Orb comes from behind to win Kentucky Derby

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By BETH HARRIS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Way back in the pack heading into the final turn, Orb was calm even if his jockey wasn't.

Then trainer Shug McGaughey's bay colt picked up speed, churning through a sloppy track that resembled creamy peanut butter, and blew past rivals one-by-one.

By that time, jockey Joel Rosario knew he was aboard the Kentucky Derby winner.

Orb powered to a 2 1/2-length victory Saturday at Churchill Downs, giving McGaughey and Rosario their first Derby wins.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130505/DA62QTAG0.html

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Joel Rosario rides Orb during the 139th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 4, 2013, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

[lastlib]

1. ho-hum....a sport for the one percent. I ignore it.

I wonder if Mittens and Queen Ann were there............not that I care....................

[snappyturtle]

3. You're right...it's a pricey sport but a lot of things out of my reach

I still can appreciate. And, I sure do appreciate the beautiful horses.

[Le Taz Hot]

4. Not necessarily.

Our local fair features live horse racing. My husband and I treat ourselves to 1 race day at the fair each year. We bet a whopping $6.00 per race. The wealthy may contribute more money to the sport but I'm guessing that most of the betters are schmoes like me.

[lastlib]

5. most of the bettors throwing away their money on wagers ARE average folks....

(most of whom are bad at math, btw......). The folks who own the horses are decidedly NOT the working stiffs.

[kurtzapril4]

17. The pharmacist at our local mom n' pop pharmacy

owns a couple of racehorses. I wouldn't put him in the 1%.

[KittyWampus]

18. My father was part owner of a few horses. You don't know what you're talking about. Not everyone

is loaded who is into horses and equestrian sports.

Edit- and the group he was part owner in was managed by a vet who took really good care of the horses and wouldn't race them if they weren't up to it. No drugging etc.

[Posteritatis]

28. Interesting statement considering you're the first response to the post. (nt)

[lastlib]

32. Timing is everything...............

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. A horse running for victory is one of the most magnificent sights ever!

They were born to run.

[Auntie Bush]

8. I'm with you Peggy!

And I love horses. There is no more beautiful animal on earth!

[Skittles]

19. everytime I see a horse race I remember Ruffian

there was never a horse more magnificent than that big gal, and she really strut in victory when she won

[Shrike47]

6. One of the horses was Charming Kitten.

Didn't win, too busy writing captions.

[harmonicon]

7. Have they shot him yet, or are they waiting?

I for one want my horse-meat lasagna to be as fresh as possible!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. This is uncalled for.

Race horses are not shot unless they have injuries that are too serious to be repaired.

[harmonicon]

10. I think horse racing is uncalled for.

My family had pet horses when I was a kid. Horses are intelligent, beautiful, sensitive animals. I don't think it's appropriate to use them as a living marble in a giant roulette table.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. They love to run. Racing is what they were born for.

I agree about their intelligence etc.

They are not treated like marbles in a giant roulette table.

If you don't like horse racing, then it is appropriate for you to not engage in it.

It's a personal choice.

[harmonicon]

12. They love to run, but not to be whipped.

In normal life, horses don't break their legs. In horse racing they do. If people and horses love horse racing, I'd like to see them do it without gambling and then see how it goes. Until that happens, I'm going to think it's a terribly disgusting practice.

[riderinthestorm]

13. Horses are prey animals. The avg lifespan of a wild horse is 7 yrs.

The avg lifespan of a pet horse, and that includes TBs - ex-horses too - is 23 years.

A wild horse's life is full of pain, suffering and fear. Many die of broken limbs. Very few die of broken limbs in racing.

All horses run - whether in fear as a wild horse or trained as racehorses. The "whip" may be different but I'd stipulate that wild living is a far crueler "whip". FWIW, you can't make any horse "perform" in any sport. They will simply lie down or choose to not participate. You can "whip" them til forever but they certainly understand that in the end, they can simply lie down and refuse to move.

I don't own racing horses, nor do I train racehorses, or approve of racing. I do however make my living with horses and understand that the situation is FAR more nuanced than this. Virtually every horse I deal with professionally comes off the track so my relationship with these animals is far more intimate than most.

YMMV

[harmonicon]

14. There aren't really wild horses.

I guess somewhere in Asia there is some subspecies that's still wild, but horses are basically domesticated animals. Over many thousands of years they have been created in their present state to exist side-by-side with humans, so to compare a domestic horse to a "wild" horse doesn't make much sense. People are responsible for the existence of horses, and it's thus our responsibility to care for them. I think part of our responsibility in caring for these animals involves not using them as tools for gambling (same goes for any other animal, by the way). I'll say time and again, if horses love horse racing, get rid of the gambling, and see if it holds up. Is it so great a "sport" that people would be involved with it without the gambling?

[riderinthestorm]

15. People have been racing their horses since horses were first ridden.

For a bet and for a lark. For fun, for competition and for no reason at all. Horses and their riders love to run as you say. It doesn't mean that every "race" is done for a bet.

And yes, there really ARE wild horses still. In the US and many other places.

[harmonicon]

16. Wild domesticated horses are not wild animals.

Feral house cats aren't wild cats.

I also don't think "people have been doing this for a long time" is really an excuse for anything - ever.

