Long shot fans got their money’s worth for Derby 148

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Looking back, just the name “Rich Strike” should have been a tip off.

Anyone following a hunch on this long shot could have ended up feeling like they were striking it rich.

Right out of the gate, Rich Strike was buried in the pack and he seemed destined to finish out of the money.

“It got pushed out in the beginning,” Tom Williams said as he recounted the short-lived doubts after placing a $5 bet on Rich Strike to win. “(I was) screaming loud. There was only six people at the party and I was going crazy.”

Rich Strike paid $163.60 to win, $74.20 to place and $29.40 to show. Bettors did not see much risk behind placing a $2 dollar wager.

“I had two dollars left over and thought why not?” Christian Adelberg said. “A long shot? What the heck. What’s the worst thing that’s going to happen?”

At 79 to 1 odds, Rich Strike was the biggest Kentucky Derby longshot since Donerail, who won the race with 91 to 1 odds in 1913. Stephanie Tibbits said she won $267 betting on Rich Strike to win place and show.

“A horse scratched and then you’re in and then you win?” Tibbits said, “That’s crazy.”

“Take the chance. Take big chances,” bettor Stacy Stillings said after her winning wager on Rich Strike. “Make sure you go ahead and do it all the way. Ten dollars, 20 dollars, do it.”