Time for the Super Bowl of Dog World - Westminister Dog Show

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In case you didn't notice, the Westminster Dog Show is tonight.  Pictured is last year's Best in Show, Scottish Deerhound GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, aka Hickory.  Hickory was the winner of the Hound Group.

The New York Times

The Westminster Kennel Club dog show had grand ambitions from its inception in 1877, when nearly 1,200 dogs trotted through the Hippodrome at Gilmore's Garden in New York City. Though that number was lower than promised – the show had hoped to attract nearly 1,500 to make it the biggest in the world – it was an auspicious beginning. By 1937, breeders, owners, aficionados and fans could see 3,147 dogs compete in breed, group and best-in-show competitions. Today, the annual event is the second oldest continuously held sporting competition in the United States, after the Kentucky Derby.

In recent years, the number of dogs has been capped at 2,500, and the spectacle takes place in a newer iteration of “the Garden” — Madison Square Garden — but fierce competition and a grandness of spirit are still hallmarks of the Westminster dog show.

Each dog that shows must be a champion in his or her breed to enter the ring. (It is for this reason that the dogs’ names begin with “Ch.”) Through each round of competition, luminously well-bred dogs are discarded for others more finely constructed; the standard presses toward perfection. From 157 breeds, to seven groups – sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, herding – to one prancing circle of exemplary specimens, a single dog emerges: the best in show.

Favorite Beckham

A Bettor’s Guide to Westminster

The black cocker spaniel looks tough to beat, but don’t sleep on the Welsh corgi.

By Evan Dahl|Posted Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, at 7:08 AM ET

Hound Group

Once a footnote in the proceedings, with only three Best in Shows in the 78 years through 2007, the Hound Group has produced the most drama of any group over the past four years with two memorable upsets. In 2008, there was Uno the beagle overcoming a small army of talented poodles. And last year, Scottish deerhound Hickory, a 60:1 long shot, according to the Wynn Las Vegas sportsbook, bested the formidable smooth fox terrier.

With Hickory not competing this year (rumors of a Dirk Nowitzki bender of an offseason are unsubstantiated), it is shaping up to be a two-hound race. We have the establishment candidate: the 2010 group-winning whippet with a taste for the couture (her name is Chanel). And the insurgent: the pharoah hound Qing, hoping for an Arab spring of sorts—his breed has never even placed at the group level at Westminster. My hunch is that, after several years of Cinderella victors in the Hound Group, order will be restored and Chanel will prevail. Look for her paw prints on the sidewalk of nearby Fashion Avenue as she heads to the exclusive Westminster after-party.

Predicted winner: whippet

Toy Group

Originally bred as companions for nobility, toy dogs are the glamour boys of Westminster. Playing to the hometown high-society types, these pups consistently generate the greatest crowd response and have a penchant for stealing the show. Yet it has been 13 long years since the last Toy BIS winner (Kirby the papillon). Since then, the decades-old rivalry between the diminutive Pekingese and the flamboyant toy poodle has ramped up to a new level, with the breeds achieving four and three group wins at Westminster, respectively. It has been the dog world’s Federer and Nadal feud, generating countless magical moments.

Last year’s winning toy, Pekingese Malachy, will be in the ring again this year, undoubtedly showcasing the infectious dynamism he has displayed throughout his career. He will peer to his left expecting to spot his old poodle foil, Walker. However, word is that the 2010 group winner will be absent and his likely successor does not share as fine a pedigree. But Malachy shouldn’t be overconfident, as a turn to his right will reveal the imposing visage of his Novak Djokovic, Joey the affenpinscher. A native of the Netherlands, Joey brings flair and fitness reminiscent of a Richard Krajicek. This ought to be an epic struggle between two classy canines. What’s more, there is a miniature pinscher competing named Classie, whose impressive résumé may qualify her to be the Andy Murray of this analogy.

The 2012 Toy Group is extremely difficult to call. My crystal ball, though foggy, tells me the affenpinscher reigns supreme.

