The Show Episode 544

Kentucky Derby Preview with The Guest

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:46

This is episode five forty-four. And well, you know, we're here today because we normally over the last few years we really haven't done a Kentucky Derby show. Now, I know a few years ago we used to do uh a couple uh shows uh once a year for the Kentucky Derby, but we kind of stopped doing it. Um and I think it needs to be revisited again. And I think we need to uh come back on here. Um, that would be myself, the host, and the guest, of course, he's gonna be joining us here, to talk about the Kentucky Derby and give our picks. Now, we have a whole new brand new audience since the last time we've done this. We have a lot more listeners, and I think we should go over the Kentucky Derby, uh, have some fun with it, have some uh facts with it from the guest, uh, go over a little history, give you the horse's odds, and the host and the guest will give you a pick for the Kentucky Derby. Now, I know in the past, when we've done these uh Kentucky Derby shows, we've been blamed for picking every horse that's on the gate. Now, we're not gonna do that this time. I'm gonna give one pick. I don't know how many picks the guest is gonna give, but I'm gonna give one pick for the Kentucky Derby. And I may look like a genius, or I may look like a total fool with my pick. But with all that, I say we go get the guest and we bring him on here, and we go over the Kentucky Derby and what everything's about, and I'm gonna go ahead and do it. What's going on? Now, guests, this is, I believe, this is the first time you've ever been in the mobile Audi studio.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

I thought you would be excited. This is the first time you're ever in the mobile studio. We've always been uh, you know, at home. Uh you know, you know, you've been in the uh studio and the home studio, or we've we've done like the last master's call. We've uh we we did it, you know, live right in front of each other. But this is the first uh first time ever, guest. You're in the mobile studio.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Okay, I'm excited now.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Well, guess, how you been, guest? We uh we haven't talked to you on the show here since the Masters. Uh how you how you been?

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Yeah, I've been great. Yeah, I've been watching all the uh playoff games.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

That's uh the basketball and the hockey has been going on, guest.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

And I'm sure you've been uh you know following along. Your Yankees have they they started off the season uh pretty good so far?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Yep, they're following the Yankees and uh all the playoff games, so that's all I've been doing is watching sports on TV.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Hey guest, I I I don't mean that we're gonna talk about the Kentucky Derby, obviously, but I gotta ask you this. How unbelievable is it, guess, that we we've been okay. The guests and I have been betting hockey on the side uh just between us, not giving out as picks on the show. We just been we've just been uh betting the games. How about how we can't win an overtime game, guest?

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Yeah, there were two two overtime games uh yes last night, right? Yeah, we lost them both. Yeah, as soon as it went to overtime, that's when I get I text you and said, another overtime. Get ready. Yeah, I don't know what it is about the overtime. We've got to win one of these games that goes into overtime. We're just we're two for one.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Yeah, we're one and seven uh when the game goes into overtime. We've been tied. This thing about this thing, we've had eight bets. Eight, now we've had more than eight plays, but we've had eight plays where the game has gone into overtime and we've lost seven of them. How is that possible?

SPEAKER_00 6:19

I wanna I didn't I never checked this, but I wonder if you can cash out if the game goes to overtime, if they offer a cash out.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Oh man, we should check that. That's a that would be a smart play by us, the rate it's going.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

As soon as it goes overtime, we we check out. Because the chances are we're not gonna win.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

That would be the smart play guest. Okay, well, guests, we're here for the Kentucky Derby, and this is 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby guest. Now, a little little history uh to back that up. This Kentucky Derby has always been run on the first Saturday of May. The first race was in May of 1875. Of course, the race is run by horses of three-year-old thoroughbench. So uh that is what's in the in for the race. And a little history, guest of the Kentucky Derby. In 1850 I had the history.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

I have some history with the with the uh with the facts I'm gonna give you.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Oh, okay. Well, watch you uh why don't you give a little bit of that and I may add on to that with the history I have here.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

