2012 Kentucky Derby Post Time – Might Be Racing’s Finest Moment

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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Post time for the 2012 Kentucky Derby could be racing’s finest moment in horse racing. One thing for certain, it will be the highlight of the 2012 horse racing season. The Kentucky Derby starts the Triple Crown. When the horses are lined up in the gate and the track announcer says “They’re off,” expect 20 million people from all over the world, both novice and hard-core racing enthusiasts to be completely focused on racing’s biggest yearly event.
Right before post time, both the fans attending the Kentucky Derby live and those watching it on TV are finalizing their predictions. Which horse will win the Derby? Which horse will go for the lead? What kind of pace can we expect? What kind of race can we expect come post time for Kentucky Derby 2012? Certainly it depends on the field, and how much speed is in the field.
In 2001, we witnessed the fastest opening half mile and three quarters mile splits in Kentucky Derby history. Frontrunner Songandaprayer was pushed along by another horse that loved the lead, the Spiral Stakes winner Balto Star, and the result was that the speedy Songandaprayer set early ...
... fractions of 22.25, 44.86, and 109.25 seconds. As a result every horse that was anywhere near that pace ended up finishing out of the money. Fusaichi Pegasus and Aptitude who had settled in mid pack, nowhere near that blazing pace finished first and second. Impeachment who came from even farther back got up for third.
Some years, there may be a few horses that like to be near the pace, but no confirmed frontrunners. In 2002 for example, there were a few horses with speed, such as Came Home, who won the Santa Anita Derby, and Medaglia d’ Oro, who led the Wood Memorial field much of the way before losing that race by a head. War Emblem was the horse that clearly loved being on the lead and would find himself in front. Many thought that Medaglia d’Oro would go with him but that one got shuffled into mid pack for most of the race and thus left War Emblem all alone on the lead to set moderate fractions, which helped him take the field wire to wire. 2002 perhaps was a reaction to the blazing pace set in 2001, and as a result all the jockey’s may have been a little hesitant to place their mounts anywhere near the pace.
Back in 1994, everyone expected that year’s favorite Holy Bull to take to the lead as he had done in winning the Florida Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes. It was a sloppy track that year and as it turns out, the horse didn’t like mud in the same way that he liked a fast dirt track. Holy Bull was off slowly and was in tight early and so didn’t make his accustomed lead. He did not naturally go to the lead as frontrunners sometimes do even when they fall behind initially. As a result, that allowed Go for Gin to be alone on the lead, and thus set softer fractions than he might have, had Holy Bull chosen to go with him. Go for Gin led wire to wire and took the 1994 Kentucky Derby.
2007 was a bizarre year for the Kentucky Derby in terms of the pace. The pace was sensible enough, and as a result, frontrunner Hard Spun had enough class to hang around for second place. What was bizarre was that Street Sense came from 19th in the field to win the Derby. What is surprising is that he closed from last to first after such a moderate pace. If the pace had been fast, then Hard Spun probably would’ve faded and that would have made Street Sense a more logical choice. Because the pace was moderate, that ought to favor Hard Spun and make it difficult for Street Sense to close into. What was strange is that two horses that seemingly would benefit from totally opposite paces finished first and second.
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