Predicted winner: affenpinscher

Nonsporting Group

By definition a collection of misfits, the Nonsporting Group could be excused for having a chip on its shoulder. It’s as if the American Kennel Club could not decide how to categorize these dogs and just threw up their hands and gave up. You have everything from the bulldog to the Lhasa apso to multiple dogs of Tibetan origin. Fortunately, understanding the group for wagering purposes is quite easy. Essentially, it is the standard poodle and everyone else. Over the past 25 years, the standard poodle has walked out of Westminster with the group’s James F. Stebbins trophy on 12 occasions. That is an amazing win rate considering there are 16 dogs in the group. No word on whether the small-market owners are threatening a lockout due to this lack of competitive balance.

The question this year is not whether the standard poodle will be victorious but rather which standard poodle will emerge from the breed competition. The two top nonsporting dogs are both standard poodles: Ally and London. Ally bested London last year but London is coming off of a Best in Show at the high-profile AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. With both of them legitimate contenders not only for Best in Group but Best in Show, this is the most anticipated matchup at the breed level in recent memory.

Predicted winner: standard poodle

Herding Group

Having formed in 1983 as an outgrowth of an overcapacity Working Group, herding is the newest of the seven groups of dogs classified by the American Kennel Club. Despite its relative infancy, the group had an immediate impact on the proceedings at Westminster—thanks to a self-assured German shepherd nicknamed Hatter. In 1987, on his third time representing the group in Best in Show, Hatter elicited raucous support from a New York crowd in search of someone to believe in during the Iran Contra scandal. After a close battle with Devon Puff & Stuff, a dogged bichon frise, Hatter took down first place and put the world on notice that herding was not your run-of-the-mill expansion franchise. Unfortunately, the world failed to listen. To this day, Hatter remains the only Westminster winner in Herding Group history.

There are plenty of explanations for the group’s struggles at Westminster. It could be that dogs bred to handle livestock do not resonate with the east-coast elite in our post-agrarian society. Or possibly the dogs’ obsessive-compulsive tendency to herd, in an arena with thousands of patrons eschewing order, provokes anxiety and distracts from the task at hand. Whether by curse or conspiracy, the herding dog drought is real.

Although the odds of this year’s cohort competing for Best in Show are long, we should be treated to a highly competitive and unpredictable battle at the group level. Two dogs in particular stand out: Roy the bearded collie and Capi the German shepherd. Roy won the group last year and is returning to Madison Square Garden to defend his crown. However, Capi matched Roy with 27 AKC Best in Shows on the 2011 circuit and is coming to Manhattan in excellent form. While these two appear to be the class of the group, I would not suggest sleeping on the Pembroke Welsh corgi, either figuratively or literally. The “PWC” enjoyed a mini-dynasty in the early aughts and the breed rolls deep this year with the precocious Molly and valiant Spencer.

On the silver anniversary of Hatter’s glory, bet on the German shepherd winning the group.

Predicted winner: German shepherd

Sporting Group

In essence, dog shows function much like the NFL Combine: Evaluators make inferences about a subject’s talent based on a very brief judging window. While I cannot speak to their Wonderlic scores, Sporting dogs are blessed with supreme athleticism and grace and are thus tailor-made for the Westminster showcase. With 19 Best in Shows—the second most of any group—the dogs are a proven quantity on the green carpet and always worthy of close study.

In 2012, sporting-dog enthusiasts everywhere are pinning their hopes on a silky-smooth 3-year-old out of Dallas. Beckham, a black cocker spaniel, was the No. 1 show dog in the United States in 2011, notching a jaw-dropping 68 BIS’s. Small in stature but oversized in charm, Becks is a prohibitive favorite to represent the group in Best in Show. For those gamblers in search of a dark horse, I suggest the Weimaraner. Dubbed “The Grey Ghost” thanks to its taupe coat, this unassuming small game hunter will need to manifest considerable spirit to best its spaniel adversary.