All right, I'll go through what I have, and if you want to add something at the end, that's fine. Okay, the first the first one I have is something you already mentioned was the first Kentucky Derby was held in 1875. And it you know the Kentucky Derby is also known as the run for the roses.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Because they give the winner a bouquet of roses at the end of the race.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Yeah, they drap the I'm sorry, they drape the winning horse in a bunch of roses. You know, that's the last thing probably that horse wants to be draped in a bunch of roses after running his heart out for two minutes. Uh that's the last thing he wants is uh be you know he probably wants a good meal or something instead, or some water at least.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

He's ready for a sandwich, I think. For a pizza or something.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Yeah, he wants he wants some water, and instead they give him they drape him with roses.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Okay, here's number two. The race was originally one point five miles, but it was shortened to the current one point two five miles in eighteen ninety-six. Okay, number three. Secretariat holds the record for the fastest time at one minute fifty-nine point four seconds in nineteen seventy-three. He's one of only two horses to finish the race in under two minutes. Now the official drink of the derby is the mint jew-a. Now, here's how you make a mint jewel up, host. Two ounces of high quality bourbon. Not that cheap stuff you drink.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

This is high quality. Oh boy. Shots shout toward the host about drinking cheap bourbon. I don't I don't know where you're getting your information from there, Gus. I don't know when the last time you you've had some the the host offered you some cheap bourbon. I I don't know where that's coming from.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Okay, back to the ingredients. Two ounces high-quality bourbon, one quarter ounce simple syrup, eight mint leaves, and crushed ice. And you can add a garnish, you can add a mint sprig as the garnish. And over a hundred and twenty thousand will be served at the derby.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Now here's the here's the best part about that, guest. Over 120,000 of these mint jewels will be served at $22 a pop.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

That doesn't sound like it's that that expensive.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

$22, guess, for a drink? You don't think that's expensive.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

But but but it's the derby, you know. You know you're gonna pay a lot at the derby.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Yeah, but guess, you're getting two ounces of bourbon with some lousy fresh mint leaves in there and some syrup that you eat on a pancake or a waffle over crappy crushed ice for $22. High quality bourbon. Now, guess let me give you a little story. So what I'm gonna comment here on the mint julep. So years ago, uh the firm, engineering firm I work for, we were awarded a project out at Churchill Downs. And it involved of building uh some kind of building on turn one, they were gonna put a casino in, and all all this, they're gonna do all this renovations of uh uh in turn one, do all at all this stuff. Well, that was before the COVID hit. The COVID hit and the job went away and disappeared, and we never ended up doing it. But but what I'm getting at is prior to that the owners of the engineering firm were so excited that we got this job out at Churchill Downs. They went out and bought all the ingredients and made everyone mint julep drinks for the office. So I got to have a mint julep drink. The first time I ever had a mint julep drink, I would never have one again. No, now I like an old-fashioned, so I like bourbon, I like to have the bourbon, and I like the simple syrup or whatever kind of syrup you're putting in, or whatever kind of bitters or whatever you're putting in your surp in your old-fashioned. I like a good old-fashioned gentleman's drink, as you and I call it, guests. But when you start putting those mint, that mint in there with the fresh mint on top, and the and the drink starts to look like some kind of plant you got out growing in your backyard, I'm out. I'm out with the mint julep drink. And at $22, $22, I can go to Home Depot and get a plant out in their nursery for $5. What do I need to? Why do I need to have a plant with a funky straw hanging out of it with some ice? I can go get a uh something that looks just like that at Home Depot.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

$22, you can get a bottle of your cheap bourbon.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

Well, notice if you notice how the uh the Kentucky Derby has never really had sponsors up until the last few years, notice that uh Wood Wood Something Reserve, a bourbon, is the one of the sponsors of the Kentucky Derby this year. They got that big letters right out front that the shows that they're they're uh a sponsor.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Well, that's that seems appropriate.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Wood fired reserve, I think, I think is the is the bourbon. I may be wrong on that. I may be wrong on that. Guess did you have any other facts about the history of the Kentucky Derby?

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Yes, sir. I have uh we're we're on number five. Oh, okay. The largest margin of victory is eight lengths shared by four horses. The last was assault in 1946. Wow. Number six. Only three horses ran in the derby in 1892 and 1905.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

What kind of a race is that if you're only having three horses?

