick Dawson’s RED TR-Racing bought the horse, bred by Calumet Farm, for $30,000.
Dawson told NBC news that he got a call literally 30-seconds before the entries closed on Friday, May 6, advising that an opening occurred due to a last minute withdrawal from the race.
Jockey, Sonny Leon, proding Thoroughbred horse, Rich Strike, slid through 1.25 miles of race track in 2:02.61 minutes – “THE FASTEST TWO MINUTES IN SPORTS.”
The track condition was fast (dry) and the result was second only to Donerail’s 91:1 odds in 1913.
Also according to Churchill Downs’ website:
– crowd of 147,294 Derby fans.
– second-biggest long shot ever to win the Kentucky Derby.
– wagering on the Kentucky Derby, Day Program, and Derby-week races was the highest in history.
– Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby Day program totaled $273.8 million, a 17% increase over 2021 and up 9% from the previous record in 2019 of $250.9 million.
– Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby race totaled $179.0 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5 million set in 2019. This year’s wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle wagered in Japan.
– TwinSpires, the official betting partner of the Kentucky Derby took $67.4 million wagers Kentucky Derby Day program, an increase of 8% over the previous record in 2021.
– TwinSpires’ sold $44 million wagers on the Kentucky Derby, up 8% over last year’s record.
Churchill Downs’ website states: “All-sources handle for Derby Week rose to a new record of $391.8 million, up 25% from 2021 and up 14% from the previous record of $343.0 million set in 2019.”
Reference:
Official Kentucky Derby Communications, Details, and Disclaimers
https://www.churchilldowns.com/racing-wagering/news/rich-strike-wins-the-148th-running-of-the-kentucky-derby-presented-by-woodford-reserve-at-80-1-odds