Predicted winner: black cocker spaniel

Working Group

One of the challenges of predicting group and BIS winners at Westminster is the prospect of upsets at the breed level. Think of it as handicapping a country’s chances at the Olympics prior to completion of the trials. Those who were bullish on the 1992 U.S. decathlon team prior to Dan O’Brien’s foibles at qualifications know what I am talking about. While many breeds have an overwhelming favorite to represent them, there are several where the result is in doubt. Such is the case with the boxer. Scarlett, fresh off of an impressive showing at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in December, boasts a remarkably statuesque posture, surely the consequence of an intensive core workout regimen. However, she cannot sleepwalk through her breed competition, as Danny, the country’s third-ranked working dog, is right on her heels. While this battle of the sexes may not carry the antipathy of the 1973 Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs match, it is appointment viewing for fans on Tuesday morning.

While the boxers grab the headlines, the kuvasz (Tanner) and the doberman pinscher (Fifi) are both sneaky dangerous. Tanner is the top-winning kuvasz in breed history. Meanwhile, Fifi has been red-hot of late with a dominating performance at the Rose City Classic in January. This is a very competitive group.

Ultimately, I think Scarlett runs out of gas after a taxing crucible earlier in the day and Fifi dashes to victory in a minor upset.

Predicted winner: doberman pinscher

Terrier Group

It is no accident that the Terrier Group is the final group to show. Having taken home the celebratory bowl for Best in Show 45 times, terriers are the undisputed marquee dogs of the proceeding. The list of breeds reads like a “who’s who” of the canine elite. The Scottie, the Airedale, the wire fox. These clever and gritty pups are masters of progression, consistently establishing new benchmarks for the sport. I am honored to have the opportunity to comment on them.

The story this year is the tension within the fox terrier family. Adam, a smooth fox terrier with a distinctive black and white mug, prevailed last year and was the face of the terriers for much of the annum. However, the wire fox terrier Eire surged in the late fall and early winter with a BIS at the National Dog Show in Philadelphia and a group win at the AKC/Eukanuba show and is now the favorite heading into Tuesday. With hair texture being the primary differentiator between these two, there are some serious Jacob and Esau parallels (Genesis 27:11 for those scoring at home). As if that is not enough drama, the fox terrier breeds have accounted for an astounding 17 overall champions at Westminster. Get your popcorn ready.

I would be remiss not to mention two other contenders who are currently flying under the radar but have the potential to surprise: the prone-to-matting skye terrier Buddy and the fetching Norwich Plum. The dog of my childhood, the miniature schnauzer, once again is but a space-filler on the stage. I’ve had better luck rooting for Clubber Lang than a group win by the bushy-bearded German export. Nevertheless, I’ll be donning my “I Want a Schnauzer with my Wienerschnitzel” T-shirt for the festivities. No bandwagons for me.

Predicted winner: smooth fox terrier

Best in Show

Picking a champion of champions is a humbling undertaking, and I do not take such responsibility lightly. I drafted a pro/con list, ran hundreds of Monte Carlo simulations, even consulted a taciturn short-haired dachshund in my apartment building. Although the members of my projected field are remarkably close in talent, one choice stood out from the rest. Look for the black cocker spaniel Beckham to grab the headlines and the lucrative endorsement contracts on Wednesday morning. Enjoy the show!

Predicted Best in Show winner: black cocker spaniel

Evan Dahl is a second year MBA student at the University of Pennsylvania.
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The Angel of Newark, Whitney Houston, Dies at Age 48

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The Angel of Newark as she was known when I worked for the Governor of New Jersey back in the 1980's came from a beautiful family grounded in religion and surrounded by love.

They were always willing to help out their home state in major events and it was an honor to meet her and her family during those years when she was a young 19 years old and she was becoming known and later beloved by the public.

