Zozos, owned by Barry and Joni Butzow of Eden Prairie, went off as the favorite in the Knicks Go Overnight Stakes, one of the preliminary races. While the rise of Two Phil's was on the minds of - most - of the wagering crowd on Saturday, a horse with owners from the Twin Cities made history at Churchill Downs. The woman of the pair responded, 'Should we?' Then I approached a couple and asked, 'Are you folks betting on Two Phil's?' One group of gray-haired men planned to pool their money and have every horse in the field covered, hoping for a repeat of last year, when 80-to-1 shot Rich Strike won. A band played near the finish line and a show jumping exhibition was held until rain stopped it all.Ī slightly husky, broken-down columnist and once-a-year horse wagerer moved through the crowd, running into gamblers of all levels. All levels of the facility were full of gamblers/spectators/imbibers, and many had arrived early in the afternoon to set up and wager on the prelims and through simulcasting at other tracks across the country. 'There was nothing else he could do.'įans at Canterbury Park weren't sure if Two Phil's would win the Derby, but many threw him in their exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers. Mage had fallen back as far as 15 th before turning it on. A track employee, standing at the Canterbury finish line, pulled out a phone and prepared to take a picture of crowd celebrating Two Phil's, the Derby champion.īut Mage, ridden by Javier Castellano, overtook him with about a furlong to go. And when Verifying and Kingsbarns began to fall back, Two Phil's pounced. Two Phil's had surged down the backstretch to join the lead group.

Wild For You by Jeré Anthony