Thoroughbred Horse Rich Strike is 4!

 Happy Birthday!  Rich Strike won the 2022 Kentucky Derby with an 80-1 odds of winning. He was foaled 4 years ago on April 25, 2019, at Calumet Farm, KY

Below is a short video of the story of Rich Strike's historic win in the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby.  "Ritchie"  remains interesting whether he ever wins again, or not.

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Rich Strike: Otto Thorwarth Interviews Eric Reed and Sonny Leon

 This interview by Mr. Thorwarth occurred before the Belmont Stakes which American thoroughbred racehorse, Rich Strike lost, but who cares, right?  Rich Strike remains the Year 2022's phenomenal 80-to-1 winner of the most important horse race of the year -- the Kentucky Derby!!!

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2022 Kentucky Derby Payout Breakdown $$$$

Place Prize Money 1 $1.86 million 2 $600,000 3 $300,000 4 $150,000 5 $90,000

pc: Yahoo

How the numbers work for the winner:

Winner gets $1,860,000 Jockey's team: 10% goes to jockey's team ($186,000) Jockey gets $130,200 (70% of team) Agent gets $46,500 (25% of team) Valet gets $9,300 (5% of team)

pc: twitter/nbc sports

Kentucky Derby 2022: 

Dissecting Prize Money Purse

Kentucky Derby Purse

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Rich Strike: Thoroughbred Got in the Kentucky Derby Race by 1 Point

Once thoroughbred racehorse Rich Strike was claimed (purchased) last September, and deemed by both his owner and trainer a good-enough horse for the Kentucky Derby in May 2022, he was scheduled to run races to get him to qualify. 

A race called John Battaglia Memorial Stakes was pivotal as one looks back at how Rich Strike got to where he is as the Winner of the Kentucky Derby.  Bottom line: there Rich Strike got what he needed to be #21 on the also-eligible list to run in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby  

At the last possible minute, another horse couldn't run the race, Rich Strike got in --- was given the odds of winning at 80 to 1 --- and the rest is horse-racing history. It was incredible!!!

Rich Strike, Thoroughbred Racehorse

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I'll Have Another: (funny) philosophical quote

I’ll Have Another, the horse,  won first-place in the Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness; but cannot run in the Belmont Stakes because of an injury. No Triple Crown this year. Here was Patrick Morley’s status update after the Derby race: 

In case you missed it: owner of Kentucky Derby winner a former philosophy professor at USC.

When Costas asked him for a philosophical comment in winner's circle he quipped, "Ludwig Wittgenstein said, ' When all philosophical problems have been solved, nothing of any real importance will have been accomplished,' so we went into horse racing."

Gotta love it....

pic source: Google images

Kentucky Derby May 2010

I do not wager, but I have a love for horse-racing that goes back to my Summers with Grandma Consuelo in the Philippines. She used to partake of the local Carreras which were also televised. I remember having a fondness for odd-color (read: white) horses and for the underdog. She and my uncles may have won often enough because she was never in a foul mood as far as I was aware,  hehehe.

Life lessons  I've watched these types of races enough to know the following:

• the first one out of the starting gate does not always win
• being the odds-on favorites does not guarantee a victory
• the fast-and-furious racing style may mean that the horse fizzles out on the home stretch

What may lead to a win?? The 3 Ps --- patience, pacing,  and position --- and the jockey who knows how to properly combine the three!

I love the name of this year's winner, "Super Saver"
I want to keep an eye on the fabulous(!) come-from-waaaay-behind second-place winner, "Ice Box"

I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong... Ecclesiastes 9:11

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