From the start of her career more than two decades ago, Ms. Houston had the talent, looks and pedigree of a pop superstar. She was the daughter of Cissy Houston, a gospel and pop singer who had backed up Aretha Franklin, and the cousin of Dionne Warwick. (Ms. Franklin is Ms. Houston’s godmother.)

The Rev. Joe A. Carter of the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where Houston got her start, Saturday night said: "She was a treasure on a global scale and, on a personal note, with our church family. We’re asking everyone to pray for her family at this hour. We’re asking all to respect them at this hour of grieving."

Carter said a prayer service will be held for Houston — a Newark native who moved to East Orange as a child and later lived in Mendham — at the church at 6:30 this morning and that she would also be remembered at 7:45 and 10:45 services.

Houston’s passing came on the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards. From 1986 through 2000, she owned the Grammy stage, winning six awards and regularly performing on the show.

She set the standard for musical excellence and was an inspiration for a generation of top singers ever since.

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Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln

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Today is Honest Abe's 203rd birthday and he is as revelant today as he was during the Civil War.  So today we shall celebrate his humor, legendary as it was, with a fine report by Gordon Leidner of Great American Humor. 

Lincoln’s Humor

by Gordon Leidner of Great American History

Today we think of Abraham Lincoln as a great leader—perhaps our greatest. We recall his eloquent speeches, his dedication to the Union, and his superior leadership. We honor his devotion to duty, sacrifice, and honesty.

What we don’t think of today when we think of Abraham Lincoln is "a good joke." In Lincoln’s day, however, he was a well known humorist and story teller. The anecdote about two Quaker women discussing Lincoln and Confederate president Jefferson Davis at the beginning of the Civil War is illustrative: The first Quaker lady said, after some contemplation, that she believed the Confederacy would win the war because "Jefferson Davis is a praying man." “But Abraham Lincoln is a praying man too,” the second Quaker lady protested. "Yes," the first admitted, "but the Lord will think Abraham is joking."

Lincoln inherited his penchant for jokes and story telling from his father, Thomas Lincoln. When Abe was a child he loved to listen to his father and other men swap yarns around the woodstove. As he grew older he became increasingly adept at telling and re-telling humorous stories, frequently modifying them to accommodate each situation. When Lincoln became a lawyer, he used his jokes and stories to gain the good will of juries, and more than once his opposing counsel would complain to the judge that Lincoln’s stories were irrelevant and distracting to the jury. The trouble for them was that Eighth Circuit Judge David Davis loved Lincoln’s jokes more than anyone else in the court room.

Typical of a joke Judge Davis loved was one which Lincoln told to poke fun at himself: I feel like I once did when I met a woman riding horseback in the woods. As I stopped to let her pass, she also stopped, and, looking at me intently, said: "I do believe you are the ugliest man I ever saw." Said I, "Madam, you are probably right, but I can’t help it!" "No," said she, "you can’t help it, but you might stay at home!"

Another one of Lincoln’s 8th Circuit yarns was the one about a man in Cortlandt county who had raised a hog of such tremendous size that people came from miles around to see it. One of the people saw the hog’s owner and inquired about the animal. "W’all, yes," the old fellow said: "I’ve got such a critter, mighty big un, but I guess I’ll have to charge you about a dollar for lookin’ at him." The stranger glared at the old man for a minute or so, handed him the desired money, and started to walk away. "Hold on," said the old man, "don’t you want to see the hog?" "No," said the stranger. "Lookin at you, I’ve seen as big a hog as I ever want to see!"

He told another story of a time he was splitting rails when a man carrying a rifle walked up to him and demanded that Lincoln look him directly in the eye. Lincoln stopped his work and obliged the man, who continued to silently stare at him for some minutes. Finally the man told Lincoln that he "had promised himself years ago that if he ever met a man uglier than himself, he would shoot him." Lincoln looked at the man’s rifle mischeviously and said nothing. Finally Lincoln pulled open his shirt, threw out his chest, and exclaimed, "If I am uglier than you, go ahead and shoot—because I don’t want to live!"

