"Wise Guy" Derby history
 

I was wondering if there was a list of "wise guy" Derby horses of the past & their finish in the Derby. God knows I bet on some of them over the years. Has the wise guy horse ever won the race???

Bandini was a wise guy horse and came in 19th or 20th

Yep, I threw away some cash on that one. I've always been a Dominguez guy, so it's an annual ritual for me to throw away money on his Derby mount, in addition to my regular pick. Looks like this year I'll donate some money to the pools on Stay Thirsty. Hopefully I can get the winner with the big bet...

I had thought Real Quit was the wise guy horse over his stablemate Indian Charlie?

I seem to remember that Sweetnorthernsaint was one.

I'm pretty sure he went off as the favorite, which (given what I take "wise guy horse" to mean) would seem to disqualify him from fitting that term.

I guess everyone uses the term a little differently, which is why I don't quite get the original question of this thread. Every year there are multiple so-called "wise-guy" horses which I take to mean horses who some people like because of something that isn't clearly visible in the PPs. It isn't like there is one designated horse every year.
Sometimes these horses win. Sometimes they don't.

The Chicago wiseguy horse has won every derby since Al Capone came over from NY, except Funnycide.

Teuflesbu...no, never mind.:D

Wasn't there some wise guy talk about Deputy Glitters in 06?

Interesting trivia...from 2000-2010, Todd Pletcher has trained the last place finisher in the Kentucky Derby 5 times and finished 2nd to last another 2 times.:tro::tro:

Paddy o Prado was last year and he finished 3rd.

Off the top of my head I know he finished last with Monba, Graeme Hall (who displaced I think), Cowtown Rat, I think Keyed Entry, and I can't remember the other.

ten most wanted. ninth in 2003.

I think Point Determined was that year.

It was also the first year they did the post position draw on 4th Street Live and Bob Lewis had passed away. When Bev Lewis stood up to make her selection a lot of people cheered. I can't imagine there were that many sentimentalists making him 9-1 though.

Borrego. I took the bait.

Seems like most years there is one horse that stands out among the rest as a wiseguy horse. I know people were saying Nehro for awhile there, I guess we will see as the day gets closer who it ends up being. I can see MOH being a strong candidate, now that Gomez is aboard.

He was my second choice that year....after Friends Lake.

I followed it up the next year with High Fly.

According to the odds from Wynn Las Vegas today, Nehro is the second choice behind only Dialed In. He is definately the wiseguy horse this year.

Paul

I hate him in this race, I'm glad he is loved.

\

High Fly....I bet the hell out of him to win. He made a strong move & fizzled out. I remember getting that adrenaline rush for a brief second...I guess that's why you keep comin' back!!!

Brocco.

I think the Derby bet I'm probably most ashamed of is Monba. :mad::zz:

If I saw Brancusi, I would not offer him a peppermint. Horrific pick.

What is there not to like...?

I will post my Derby breakdown with explanation when the posts are out.

Saarland

Why wait? You were quick to say you hate him, insights please?

27 posts in and not one mention of freaking Dunkirk.

thanks. that's one i bet on.

on the bright side he finally got me off closer's that galloped out well after the finish.

I can't remember, did Dollar Bill qualify? I thought folks were saying that if DB could ever get a good trip in a race, he'd get it done. Wasn't he always in a position of having bad luck? We're not the only ones trying to keep up with the wise guy horses:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/05/sp.../05racing.html Apparently Tapit and Noble Causeway joined Ten Most Wanted and Saarland as wise guy horses. This article mentions Sweetnorthernsaint as the latest that year, and Trombetta's not enthused.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4116598 ESPN tried to say Chocolate Candy, Desert Party, Friesan Fire, and (one I'm not on board with) Pioneerof the Nile. That last one's hardly wise guy. Chocolate Candy though was definitely one I heard from some folks.

He's had two great set ups in a row and has failed to get it done.

That said, he does appear to me at least to be one of the horses capable of winning and I'll be using him on most of my tickets.

This would make a great article for Jon White at XpressBet. He is a historian and I am sure he can recall all the wise guy horses off the top of his head in the last 30 years of the Kentucky Derby. Great thread - I really hope there is a list out there somewhere with the answer to this.

Can't remember, did Wilko run in the Derby?

Yup. When I googled to make sure my brain wasn't playing tricks on me and that he hadn't declared due to injury or something, I found this interesting passage: http://bit.ly/j3QVGM It sounds like he helped Giacomo out a bit by accident. Read on past the mention of Wilko to the fun chaos caused by John Shirreffs never having won the race before. I bet someone at NBC was pulling their hair out trying to find the Derby winning trainer for the trophy presentation. Well, where else is he gonna be but where he always goes after a race? The barn, naturally. ;)

Wild Horses in '02

brother derek?

Wasn't he running in 5k claimers @ Suffolk Downs last year?

This is exactly who came to my mind..............he was that closer that would fly by everybody the longer they went.

At the racetrack, wise guys are smart. There's a misunderstanding.

I believe he is standing stud at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_%28horse%29