Biggest build up to 2 minutes of excitement

Yes, I am talking about the Kentucky Derby.

Yesterday, I went down to the South End to watch to race with some college friends. We were convinced the race started around 4 pm so we gathered around 2 so that we had time for some mint juleps and grilling. This also gave time to watch the end of the Penguin v Capitols Stanley Cup playoff game. Well 4 pm came and went and the horses were no closer to getting on the track than when I arrived to the house. We kept the pre-race coverage going on one of the two tvs (clearly based on this statement you know I was at a boy's place) and quickly realized that the Kentucky Derby, proportionally, has to have the most pre-event coverage to actual time of event. SIX HOURS of interviews and discussions of field conditions compared to TWO MINUTES of racing!

As we were getting close to the 5:30 point and the horses had yet to move we all got a little concerned that this race was not going to get off before the beginning of the Celtics game. And regardless to the fact that we had invested close to 4 hours of coverage watching at this point, we were all Boston sports fans -- we had our priorities. Fortunatly things finally started around 6:20. Everyone in the room was super excited - as we had all picked horses and agreed to who ever didn't place top three had to take a shot - and were yelling for our horse to "move his bloody arse". My horse had been looking so good up until the final turn and then Mine That Bird made his move and just sped past them all!

We were floored. He was the horse bought for $9,500. He had 50-1 odds that he would win which translates to a $2 bet to win on this horse would give a return of $103.20. This is the second highest return on a Derby horse based on records that go back to 1911! The biggest upset was in 1911 - horse was named Donerail and the return on him was $184.90

These kind of moments remind you that upsets can happen, and they tend to shock everyone. This was the first year that I have ever watched the race, I would totally watch it again and hopefully by then I can find myself a great hat. :)