As a politician, Lincoln made excellent use of his humorous stories. His long time political opponent Stephen A. Douglas complained that Lincoln’s jokes were "like a slap across my back. Nothing else—not any of his arguments or any of his replies to my questions—disturbs me. But when he begins to tell a story, I feel that I am to be overmatched." More than once Douglas and other political opponents of Lincoln’s saw their eloquently presented arguments forgotten by the audience after Lincoln followed up their speeches with a homely story or anecdote. At Alton, Illinois, during the last of the “great debates” with Douglas, Lincoln told a story that illustrated how he felt about a political feud that was currently raging between Democratic senator Douglas and the head of the Democratic Party. He said he felt like the old woman that, not knowing who was going to win a brawl between her husband and a bear, decided to cheer for both of them: "Go it husband, go it bear!"

In another instance Lincoln got a tremendous laugh from the audience when he said one of Senator Douglas'’ arguments was “as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death.”

When Lincoln became president, he used his jokes for a different purpose. He would frequently use them to get rid of visitors that had over-stayed their alotted visiting time. In these situations he would use a funny story to illustrate a point he was trying to make, and then—while the listeners were laughing—would ease them out the door.

This happened once when Lincoln was asked what he was going to do with a general that had failed several assignments. Anxious to get rid of his questioners, he told them that the question reminded him of a blacksmith he knew back in New Salem. One day, when the blacksmith didn’t have much to do, he started his fire and began heating up a piece of soft iron. When he got it hot he carried it to the anvil and began to hammer it, thinking he would weld it into an agricultural implement. He pounded away for some time until he got it fashioned into some shape, but discovered that the iron was not big enough for the implement he had in mind. He then put it back into the forge, heated it up again, and recommenced hammering, having decided to make a claw hammer. After a while he concluded that there was too much iron for a hammer. So again he heated it, this time thinking he would form an axe. After hammering and welding it into shape, he concluded there was not enough iron left to make an axe. He was now getting tired and disgusted at the result of his various failures. So finally he filled his forge full of coal, worked up a tremendous heat, and brought the remaining lump of iron to a white heat. With his tongs he lifted it from the bed of coals, and thrusting it into a tub of water near by, exclaimed with an oath, "Well, if I can’t make anything else of you, I will make you into a big fizzle, anyhow!" After he escorted his laughing visitors out the door, Lincoln decided to send the general out west to fight Indians.

Another example of Lincoln’s humor during the war was when he talked about Confederate General John B. Hood’s army after it had been annihilated in the battle of Nashville, Tennessee. Lincoln said "I think Hood’s army is about in the fix of Bill Sykes’s dog, down in Sangamon county. Bill Sykes had a long, yaller dog, that was forever getting into the neighbors’ meat houses and chicken coops. They had tried to kill it a hundred times, but the dog was always too smart for them. Finally, one of them got a bladder of a coon, and filled it up with powder, tying the neck around a piece of punk. When he saw the dog coming he fired the punk, split open a hot biscuit and put the bladder in, then buttered it all nicely and threw it out. The dog swallowed it at a gulp. Pretty soon there was an explosion. The head of the dog lit on the porch, the fore-legs caught astraddle the fence, the hind-legs fell in the ditch, and the rest of the dog lay around loose. Pretty soon Bill Sykes came along, and the neighbor said; "Bill I guess there ain’t much of that dog of your’n left." "Well, no," said Bill; "I see plenty of pieces, but I guess that dog, as a dog, ain’t of much more account." Lincoln concluded that although there were still pieces of Hood’s army left, the army, as an army, wasn’t of much more account.

As the responsibilities of the office of president became more unendurable, Lincoln used humor for self-therapy. He wanted to lessen the tensions in himself and those around him, and he frequently pointed fun at pompous generals when doing this. He said that he once saw a short, fat general that reminded him of a man he knew in Springfield whose name was Enoch. He said Enoch’s legs were so short that when he walked through the snow the seat of his trousers wiped out his footprints.

