And They're Off

By Todd McClamroch in News on May 5, 2006 4:46PM

Each year Chicagoist reaches into our deep war chest and pulls out a wrinkly Thomas Jefferson two dollar bill and head to MudBug Off Track Betting on Weed St. for the Kentucky Derby. We admit that we probably have no place in a betting parlor with such a minimal understanding of the sport. The page in the newspaper dedicated to horse racing is Greek to us. What the heck is a quiniela anyway, and what should your doctor prescribe if you have it?

So instead of taking the time to read up on the sport we simply pick one long shot and place our hard-earned $2 on it. The only restriction is the horse has to have odds greater than 10-1 for us to even be interested. In a similar tradition of picking our NCAA bracket by mascot, we choose horses by the quality of their name.

This year's pool was disappointing as there are few standout humorous names. The field has no clear winners like Longfellow, Phar Lap or Silky Sulliva. We could not bring ourselves to bet on Deputy Glitters so Chicagoist is putting our money on Showing Up (20-1). This is a horse that knows that you got be in it to win it. Our money says this horse has the right attitude to upset Brother Derek and Lawyer Ron, but what do we know?