Who Will Hillary Bet On?

So, in the year when we have a female contender for President of the United States, will a filly beat the colts in the Kentucky Derby? Eight Belles, who had been entered in both the Kentucky Oaks which is the female version of the Derby, run on Friday, and Saturday's Derby, is going to go up against the boys. It is a well known fact that Bill Clinton's mom loved to bet on the horses. Will Hillary place a few dollars on Eight Belles' nose in the spirit of sisterhood?

Actually politics have a lot to do with Eight Belle's participation in the Derby and not all of it is friendly. Rick Porter, the owner of Eight Belles, in deciding to enter both races (clearly the best decision for his horse) is not making a lot of friends along the backstretch. If he had chosen to run in the Oaks and scratched from the Derby, he would have effectively knocked out another horse on the "also eligible" list. The Derby, with its limit of 20 horses, is one of the few races where an also-eligible list is not used. Which means that another horse, who made the cut in terms of earned winnings, would not be able to run because entries are not taken from the list. Once entries are taken on Wednesday, no other horse can get into the race even if one scratches after that.

As it turns out, because of an outside post drawn in the Oaks and a fabulous draw in the Derby, Eight Belles will give the boys a run for the money. Can she win? Genuine Risk in 1980 and Winning Colors in 1988 proved it is possible for a filly to beat nineteen other colts in what is arguably one of the most difficult races of a young horse's career. But can Eight Belles duplicate the feat? She's four for four and I think this Derby is wide open, so who knows? With a good post position and a lot of luck, this just might be the year of the woman in Kentucky as well as the rest of the United States. As they say, never say never.

In the meantime, my money is actually going to be on Colonel John. I think he is far and away the best horse but that does not always mean he is going to win. I also like Aviando and Pyro (if you throw out his last race) and, for sentimental reasons, Visionaire. But I also don't mind admitting that I have a funny feeling about this Derby and I'm not sure what it's all about--a filly winning or something else.

We'll find out soon enough.