That horse loved the slop!

We love this horse.

It’s been a long time coming for us to get back involved with this whole thing. We raked during football season. And saying we raked really isn’t a strong enough adjective to describe what actually occurred this fall. Let’s just say it was a sad day when the final whistle sounded and we had to settle up.

And ever since Super Bowl Sunday we’ve been having some withdrawal issues. The trips to the casinos for some craps are great, but we really, really missed this. So the Kentucky Derby came at the perfect time, because I could tell by the looks on some of the guys faces that there was a hefty bet about to be placed on the Nationals-Marlins game any second.

Churchill Downs was an absolute mess on Saturday, so that left plenty of room for the this scene to be played out over and over by the guys as we began to handicap the race. Not that we really know anything about handicapping a horse race, but we definitely knew we needed a mudda.

Myself, I got anxious and put win-action on Super Saver, Lookin’ at Lucky and Sidney’s Candy (what a disaster that was). Then I boxed those same three on a Trifecta. Rich meanwhile apparently had made the Super Saver call earlier that day at the beach, and he became a bit, uh, violent, when he tried to reiterate the fact that this horse was a stone cold lock. Regardless, I think we were confident for a few reasons:

• Super-jockey Calvin Borel was riding, and we all love his hold-em-back style which is perfect for The Derby.
• We’d spent all day listening to the talking heads feel bad for Todd Pletcher. It was a way too much, but it was setting up for a storybook ending.
• We’re never wrong when we initially make a pick. I guess there is something to be said for confidence. Or at least blind faith.

So finally, post-time arrived. We got Super Saver at 15-1 odds at our book, while he was about 7-1 at the track. Decent value. Gavin laid down his first action ever, and went in strong to say the least. He woke up with a stiff one today I’d imagine. Needless to say, this exact scene played out:

Except for the fact that there was 15 of us,  Eddie screamed out “Where’s our horse?!” at least 5 times, and Rich punched my dog in the face while he did his best Willie Randolph waving in the horse from 3rd base.

Calvin Borel, you made a play!

And, we’re back to old habits…

(We’re on the Lakers -7 today. I think I’m going to be sick.)