Mage wins the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby
Photo: Alex Evers
Frank Angst, editorial director for BloodHorse, won the 2023 TIF Derby Prop Contest for Racing Charities, one of nine players with nine correct responses from the 12 props that remained in play. His guess of a Kentucky Derby win pool of $52 million was closest of the nine players, propelling the long-time horseplayer to the win.
Angst chose to direct $6,000 in donations to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and $2,000 each to the Backside Learning Center, New Vocations and Second Stride.
In addition to directing $10,000 for the overall contest winner, Angst also led the separate racing media contest which provided $2,000 in donation directions to the winning media member.
“It’s safe to say I entered this contest because I thought it would be fun—and it most assuredly was--but I also wanted to make a point of participating because I thought this was a great way to promote the types of wagers racing could be a part of if it would allow sports betting platforms to offer fixed-odds wagering,” Angst said.
“Congrats to TIF for continuing to talk about and promote the idea of getting racing onto sports betting platforms, where people in more than 30 states are going to legally bet all of the major sports. I think there’s a real opportunity here for racing to bring in new fans and bettors.
“Beyond that, the contest also supports some terrific racing-related charities, which made participation a no-brainer.”
Caton Bredar of Fanduel TV finished second in the overall contest while Alex Bregman, horse owner and third baseman for the Houston Astros, finished third. John Weigel of West Chester, Ohio was fourth while both Jeffrey Amster of Oceanside, New York and This Is Horse Racing’s Joe Clancy tied for fifth place.
The Lavin Family Foundation, of which TIF founder Craig Bernick is a director, will donate $22,000 at the direction of the contest winners.
“Sports betting is now legal in Kentucky,” said Bernick, “and while the Kentucky Derby is undoubtedly the state’s biggest betting event, it has the chance to be so much bigger and more engaging on a year-round basis if racing embraces fixed odds betting as a complement to existing pari-mutuel betting.
“The Derby set another pari-mutuel handle record this year, but there are many more opportunities to engage mainstream players over a longer period of time. Horsemen have generally seemed happy to get purse supplements from other forms of betting but allowed the overall business of actually betting on racing to stagnate. The status quo is untenable given the competitive market that exists following broad legalization of sports betting. Racing must find ways to better compete in this new era.”
The other players with nine correct props were: Tara Cochran (Taylorsville, GA), Matthew Everhart (Washington, IL), William Hunt (Williams Bay, WI) and Neil Petrocelli (Middletown, NJ). Another 19 players had eight correct.
Below are the donation directions of each of the winners:
Frank Angst – $6,000 (PDJF), $2,000 each (Backside Learning Center, New Vocations, Second Stride)
Caton Bredar – $4,000 (Backside Learning Center)
Alex Bregman – $3,000 (PDJF)
John Weigel – $2,000 (Backside Learning Center)
Jeffrey Amster – $500 (PDJF)
Joe Clancy – $500 (PDJF)
The props that remained in-play for the contest, and the frequency each answer was selected, are below:
4. Which horse will have the better finishing position in the Derby?
#12 JACE’S ROAD (31%)
#13 SUN THUNDER (69%)
7. Which horse will have the better finishing position in the Derby?
#2 VERIFYING (59%)
#6 KINGSBARNS (41%)
8. Which horse will have the better finishing position in the Derby?
#3 TWO PHIL’S (64%)
#8 MAGE (36%)
9. In which position will #11 DISARM finish in the Derby?
11th or better (67%)
12th or worse (33%)
10. Which will pay more in the Derby?
The sum of the $2 win, place and show payouts TIMES 10 (31%)
The $0.50 trifecta payout (69%)
11. Which number will be larger?
The total beaten lengths of the last horse to finish the Derby (51%)
The final win odds of the longest priced horse in the Derby (49%)
12. In which position will #17 DERMA SOTOGAKE finish the Derby?
5th or better (61%)
6th or worse (39%)
13. Based on the official chart of the race, which will be longer?
The distance between the Derby winner and second place finisher (57%)
The distance between the Derby second place finisher and third place finisher (43%)
15. According to the official Equibase chart of the Derby, which horse will be closest to the lead after the first six furlongs of the race (the ¾ call)?
#2 VERIFYING (36%)
#4 CONFIDENCE GAME (19%)
#7 REINCARNATE (45%)
16. What will be the sum of the saddle towel numbers of the first three finishers in the Derby?
ODD (60%)
EVEN (40%)
19. Which horse will have the worst finishing position in the Derby?
#3 TWO PHIL’S (21%)
#6 KINGSBARNS (62%)
#10 DERMA SOTOGAKE (17%)
20. Will the Derby winner have made a start prior to the Derby at Churchill Downs?
Yes (28%)
No (71%)