# Kentucky Derby 2022: won by longest shot in 109 years **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** horse-sports\ **Created:** [May 8, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137 "2022-05-08T05:38:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/61 "2022-05-13T23:39:02Z")
Secretariat and Sham possessed hearts that were way above average in weight. Sham’s was measured at 19lb and that of Secretariat was estimated at 22lb. Both necropsies were performed by the same vet. The hearts of Eclipse and Phar Lap came in at 14lb while the average is 8lb-10lb. It’s telling that the two heaviest hearts on record have the two quickest times ever achieved for the Kentucky Derby. There’s a caveat in that Sham’s time was necessarily estimated because runners-up and worse were not clocked in 1973. The timing for the Preakness was originally disputed but officially Secretariat still has the fastest time for that race while Sham, 2½ lengths adrift, also broke the old record. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/62 "2022-05-14T00:50:00Z")
I do feel sorry for Sham, he was a splendid horse. It’s just that Secretariat was more splendid. I haven’t looked up to see how the offspring of either have done. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/63 "2022-05-14T02:49:34Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Rich Strike will not run in the Preakness. His owner believes that Rich Strike needs more rest than the two weeks between the two races. Which is puzzling to me. A human who runs a similar-duration race (e.g. 800 meters, for which the world record is just over 1:40) at a high level can routinely manage a fully competitive performance 2 days later. What is it about horses that makes this impossible? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/64 "2022-05-14T02:58:58Z")
Don’t know the totality of it but there has to be travel time for the horse, a stressful event that prevents any full workouts for several days. He hadn’t run that soon after another race before and in that short of time couldn;t use the same training regime that had been successful so far. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/65 "2022-05-14T03:08:23Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > The guy giving the call was so focused on the front runners that I for once recognized the horse, by number, before the announcer called him! He did better than the announcer of the [2009 Kentucky Derby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is4q1L6JiSI), in which Mine That Bird came from dead last (and absurdly far behind) to win going away. The announcer didn’t even say his name until he was 3 lengths in front. As amazing as Rich Strike’s performance was, I think Mine That Bird easily claims the Greatest Come From Behind Win trophy. In about 40 seconds he made up 25 lengths on the favorites. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/66 "2022-05-14T04:01:19Z")
That is a great video – thanks. From almost 8 lengths behind the pack to win by 6 3⁄4. > **[Mine That Bird | 2009 Kentucky Derby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mine_That_Bird#2009_Kentucky_Derby)** > > Following overnight rain, the Churchill Downs natural dirt track was rated as "sloppy" for the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Ridden by Calvin Borel, Mine That Bird had trouble out of the starting gate and was left about eight lengths behind the rest of the field. By the time the pack of horses was running down the backstretch, Mine That Bird was so far back that NBC's announcer Tom Durkin at first missed seeing him. > Calvin Borel, using the ground-saving, rail-skimming riding technique that won him the 20... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/67 "2022-05-14T14:29:58Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I do feel sorry for Sham, he was a splendid horse. It’s just that Secretariat was more splendid. I haven’t looked up to see how the offspring of either have done. My understanding is that Secretariat’s offspring wasn’t particularly noteworthy at first; his sons weren’t hugely successful at racing. But, several of his daughters turned out to be successful broodmares, and a number of Secretariat’s grandchildren and later generations were excellent racehorses, including Justify, A.P. Indy, and American Pharoah. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/68 "2022-05-14T15:27:07Z")
> [@3AxisCtrl](#): > > As amazing as Rich Strike’s performance was, I think Mine That Bird easily claims the Greatest Come From Behind Win trophy. In about 40 seconds he made up 25 lengths on the favorites. Yes. Thanks for mentioning that. I don’t usually watch the derby but I’ll watch a replay if I hear it was interesting. I just happened to catch this year’s Derby live but I’m surprised I didn’t “pick up on the chatter” of the 2009 race and watch the replay. I’d never heard of this win before today. Truly incredible. The 2022 race is going to be viewed as “more incredible” first of all because… it just happened and people have the attention spans of premature gnats. But also, there is the fact that Rich Strike wasn’t even entered in the Derby until the day before, his only previous win was a $30,000 maiden race, he was first horse to ever win the Derby after having been claimed and he went to post with longer odds, 80-1 (although that means little about the ride’s quality, IMO). ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/69 "2022-05-16T11:19:34Z")
Thank you for that information! I always believed that the races were run in order of distance. I guess I can post this in the thread, “Things you always believed but found out were not true.” LOL ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/70 "2022-05-16T14:19:01Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > Secretariat and Sham possessed hearts that were way above average in weight. Sham’s was measured at 19lb and that of Secretariat was estimated at 22lb. Both necropsies were performed by the same vet. The hearts of Eclipse and Phar Lap came in at 14lb while the average is 8lb-10lb. Made me think of Game of Thrones. Did they really expect a pregnant woman to choke down 8+ pounds of raw muscle??? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/71 "2022-05-16T17:27:04Z")
I don’t have the cite for it, but I heard that heart was made out of gummi bear material. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/72 "2022-05-16T17:41:12Z")
Secretariat’s or Sham’s? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137/73 "2022-05-16T17:49:14Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > But also, there is the fact that Rich Strike wasn’t even entered in the Derby until the day before, his only previous win was a $30,000 maiden race, he was first horse to ever win the Derby after having been claimed and he went to post with longer odds, 80-1 (although that means little about the ride’s quality, IMO). Note that Rich Strike is the first Derby winner that had been claimed in a claiming race. Two others - Charismatic and Mine that Bird – had run in claimers, but weren’t claimed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-derby-2022-won-by-longest-shot-in-109-years/964137.md?page=3)