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Yeah, that's what I was thinking when I read this. Three horses.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

We'd still get it wrong.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

Just take all three. Number seven. The race was first televised in 1952. Number eight. The derby has never been canceled or postponed due to inclement weather. That's it. Now, guess all the facts.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Guess, was that your doorbell?

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Yeah, somebody rang a doorbell.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Are you expecting a package, guest?

SPEAKER_00 15:50

No, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

All right. You need to take a goal, take a look and see who that was, or are you are you okay? I'm all right. Okay. Well, I gotta know, I gotta a little something to add for the history of the Kentucky Derby. Uh, how it all got started uh before 1875. In 1872, Colonel Merweather Lewis Clark Jr., grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, traveled to England, visiting Epsom in Surrey, where the Derby had been running annually annually since 1780. From there, Clark went on to Paris with a group of raising, I'm sorry, racing enthusiasts, and he formed the French Jockey Club that went on to form the French Jockey Club in 1863. They had organized the Grand Prix the Paris of at Longchamp, which at the time was the greatest race in France. Meriwether Clark returned home to Kentucky and organized the Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association to raise money for building quality race facility outside of the outside of the city. It was first known as the Louisville Jockey Club, and then seven years later the track was turned and known as Churchill Downs, named after John and Henry Churchill, who provided the land for the racetrack. The naming went official to Churchill Downs in 1937. Of course, guys, Churchill Downs is famous for the iconic twin spires that uh loom over the big grandstands. In 2013, Churchill Downs began installing a new high-definition video board built by Panasonic. It became operational for the 2014 Kentucky Derby and is called the Big Board. It measures 171 feet and 90 feet high, with the bottom of the edge 80 feet off the ground and weighs 1.2 million pounds. It was constructed along the outside of the backstretch of the dirt course facing the grand stamina and infield. At the time, it was the largest ultra-high definition video board ever constructed. And at the same time, 750 speakers were installed around the track. Churchill Downs guest has gone through several renovation projects since early 2010. And a lot of them have been completed before the 2023 Kentucky Derby, which raised capacity with 7,000 more people to give a total capacity of 170,000 people. In 2025, guest, the Kentucky Derby announced there would be two new projects associated with Churchill Downs. They're gonna add more club level around the first turn to accommodate an additional 13,000 people. And they've had they've been renovating all the suites along the finish line and the trophy room. That is a total total retail of I'm sorry, that was a total renovation value of 30 million. Those are gonna be ready for this race come Saturday. One uh one race, one big race a year. The Kentucky Derby.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

One two-minute race. They have enough parking for all those people. Yeah, what do they charge for parking there?

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Oh, who knows what they charge for parking there. Who knows what they charge? Yeah, I I have no idea. So we go we move on to the race itself, guest. Bob Bafford, your man, Bob Bafford, back at the Kentucky Derby. Now he was back last year in 2025 after serving a three-year ban. He is back this year trying for his seventh win, be seventh win most all time of trainers associated with horses at the Kentucky Derby. His horses this year are Potenta, which doesn't have very good odds at plus two thousand, and litness test, which doesn't have very good odds either, at plus three thousand. So Bob Baffer back in the mix, but he doesn't have a top-notch horse that has great odds heading into this guest.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

Well one of the uh one of the experts that I looked at for the uh for the picks took litmus test to finish number one. So he must know something. He must know that Bob Bafford, you know, gives his horses a lot of drugs. He'll be ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Well, who who who knows if that if he's if he's he's doing that, and he's probably not because he's already been caught, guess he's already been caught doing this once, and I don't think he wants his reputation ruined again. So he's probably not doing that. But I'm sure if one of his horses is in the running or ends up winning or finishes second or third, or is has a great run, I'm sure there's gonna be questions raised about uh Bob Baffert's horses.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

So I have the uh I have the William Hill odds. You want to go through those?

