Run For The Roses Recap

The 139th Kentucky Derby is in the books, and it was another great race! Track conditions were incredibly sloppy because of the rain in the area all day. Normally, that means the race will be a bit slow. The first half-mile was anything but slow. Palace Malace set a torrid pace with at 45.33 seconds at the half, fourth fastest in Kentucky Derby history. That paced proved beneficial for the horses that chose to hang at the rear of the field going into the third turn. Going into the fourth turn and into the stretch, the pace-setters began to fall behind and Normandy Invasion took the lead, but that was short-lived. "ORRRRRRRRRB!" as Larry Colmas on NBC called him, opened his stride and stormed into lead down the stretch. No one was going to catch him and Orb won the Kentucky Derby by about two lengths. Golden Soul and Revolutionary rounded out the trifecta.

Photo Credit: Washington Post

Now the question is, as is always after the Derby, "Can [insert Derby winner here] win the Triple Crown?" I doubt the Preakness will be an issue for Orb. It's the marathon otherwise known as The Belmont Stakes that's always the wild card. I always go back to the last solid chance of breaking the Triple Crown-less streak - 2004 and Smarty Jones. If Stewart Elliot had just held on to Smarty just a little longer before letting him go, he would have been the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Instead, 36-1 longshot, Birdstone, took the win an continued the streak another year. Since then, there hasn't really been a great shot to win the Triple Crown. Personally, I think Orb can do it. He's got a great distance pedigree with great closing speed. As long as there's no Birdstone baby in the field and Joel Rosario runs a good race, I think Orb can break the 35-year drought. His great-great-great grandfather broke a 25-year Triple Crown drought back in 1973. That was some horse named Secretariat. You might have heard of him.