shannon tweed kentucky derby bet
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Street Sense showed plenty of that, smartly picking his way through traffic while rallying from next-to-last in a 20-horse field to win the Kentucky Derby.
With a rip-roaring dash to the finish line at Churchill Downs, Street Sense put a couple of guys in the winner's circle late in their careers. And in beating Hard Spun by 2 1/4 lengths, the colt broke two Derby jinxes under jockey Calvin Borel, who was winless in four tries until now.
"I can't believe it, I can't believe it. This is the toughest race in the world to win," trainer Carl Nafzger said.
Street Sense became the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to return in the spring and win on the first Saturday in May, snapping an 0-for-23 skid. He did so on the same track where he won the Juvenile by 10 lengths six months ago. He was also the first 2-year-old champion to win the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979.
The dark bay colt, sent off as the 9-2 favorite on his hometown track, ran 1.25 miles in 2:02.17 and paid $11.80, $6.40 and $4.60 as the highest-priced winning favorite in Derby history. Smarty Jones paid $10.20 to win in 2004.
Hard Spun returned $9.80 and $7, while Curlin was another 5.75 lengths back in third and paid $5.60 to show.
While it was Nafzger's second win in three tries, trainer Todd Pletcher, who had a record-tying five horses, was skunked again. He is now 0-for-19 in the Derby.
"I am disappointed that the horses didn't run better," Pletcher said. "It isn't the end of the world if you don't win the Kentucky Derby. I'm not going to go home tonight and cry. That's just not the way."
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, were among the 156,635 racing fans on hand, the third-largest crowd in the Derby's 133 years. They watched from the fourth-floor clubhouse balcony overlooking the finish line. With the sun finally emerging before post time, they had a picturesque view of the famous Twin Spires.
Asked what it was like to win in front of royalty, Borel said jokingly, "It meant everything in the world."
The 65-year-old Nafzger, who is nearly retired, wasn't as emotional as he was in 1990, when Unbridled won for 92-year-old Frances Genter. Because of her faltering eyesight, Nafzger called the race in her ear so she could follow her colt to the finish line.
Then he gave her a big kiss when Unbridled crossed the finish line.
This time, Nafzger's words to 83-year-old owner James Tafel were few and to the point.
"Mr. Tafel, we're clear, we're clear. It's up to him now," Nafzger said.
Street Sense left from the same No. 7 post as Unbridled 17 years ago. The moment Street Sense crossed the finish line Nafzger wrapped his arm around Tafel, shook his hand and pumped his left fist.
By the time the two made their way to the crowded winner's circle, the white-haired Tafel was beaming.
"This is the aspiration of anybody and everybody in the horse business. It's just overwhelming," said Tafel, retired from a technical publishing company and living in Boynton Beach, Fla.
Nafzger and Tafel were taking a second shot at the Derby together. In 1999, Vicar finished 18th for the duo.
Nafzger works for just two owners now, having turned the day-to-day grind of his Churchill Downs stable over to an assistant. Besides Tafel, his other client is Genter's son-in-law.
"I create the bills, he pays them," Nafzger joked, referring to Tafel. "Maybe now I can afford to retire."
Street Sense, who has finished in the money in all eight of his career races.
"This horse has never run a bad race," Nafzger said.
Curlin, the 5-1 second choice, finished third, losing for the first time in his four-race career.
Imawildandcrazyguy was another half-length back in fourth and Sedgefield was fifth. Circular Quay, coming off an eight-week layoff, was sixth for Pletcher's best finish.
Tiago was seventh, followed by Any Given Saturday, Sam P. and Nobiz Like Shobiz. Dominican was 11th, then came Zanjero, Great Hunter, Liquidity and Bwana Bull. Storm in May, who is blind in his right eye, was 16th, trailed by Teuflesberg, Scat Daddy, Stormello and Cowtown Cat in last.
Garrett Gomez said he got knocked around a bit aboard Any Given Saturday.
"Then Street Sense came blowing through there and it was like a big old wave," Gomez said. "He knocked my horse out from under me and knocked him off his feet again. But that's the Kentucky Derby."
Borel is the master of saving ground and he demonstrated that skill in the Derby as Street Sense dropped back at the start and headed for the rail. While Hard Spun shot to the lead, Street Sense tucked in 19th along the fence.