SPEAKER_01 22:45

Yeah, let's go through the yeah, go through the William Hill's odds here for these horses. Now, guess remember when we've done this before in the past, now we haven't had a Kentucky Derby show in a few years. When we've done this before in the in the past, which I mentioned at the very top of the show, we've better we've been accused of picking every horse.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

Yeah, I remember this.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

So so I'm only gonna pick one horse.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

Okay, I'm gonna pick I'm gonna pick one horse to win, and then I'm gonna pick a long shot horse. Okay. So the William Hill has commandment at plus five hundred.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Then further ado is plus five fifty. Chief Wallaby is plus seven hundred.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Now is it is it is an Indian gonna be riding that instead of a jockey?

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Well, we'll have to wait and see.

unknown 23:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Renegade is plus seven hundred, and the Puma is plus nine hundred. Now I went through a few uh sites for the expert picks. And these are the top three for the egg that the experts picks. The top the top three horses. Commandment, the puma, and renegade. Okay. So what's your what's your gonna what's your pick gonna be for the winner?

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Well, well, guest, I'm known as the host. So I'm gonna go with the puma. Just because he's got a the in front of his name, like the host, I got the host. So I'm going with the puma. That's gonna be the host's pick for the Kentucky Derby.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

That makes no sense, host, but okay.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Well, what is your pick, guest?

SPEAKER_00 25:09

Well, I have to go with the the chief wallaby. Wallaby, wallaby. The horse that the Indians are gonna be riding.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

And then what is it, what you said you were gonna have a long shot. Are you going with one of Bob Baffert's horses as a long shot?

SPEAKER_00 25:29

I'm going with one of Bob Bafford's horses. I'm going with litmus test at plus three thousand. Okay. You gotta you gotta go with one of Baffert's horses. You just have to. Even if you just put a small, small amount on that wager, you gotta take it.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

You don't want to go with uh Great White at plus four thousand? Uh probably because maybe maybe he's named after uh Bruce the shark and Jaws. You don't want to go with him.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

No.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

What about six speed? I guess I guess I guess he's got plus five thousand because he he doesn't have any more speeds after six, and you guess you need a lot of speeds in the uh you know Yeah, you need at least you need at least a seven speed. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if there's gonna be any uh rich strike. Remember Rich Strike guessed he was the horse with the longest odds who won a few years ago. Remember, he came out of nowhere up the side and won the race, and he had the biggest odds uh to to win the race. Uh I don't I don't see that happening again. That was a once-in-a-lifetime uh you know event for a horse with that big of odds to win the Kentucky Derby. I don't I don't ever I don't see that happening again. And you know I don't remember I don't remember what the odds were. Do you do you remember? I thought it was plus 7,500 or something like that. I may be wrong. I may be wrong. He had huge odds. Rich strike. Yeah, he had huge odds of uh of winning that race. Now, have we heard anything about the weather guest? The how's the weather gonna be for the race? Because, you know, some of these horses, uh, you know, they have uh, you know, they don't run very good when it gets muddy and and and the track gets all you know mucked up.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

That's one thing I didn't check uh post of the weather. Should have checked that. Yeah, that would mean that would be a lot uh for your pick.

SPEAKER_01 27:40

Well, I I looked it up really quick, guessed. Uh the weather for uh Saturday, uh the 152nd Kentucky Derby, uh partly sunny with cool temperatures around 61 and a low of 39 with north winds 5 to 10 miles per hour. So no rain in the forecast, guessed.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

Oh, it's a little be a little cool. Yeah, the horses are like that.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Yeah, and and then the uh of course the uh post time is 6.57 Eastern. It just seems like they they dragged us on on and on and on for a later post-start time every year. Pretty soon it's gonna be nighttime. We're gonna be doing this race there in Kentucky. And of course, guests, the race is on NBC, and you're gonna have your buddy Mike Tariko out there uh talking about the horses and everything up leading up to the big race.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Well, he was already he already mentioned that at one of the uh basketball games.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

