Kentucky: the win, place, and show me state

The high holy season in Kentucky is upon us with thoroughbred racing underway at Keeneland thru April 29th. Churchill Downs opens the next day and leads us to the 142nd Kentucky Derby on May 7th. They’re off!

Keeneland paddock, April 15, 2016

another perfect day for win, place, or show

Doug O’Neill, center, is the trainer of Kentucky Derby favorite Nyquist.

Tom Leach, Doug O'Neill, and Terry Meiners at Keeneland, April 15, 2016 — Tom Leach, Doug O’Neill, and Terry Meiners at Keeneland, April 15, 2016

Neither Tom or I bet on Doug O’Neill’s 2012 Derby winner I’ll Have Another so we won’t miss a chance to ride another O’Neill victory run at this year’s Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.

Watch I’ll Have Another race past 2012 favorite Bodemeister below.

If 2016 reveals another superstar like last year’s American Pharoah, don’t be shocked if his name is Nyquist.

American Pharoah thunders past the finish line of the Breeder's Cup Classic, October 31, 2015 (photo: Scott Utterback, The Courier-Journal) — American Pharoah thunders past the finish line of the Breeder’s Cup Classic, October 31, 2015 (photo: Scott Utterback, The Courier-Journal)

American Pharoah passed Firing Line on the home stretch to win Derby 141 and then go on to win the Triple Crown with victories in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. An unprecedented bonus came on Halloween 2015 when American Pharoah won the Breeder’s Cup Classic at Keeneland, an opportunity unavailable to any prior Triple Crown winner.

Here’s American Pharoah’s final run to glory in the Breeder’s Cup Classic