2010 Kentucky Derby: Irrational Love and Hate Just a Part of Horse Gambling

Every horse player has some level of irrationality in his mind.

Whether it is whatever minutiae clicks before making a hunch bet, or if it is avoiding some specific trainer at some specific distance at some specific track during some specific meet, we all have them.

Irrational hate and irrational love are just part of the game.

Mine? It could just cost me a lot of money this weekend.

Well, to be honest, I have two rules about betting the ponies, but they both come into play in the 136th Kentucky Derby.

First, I never, never, ever make a bet where a horse ridden by Mike Smith could win and lose the bet for me.

Never, never, ever.

In 2005, my Derby exacta was golden. I had six horses that I was going to box, including 50-1 Giacomo and 70-1 Closing Argument.

In fact, I was so high on Closing Argument that I bet him $10 across the board. But my father limited me to $50 in total bets, and with $30 gone on Closing Argument, I had to delete one horse from my exacta ticket.

Giacomo was cut, and I never had the chance to cash my $5,000 exacta ticket when Giacomo caught Closing Argument in the final stride.

In case you forgot, Giacomo was piloted by Smith.

Over the years, I have broken my rule, and it has bit me.

For instance, how about last year's Pacific Classic? I lost $42, because I forgot to put 24-1 longshot Richard's Kid on top of my exacta because of Smith being the jockey.

There are dozens of other instances where forgetting to use a Mike Smith horse damaged my ticket.

Thus, no matter how irrational it may be, Jackson Bend will be on my exacta ticket Saturday, because I will not take the risk of Smith beating me out of big money again.

But it's the other superstition that could cost me dearly.

I will never, never, NEVER, ever put money on a race where Terry Thompson has a mount. I don't care if he is on a 99-1 mule or a 1-9 dual World Champion, so long as Thompson is on something, even one of the lead ponies, I will not take a risk.

Not after he ruined my fantasy stable last year.

I still believe Old Fashioned would have been a prime Kentucky Derby contender and the likely favorite had Thompson not ridden him. But Thompson put a terrible ride in during the Rebel Stakes and ended the colt's career with an even worse performance in the Arkansas Derby.

Now, before I get sued, did Thompson truly end the horse's career with his ride? Probably not, although a Mike Smith might have prevented the injury.

Smith, of course, saved Holy Bull's life when he pulled the four-year-old up immediately after the colt pulled a ligament in the Donn Handicap down the Gulfstream Park backstretch.

But in my mind, as far as I'm concerned, Thompson, dressed in red with pointy horns and a golden fiddle under his left arm, rode Old Fashioned to career-ending injury, and therefore ruining my fantasy stable's chance of glory.

And I will never bet another race where Thompson is even in the same time zone.

Never.

Except, of course, if by chance he ever got a ride in the Derby.

On Saturday, Thompson will get that mount, the first of his career, as he will be in charge of the D. Wayne Lukas-trainee Dublin, one of the shorter prices in this year's field.

And as much as it pains me to say, I liked Dublin.

Liked him back in September when he first made a splash in winning the Grade I Hopeful Stakes on closing day at Saratoga.

Liked him back in November, even after he ran a troubled seventh in the Iroquois Stakes over the very same Churchill Downs track as Saturday's 136th Kentucky Derby.

And I especially liked him after he overcame having Thompson in the saddle to finish second in the Southwest Stakes and third in the Arkansas Derby, both at Oaklawn Park.

Oaklawn Park's prep races produced recent Triple Crown race-winners Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, Curlin, Rachel Alexandra, and Summer Bird, as well as champion older male Lawyer Ron.

But I did not purchase him this year in my fantasy stable auction, because I was not touching Oaklawn Park. Not as long as Thompson was a jockey there.

“Any reasonable trainer would not put Terry Thompson on a horse in the [Kentucky] Derby,” said someone in my fantasy stable at our first auction.

Certainly, Lukas would not put Thompson on for the Derby, but I still was not going to risk a repeat of last year. I was not going to allow Thompson to injure another one of my horses on the road to the Derby.

But, somehow, Thompson got the nod. And now I'm stuck in a pickle.

Thursday, we have the second auction of the year.

Dublin will likely not be available, but he is in the race, and Thompson is on board. Somehow, I'm going to have to draft a horse that will race against Thompson—and bet on a race that involves Thompson.

And I'm praying Thompson does not screw it up for me, even though, in my mind, he already has.

I'm still not sure what my Derby exacta will look like, but I know one thing: It will be six horses, and one of those will be the Mike Smith-ridden Jackson Bend.

Of course, Jackson Bend could finish 20th, but if I left him off my ticket, he would win the race.

But I do know another thing: I'm going to have to bet on a race that involves Terry Thompson, something that goes against every instinct in my being. In my mind, Thompson will find a way to burn every horse on my ticket.

Some may call it irrational hatred, but if you play the ponies, irrational hatred is second nature.

Just like my irrational love for any horse ridden by Mike Smith.