Borel still had a snug hold on the reins as Street Sense turned for home. A quarter of a mile from the finish, Borel finally moved Street Sense to the outside and they accelerated away from the pack. They quickly reeled in Hard Spun, catching him in the final eighth of a mile as Borel sneaked a peek over his right shoulder approaching the finish line.
Once they crossed it, Borel thrust his whip in the air in celebration.
Royal visitor
Queen Elizabeth II, an avid horse enthusiast, got her first look at Churchill Downs, a racing icon best known for its twin spires and hospitality on Derby Day when mint juleps flow and fancy hats are in fashion.
The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, arrived a little more than two hours before the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown, and went immediately to a private suite. The royal couple had traveled to Kentucky from Virginia on Friday, landing in Lexington, 70 miles to the east.
The queen wore a fine wool coat of lime green, with a matching silk dress in a small floral print and a lime green hat with a fuchsia trim. She was accompanied by Will Farish, a former ambassador to Britain, as she entered a private suite to a round of applause.
"It's unbelievable," said Erica Fencil, a college student from San Diego who found herself in the same suite. "I can't believe I'm in the same room with her."
The queen had a finish-line vantage point for the races, and was visible standing on a balcony overlooking the track.
For fans with no chance of getting an up-close glimpse of the queen, there was an alternative. A Queen Elizabeth impersonator drew long lines in the track's paddock area.
Star-studded showing
Churchill Downs rolled out the red carpet and lined it with rose petals for celebrities arriving for the Kentucky Derby.
Jenny McCarthy, the actress and 1994 Playboy Playmate of the Year, said it was her first Kentucky Derby appearance, and she hoped to meet Queen Elizabeth II.
"I'm scared of what to say to her, though. There are so many rules," McCarthy said. "Yo! Wassup. That probably isn't appropriate."
Melissa Joan Hart, of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" fame, said she's been studying how to approach royalty.
Gene Simmons, formerly of the rock band Kiss, had money down on a horse, but it was his girlfriend, former Playmate of the Year Shannon Tweed, who placed the bet.
"I'm what's called a sucker," Simmons said. "This one (Tweed) bet $100,000 of my money on a horse."
Neither Simmons nor Tweed would say which horse they were backing, but Tweed said she picked the horse based on how the jockey's silks looked.
Barbaro's saddle
Barbaro's Kentucky Derby winning saddle now belongs to the colt's owners.
"Well, it's Edgar (Prado's) saddle, he just used it on Barbaro," co-owner Gretchen Jackson said after a book signing at Churchill Downs. "We just love the idea that it's going to be back with us."
The saddle was sold for $220,000 on Friday night, and the money will go to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys' Fund.
Gretchen Jackson and her husband, Roy, claimed the saddle after some backroom negotiations with Dwight Manley, national manager of the Jockeys' Guild. Manley thought he was the highest bidder and accepted the saddle, only to be approached by the Jacksons as he walked off the stage.
After a brief discussion, the Jacksons received the saddle, with Manley throwing in another $80,000 for the fund.
"I actually told them I really wanted it," Manley said. "I just thought it was the coolest thing. But it is appropriate and fitting that they have it."
Manley's only request was the Jacksons put the saddle in a museum one day. The money raised will support the 58 disabled jockeys who rely on the fund.
Horses cleared
All 20 horses entered in Kentucky Derby were cleared by the state's racing authority during pre-race tests for performance-enhancing drugs.
"I believe it's the first time in the United States a race of this magnitude has had a full field tested for EPO," said John Veitch, chief steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and a former trainer.
The surprise screening for blood-doping agents such as erythropoietin, or EPO, and darbepoietin was conducted Wednesday.
Veitch said the decision to do pre-race testing was not motivated by suspicions of wrongdoing but to ensure enforcement of the state's medication rules.
-- Associated Press
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Celebrities walk red carpet at Kentucky Derby, put down bets ... his girlfriend, former Playmate of the Year Shannon Tweed, who placed the bet
Celebrities Walk Red Carpet at Kentucky Derby, Put Down Bets ... his girlfriend, former Playmate of the Year Shannon Tweed, who placed the bet
it with rose petals Saturday for celebrities arriving for the Kentucky Derby. ... his girlfriend, former Playmate of the Year Shannon Tweed, who placed the bet.
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