Lincoln told of the preacher that said, during his sermon, that although the Lord was the only perfect man, the Bible never mentioned a perfect woman. A woman in the rear of the congregation called out "I know a perfect woman, and I’ve heard of her every day for the last six years." "Who was she?" asked the surprised minister. "My husband’s first wife," came the reply.

Listening to two groups of men that came to argue as to whether or not a St. Louis church should be closed as a result of statements of disloyalty from its minister, Lincoln said that the situation reminded him of a story. He said that a man in Sangamon County had a melon patch that kept getting ruined by a wild hog. Finally he and his sons decided to take their guns and track the animal down. They followed the tracks to the neighboring creek, where they disappeared. They discovered them on the opposite bank, and waded through. They kept on the trail a couple of hundred yards, when the tracks again went into the creek, and promptly turned up on the other side. Out of breath and patience, the farmer said "John you cross over and go up on that side of the creek, and I’ll keep up on this side, because I believe that hog is on both sides of the creek!" "Gentlemen," concluded Lincoln, "that is just where I stand in regard to your controversies in St. Louis. I am on both sides. I can't allow my Generals to run the churches, and I can’t allow your ministers to preach rebellion."

One cannot truly appreciate Lincoln without understanding his humorous side. Lincoln certainly deserves the credit he’s received for what he accomplished in the way of preservation of the Union and freeing the slaves. But Lincoln had a lighter side, also, and he used his jokes and stories both for the purpose of winning over his audience and relieving the tremendous pressure he experienced as President during the terrible Civil War.

Now Abraham Lincoln belongs to the ages.
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It's Friday - No Politics - No Problems

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It's Friday, February 10 in Southern Maryland.  The weather has now become so confused that when Punxsutawney Phil, you all know him, the famous Groundhog Day prognosticator who checks his shadow to see when winter will be over.

According to the tradition, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring."

The date of Phil's prognostication is known as Groundhog Day in the United States and Canada. He is considered to be the world's most famous prognosticating rodent. During the rest of the year, Phil lives in the town library with his "wife" Phyllis.

Did you know the first official Groundhog Day was February 2, 1887 , at Gobbler's Knob, which was about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, but there is reference that the first Groundhog Day was in 1841.

Who cares?  So when Phil stepped out of his condo February 2, this year's Groundhog Day, what did he see?  I think he got a sunburn.  Anyway, he's only been accurate 39% of the time over the past 125 or 170 years.

Better than our weatherman but no where near the accuracy of my Irish Grandfather, God rest his mischievous soul, who could feel the weather in his bones.

This is supposed to be the doldrums of winter yet the Crocus are popping out all over.  It is the Dead Zone of the primary campaign with only one debate the entire month after debates every other day for the past year.

We need a break from politics, from Obama, from Democrats, from Republicans and from the media.  So I thought about it and realized at this moment we are only 85 days, 8 hours and 17 minutes from the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Now that coincidence should not go unnoticed.

So it's time for my Derby preview thus turning our attention from the weird weather and weirder political and international events.  Forget about the End Times, the Kentucky Derby is well before December 21, 2012 (the end of the Mayan calendar).

Visualize with me tens of thousands of beautiful Southern Belles in these most extraordinary hats.

Nearly 200,000 people fill the enchanted Twin Spires of Churchill Downs.

Mint Juleps rule the day, the Kentucky Blue Blood cocktail invented to sell bourbon to the sophisticated socialites.

And then there are the thundering herd of million dollar horses pounding around the final turn and heading for the stretch run of the fastest two minutes in sports.

Oh Lordly what a sight as these fire-breathing behemoths remind us of the greatest of Greek Mythology, the Immortal Horses of the gods. The majority of these divine steeds were offspring of the four Wind-Gods who themselves were said to draw the chariot of Zeus.

It is only about three months before the draw for the post positions for Derby horses so I am going to share with you the Churchill Downs tracking of horses most likely to get into the Derby.

