April 1: Florida Derby Day
One of the highlights of the year is the annual Florida Derby Day gathering. This week we had a party of ten and kicked things off with dinner at Sea Watch on the Ocean on Friday night with Sue, Dan & Lori.
Saturday was a glorious day at Gulfstream with fourteen big races. My former student, and player Shawn Maas drove all the way over from the Naples area to enjoy a day at the races with us and we were soon met by our great friends Jeff & Gina Nelson.
Kim and I posed for a photo and OVER SIXTY people liked or commented with nearly ALL of them remarking about how my hot wife rocked her Derby outfit! That's my wife :)
As the racing day began, like so many other days this winter I got off to a slow start.....my top choice scratched in the opener; no bet in the 2nd; missed in the third. But then I got the ball rolling when Todd Pletcher's Bright Futures rolled home to score with my triple investment on board. But then I missed on three straight. Time to pick up the pace and get some winners, so I had Kim get me a Florida Derby drink in a souvenir glass. That did the trick!
Rattle off three in a row, beginning with a "prime time" play on Amazing Grace in the Grade 2 Orchid. It was an exciting moment as I flashed my big winning ticket!
Came right back to win with Weyburn in a thrilling finish to the Sir Shackelton Stakes and then I upped the wager to $30 to WIN on Chad Brown's Marketsegmentation in the Sands Springs Stakes. Traffic trouble on the turn before surging in deep stretch to SCORE for my third straight win.
Passed on the eleventh then came back to score with Todd Pletcher's Steady On in the Appleton Stakes before it was time for the big race.....the Grade 1, $1 Million Florida Derby. Two-year-old champion Forte was the prohibitive favorite but drew a wide post. Farther back than usual he was in traffic on the far turn but showed all his heart as he surged late to be UP IN TIME! It was the BET of the Day for me and capped a sensational 6-for-12 day at Gulfstream!
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