Who is Your Derby Dark Star???

As the days leading to the Kentucky Derby wind down, we all start to form allegiances to the horses we will back in the big race. Whether we show it in the form of our wagering dollars or not, we all want our pick to do well when the gates spring open. It is a big thrill to see a horse we like cross the Churchill Downs wire first, even if the only connection is that of a fan. If you are like me, you will have more than one horse that you root for in the Derby, and a few of those, will be horses not favored to win. Derby dark horses if you will. But given one of the most famous upsets in the history of the Kentucky Derby, it seems there may be a better name for these horses. Let’s scratch the dark horse and instead call them dark stars. Of course this moniker comes directly from the 1953 Kentucky Derby champion Dark Star. Dark Star was a brown colt by Royal Gem out of the Bull Dog mare, Isolde. Owned by Harry Guggenheim, trained by Eddie Hayward, and ridden by Henry Moreno, Dark Star was the 5th choice at just under 25-1 in the eleven horse Derby field. The speedy colt had won the Derby Trial just days before, but was not paid much attention, largely because of the presence of the Gray Ghost. Native Dancer was more than a champion, he was a national hero. A television star and a Horse of the Year as a juvenile, the undefeated gray colt entered the starting gate as an overwhelming 7-10 in America‘s most famous race. In one of the most surprising upsets ever seen, jockey Henry Moreno guided Dark Star from an outside post to a wire-to-wire win, holding off the Ghost in a furious stretch run to prevail by a diminishing margin. The photo revealed Dark Star had held on by a head. Race fans everywhere were stunned. The Derby would be the only time in 22 career starts that Native Dancer would be defeated. It was nothing for wins for racing‘s star after that day. He rebounded quickly with a win in the Withers, and then exacted a small level of revenge over his Derby vanquisher in the Preakness. Dark Star would tire to finish a distant fifth that day and never again would win a big race. Native Dancer would go on to win the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, as well as, the Dwyer Stakes, Arlington Classic, Travers Stakes and the American Derby. Thereby cementing is place as an all-time great in American racing. How was Native Dancer beaten? As an old friend would say…“Reason tatters the forces tear loose from the axis.” Whatever you may call it, upsets happen, and Dark Star did defeat Native Dancer in one of the most famous Run for the Roses ever run. Can it happen this year? Other than the Derby favorite, Eskendereya, and the two colts who will be nearest to him in odds, Lookin at Lucky and Sidney’s Candy, I think you can consider everyone else in the race as a potential dark star. It is very possible after the first three choices, everyone in the field will have double digit odds. That leaves 17 legitimate opportunites for this year’s Derby to produce a Dark Star like result. Of course many of those 17 will not turn out to be legitimate. It is our job to separate the pretenders from the real contenders. Maybe we will find a one day upsetter, like Dark Star, or maybe they will go on to greater futures. For now I am only worried about one race. I have begun the process and my Dark Star top five includes Awesome Act, Endorsement, Mission Impazible, Setsuko, and Super Saver in no particular order. I ask you all…Who is your Derby Dark Star???