Before that I must share my experience with pari-mutuel betting, picking the winner of the Kentucky Derby and next superstar of the h0rse racing world.

You see, I'm not a gambling man in the sense of betting on things.  I already take enough foolish risk with the things I do in my life.  Still, my memory of the Kentucky Derby seems to predate even the World Series.

There was the end of World War II, then the mighty Citation winning the triple crown in 1948, the fourth time in the 1940's there was a triple crown champion.  It would be the last triple crown champion for 25 long years.

Then along came Secretariat in 1973, Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978, three triple crown champions in five years, and no winners since 1978.  Winning the triple crown is among the most difficult achievements in all of sports.

So I grew up trying to pick the winner of the Derby for family bragging rights.  Later in life I would place a single bet on the Derby every year and more often than not I picked the winner.

When I worked for the governor of New Jersey one of my assignments was to be chief of staff for a cabinet commissioner who loved the challenge of handicapping the horses.  He was pretty good at it and just recently was appointed to the Board of Directors at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

I have family in the Lexington, Kentucky area and some are involved and all follow the Kentucky thoroughbred industry and Kentucky Derby.  One is involved in thoroughbred auctions and the millions of millions of dollars involved in race horses.  Others, like my nieces and nephews, can be found in a box on Derby Day plastered on Mint Juleps hidden somewhere under the outrageous hats.  Just kidding.

So this last year when I was travelling to Lexington for treatment for this and that (see other stories on my tragic medical odyssey), my younger brother, we shall call him Bosco in order to hide his identity and protect his right to privacy, asked if I knew the Breeders Cup races were at Churchill Downs.

Now the Breeder's cup races are a really big deal like the Derby.  You see, the top horses in all the world are invited to race each other to see who is horse of the year in the different categories.  Over two days about $35 million in purses are awarded and millions more in breeding rights can be earned.

Now my betting experience over the decades never got any farther than picking horses to win, place or show.  I just had no time for all the variations of betting like the following.

Straight bet or Single or Win bet. This is the simplest and most common bet. You bet on a winner at given odds. You collect only if your chosen horse is the first across the finish line.

• Place. A wager for place means you collect if your selected horse finishes either first or second.
• Show. The third horse across the finish line. A wager to show means you collect if your selected horse finishes either first, second or third.
• Combination Bet. Combinations cover from two to four horses to win in chosen order.
• Pick 3. This wager requires the player to pick the winners of three consecutive races. Some race tracks have a rolling pick 3 which is when the player must pick three races in a row and it continues for the next three races.
• Pick 6. This wager requires the player to select the winner of six consecutive races prior to the first race of the pick six. Some tracks place the pick six as the first six races, the middle six races, or the last six races. Many tracks have carry over pools for the pick six that can grow to as high as a million dollars.
• Quiniela or Reverse Forecast (UK). A bet placed on two horses to finish first and second in either order.
• Perfecta or Exacta or Straight Forecast (UK). A bet placed on two horses but they must cross the finish line in exact chosen order.
• Trifecta or Tricast or Treble Forecast (UK). A bet placed on three horses to cross the finish line in exact chosen order.
• Superfecta. A bet placed on four horses to cross the finish line in exact chosen order.
• Daily Double. Similar to an accumulator you select the winners of the first and second races on that day. You must place your bet before the start of the first race.
• Jackpot. Pick six winners in six races to share in a Jackpot prize. The rules and prizes will vary from race track to race track.
• Parlay or Accumulator. A multiple bet. A kind of 'let-it-ride' bet. Making simultaneous selections on two or more races with the intent of pressing the winnings of the first win on the bet of the following race selected, and so on. All the selections made must win for you to win the parlay. If a race is a tie, postponed or cancelled, your parlay is automatically reduced by one selection; a double parlay becomes a straight bet, a triple parlay becomes a double. A parlay bet can yield huge dividends if won.
• Future. A bet on a future event. At the start of each season, the sportsbooks give out odds for horses to win a certain event. The odds change as the race date approaches and in most cases get shorter, but if you win you get paid at the original odds that you took. This is possibly one of the most profitable bets if you have considerable knowledge of the race that you are betting on including the jockeys, and a good sense of judgement.
• Exotic Bets. Betting on unusual events. Some sports books post odds and take bets on a wide variety of other sports related events and activities. A few others will take bets on just about anything you can think of.
• Proposition Bet or Prop Bet. An offer of bets at odds and conditions chosen by the sportsbook, usually on 'Exotic' bets. 

