The Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike wasn't entered into the race until the day before, when another horse was scratched. So it was misfortune elsewhere that even gave the horse a chance.
Rich Strike was lightly regarded. The Star Tribune's preview graphic of the race offered a glimmer or hope while being pretty much dismissive, in other words what you would expect about an 81-1 longshot: "Distance should not be a problem but quality of field will be for horse that has won once in seven starts." An analyst from the Daily Racing Form called Rich Strike "hardly a threat."
So what happened?
First, in case you haven't see it, here's a look at the race as it was seen on TV. There's a hint of what's to come less than halfway through when announcer Larry Collmus describes the pace as "a half-mile in — WHOA! — a blazing fast 45.36 seconds."
What was going on here?
The horses with better reputations than Rich Strike — pretty much all of them — were running at a pace that most couldn't sustain. For example, the horse that was leading at the half-mile mark, Summer Is Tomorrow, ended up last — 64 1⁄4 lengths behind the winner.
Messier, the horse in front three-quarters of a mile into the race, finished 15th.
So the race was set up for a horse for whom "distance should not be a problem."
Watching the race in real time, though, doesn't tell as much as this replay, which shows Rich Strike moving from 18th place to the lead in the final half-mile. Among those are stunned to see this happen is Collmus, who doesn't mention the horse until ...
Take a watch and a listen:
The payouts were staggering. A $1 exacta bet — picking the top two horses in order — paid $2,050.60, a huge haul under any circumstances but even more so with the favorite, Epicenter, coming in second. A 50-cent trifecta — picking the top three horses in order — paid $7,435.35.
Canterbury Park officials reported that one person who made a bet through the track hit the superfecta bet — getting the top four horses in the right order — for a $321,500.10 payout on a $1 wager.
More on the race is in Star Tribune reporter Rachel Blount's story from Churchill Downs.