Yeah, our our good friend Mike Tariko, you know, where we can't get enough of uh, you know, this guy's everywhere, and he'll be on the uh, you know, Kentucky Derby Saturday. And my favorite, my favorite is uh when they uh when the horses are walking up and uh to the gate and the jockey is on them. Uh my favorite is the people they got out there interviewing the jockey as he's walking up with the horse. That's the last thing that horse wants is somebody walking next to him with a microphone, asking the jockey some questions before he gets in the gate, before they uh set these horses off and running. That's the last person uh you know, you know, these guys want, uh, you know, or the horse wants is the you know, all this commotion around them. I I'm surprised these horses can keep it together with all the activity around them, and then when they get on that track, they just you know, they're probably so mad by the time they get on that track, that's why they want to race so fast.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Well, they always have trouble with at least one horse. He doesn't want to get in the gate. You know, they gotta struggle to get him in there.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Yeah, and meanwhile, all those other horses are sit sitting in there waiting to go.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Yeah, and this horse is using up all his energy before he gets into the gate.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

Yeah, because he's mad because he's in he's confined to that little gate area. Yeah. Well, guys, I I I don't know. Are you gonna are you gonna try to make a mint julep and enjoy the race on Saturday?

SPEAKER_00 30:25

I don't have any bourbon.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

I can bring you some cheap verb bourbon. That's all right. As as suggested by you.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

That's okay. We'll we'll pass on the mint julep. The host didn't give it a very good rating, so I'm out. I'll stick with the gentleman's drink.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Okay. Okay, well, I got I got something for you, guest, uh, before before we leave here. You know, I you know I uh you know the host always has something for you. Okay. A horse walks into a bar and orders a beer. And orders a beer. The bartender says, hey, you're in here a lot. Do you think you might be an alcoholic? The horse says, I don't think I am, and vanishes from existence.

SPEAKER_00 31:41

That was, you know, when you said the horse walks into a bar, I said, Man, this is perfect, you know, for the Kentucky Derby, you got a horse joke. And then, oh my god, it just went nowhere. I was so disappointed.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

These are the worst bar jokes. No, horse jokes are the worst.

SPEAKER_00 32:04

That was good though. You found a horse joke.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

That's well, usually, usually the the famous the horse walks in a bar is horse walks in a bar, bartender says, Why the long face? That's the famous bar joke. So I try to steer away from that one, and that's that was that was the the the other joke that came up, and it doesn't make any sense.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

I give you partial credit for having a horse joke on for the Kentucky Derby show.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Oh boy. I'm sure some people will be at uh sending me emails and and texting me horsewalks in a bar joke. But that that was the crappy bar, horse walks into a bar joke that I found. And I thought I'd have uh I thought somebody would come up with some better ones, and it's not. And of course, the main one, I like I said, horsewalks into a bar, why the long face? All right, guests, that's all I got. So you got you got Chief Wallaby and uh the Bob Batford horse uh litmus test, is that correct, guest? Yes, sir. And the host, the host is going with uh the puma, because he's got the the in front of his name, just like the host.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

All right, guess. All right, guest. Uh great having you on. Uh go over to Kentucky Derby as usual, and uh hope you enjoy the race with your mint julep. All right, host. Good to see you. All right, see you, guest. Well, uh, I had a few other items to uh discuss on the show, but I was gonna, I'm not gonna get to those. Uh you know, we just I came on here uh to do uh a Kentucky Derby show because uh we haven't done one in a few years. Uh the time worked out great, and uh we got the guest guy here to talk about. Hopefully, uh you guys enjoyed a couple of facts, a few laps maybe, uh, with the host and the guests, and you got the host against the Kentucky Derby pick. Uh good luck. Probably want to bet against this because I know that's where everybody does. But uh, you know, whatever you want to do with it. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I hope everyone enjoys uh the Kentucky Derby if you watched it, enjoying the playoffs of both NHL and the NBA. And uh, you know, if you're a baseball fan, join the baseball. That's all I got for you on this show. We'll be back sometime this weekend to uh recap what else has been going on in the sports world. And uh, as usual, you know where to get this show. That's the host is DLDF on his Twitter, Spotify, iCar Radio, Google Podcasts, Podcast Mac and of course, and Amazon Music, and it's always it's nice to be important, but more important to be nice. You can hear already Parkway Drive playing in the background. This is slide up hand, and the same.