But Bosco says he wants to bet on the Breeders Cup races.  The first day we won about four races but lost money on the rest.  The second day we won about the same and were slightly ahead when he said he wanted to bet a Superfecta in the last race.

I had no clue what he was talking about.  He said we had to pick the first four horses in order. I told him he was mad, we couldn't even pick the first horse most races, let alone four in a row.

So I asked if he ever won a Superfecta and he said no but his kids did.  He said the payouts were in the thousands of dollars.  I was intrigued and said why not, it's only a few bucks and one race.

We each picked out the horses we wanted and he went and bet the ticket.  The race, on the big screen TV, went off and I had the winner again, for about $5.  It was the last I thought about it until the next afternoon.

I heard the Superfecta paid around $1,500 a ticket.  It meant nothing to me but I still pulled out our Superfacta ticket to check the horses.  To my complete and utter astonishment our ticket accurately picked the first four horses in order.

So I grabbed my brother and said how much did he bet on the Superfecta.  Since I would bet between $5 and $50 on a horse my brain was already multiplying the massive winnings. Let's see, 5 times 1500 is $7500 and 50 times 1500 is a staggering $75,000.

So Bosco, how much did you bet! I shouted.  He gave me that dumb Cheshire Cat look from Wonderland as if I should know better than to ask.  Then he whispered something.

What! I demanded.  Whatever he mumbled, it didn't register on my brain or my brain refused to let it register.  Then I heard the worst words I had heard in who knows how long.  "Ten cents!".

That did not even compute.  What ten cents?  He said he bet ten cents per horse, not $1, $5 or $50.

Somehow his math indicated we might have won our first Superfecta and in the featured race of the breeders Cup, no less.  But his fractional betting left us with about 1 /1000 of what we were supposed to make. because he bet ten cents rather than more.

I asked if there was any reason he decided to bet pennies instead of dollars and he said he'd never won a Superfecta and never expected to win so he bet pennies instead of dollars.

So now my brother and I have finally won a Superfecta.  Yes, we nailed them from first to fourth place.  We even had the foresight to bet the race.  But don't ever have your slightly crazy brother place the bet without checking the tickets or you may wind up winning parking money rather than $75,000.

As for me, I'm back to sticking with picking just the winner.  So here are the horses that Churchill Downs says are qualified for the Derby so far.  More will be added later as other three year olds win the Derby prep races.

Algorithms

Owner: Starlight Racing

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Javier Castellano

 Alpha

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Kiaran McLaughlin

Jockey: Ramon Dominguez

Creative Cause

Owner: Heinz Steinmann

Trainer: Mike Harrington

Jockey: Joel Rosario

 Dullahan

Owner: Donegal Racing

Trainer: Dale Romans

Jockey: Kent Desormeaux

Gemologist

Owner: WinStar Farm LLC.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Hansen

Owner: Dr. Kendall Hansen & Sky Chai Racing

Trainer:Mike Maker

Jockey: Ramon Dominguez

I'll Have Another

Owner: J. Paul Reddam

Trainer: Doug O'Neill

Jockey: Mario Gutierrez

Liaison

Owner: Arnold Zetcher

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Rafael Bejarano

Sabercat

Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

 Union Rags

Owner: Chadds Ford Stable

Trainer: Michael Matz

 

As for me, maybe I'll just have to go on a bike ride.  Might as well enjoy early spring.

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