[Kali]

20. "In normal life, horses don't break their legs."

wrong

[riderinthestorm]

24. True. Very sad but very true.

[Earth_First]

21. Unusual for a #16 position to win Churchill...

This was a tough year to predict a winner, especially given the conditions of the track. Palace Malice was probably the strongest condenter given the conditions, however a break out of the gate is tough to win poll to poll...

[CRH]

22. A horse of average speed, ...

but obviously other attributes. His beyer's for under and over a mile have been average, he has never been above a 100. Yet he has won stakes and now the big one with performances never topping 97. There were several faster horses in this race, but Orb's endurance, demeanor, heart, jockey, and luck prevailed. The second leg is in two weeks at Pimlico. Greatness is tested and confirmed in the next two races, the Preakness favoring speed at 1 3/16s the Belmont endurance at 1 1/2. To win two of the triple takes an exceptional horse, to win all three records greatness history remembers. Many of us still await an equal to Big Red in 72.

[magical thyme]

23. sometimes the fastest horses can't power through the mud

It takes more power to go through mud than skim over a firm surface.

[riderinthestorm]

25. I'm guessing this horse is a "mudder". He's learned how to tolerate muddy footing

whereas many horse simply hate that kind of footing. Not a whole lot different than humans that way as well.

It says a lot about his versatility if he will tolerate less-than-ideal conditions. Hope he doesn't show up lame today with a strain - that kind of mud usually takes its toll.

[magical thyme]

26. I suspect it has as much to do with muscling and leg proportions as anything else

My old gelding had "show hunter" type gaits; smooth, "grass cutter," ground covering. Longer forearm, shorter cannon bones, and with t-bred type flat muscling. Very refined. And very, very fast and efficient. He just plain bogged down in mud. He hated it, but because he would feel panicky and could only flail helplessly while sinking deeper.

My filly, on the other hand, has "sport horse" type gaits. Longer cannon bones, shorter forearms, with slightly rounder movement. Also bunchier muscles, with a much more heavily muscled but. Less efficient than the old guy, with a shorter stride. Even unsound at 25 he could outrun her. But she powers through mud like it's nothing. She has so much push from behind that she punches deep holes into the pasture just walking long after the gelding (would have) even trotted and cantered without disturbing it.

The mudders learn to power through mud because they are able to. The horses that hate mud hate it because they feel bogged down.

[CountAllVotes]

27. Good race; Go Orb and Shug McGaughey!!

This horse Orb that won deserved it. Shug McGaughey, a native Kentuckian, Hall of Fame trainer and sentimental favorite in his home state, his first victory in the Kentucky Derby, and yes, the old trainer deserved it IMO!

On to the Preakness for you Orb and Shug! !!

Thank god that crook Doug O'Neil did not win with his horse Goldencents!

Scum like him need to be removed from this sport. He is in it for one thing and one thing only and that is money!

I'll Have Another won last year; won the Preakness as well. After that, some questions began to come about about whether or not he was doping that horse up and he conveniently sold it to someone in Japan before it even had the chance to be checked-out for drugs much less run in the Belmont!

People like Doug O'Neil are ruining this sport, absolutely without a doubt!!

[HangOnKids]

31. But But But The TV Showed Doug's Kids In Their New Hot Tub!

Paid for with the wins by I'll Have Another. It was quite sickening to those of us who know what O'Neil is all about, to see the media covering him as if he was some hero of the sport. He is a cheater and a HUGE phony, universally loathed by most of the circuit. Also the owner of I'll Have Another is a skeevy, cash call, payday loans asshole.

Glad Orb won, but the second place horse screwed up my exacta and tri....Golden Soul showed NOTHING on paper and no mud breeding. Good on Shug though!

[lovemydog]

29. here's a link to the whole race:

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/news/videos/2013-kentucky-derby-presented-yum-brands-replay

[hay rick]

30. My connection to Orb's connections.

Earlier in the year I met an aspiring jockey who currently works for Shug McGaughey as an exercise rider. We talked briefly about a couple of McGaughey's horses, but not Orb. The young man impressed me very favorably. My next trip to the track was for the Florida Derby. As somebody who takes handicapping "seriously," I discarded my favorable feeling about my acquaintance and bet against Orb. He won. The Derby was more of the same- I included Orb in an exacta box, but I didn't have the second horse.

My second brush with Orb's circle was even more remote. McGaughey trains his horses at nearby Payson Park during the winters. Last year I was phone banking for Patrick Murphy in his successful run against Allen West when Virginia Kraft Payson's name popped up on the screen as my next call. I recognized her name. She is the proprietor of Payson Park. She made her money the old-fashioned way- she married a rich man and outlived him. Amazingly, she picked up and talked to me. She was in Kentucky for the Keeneland yearling sales. She was puzzled that I called her but completely civil and also completely detached from politics. She told me that she always votes for the Republican...

[HangOnKids]

33. I Loved Orb In The Derby I Had Him In The Florida Derby

I had Revolutionary, Mylute, and Oxbow underneath at Church. I had no interest in GoldenSoul, my longshot was LinesofBattle. Oh well, the mud mucked things up. Orb could get the triple crown, he has lick and stick and is a damn fine horse.

[hay rick]

34. The early pace was much faster than I expected.

Pace, mud, 19 horses... You know you're entering the temple of doom...

I also took a flyer on LinesofBattle. The price was right and you know one of these years O'Brien is going to get it right.