By:  Blood Horse

Photo Credit: Chad B. Harmon

Rich Strike Faces Long Odds Again in a Kentucky Classic

80-1 Kentucky Derby winner priced at 20-1 in field of 8 for Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Rich Strike  may be known in some circles as “The People’s Horse,” but when it comes to his odds for major races in Kentucky, he’s still horse racing’s Rodney Dangerfield.

After winning the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at shocking 80-1 odds, some six months later the son of Keen Ice   was once again assigned hefty odds, this time for the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

Maybe not 80-1. Those days are long gone. Yet in a field of eight, topped by the undefeated Flightline  at 3-5, Rich Strike was tabbed at 20-1, the seventh biggest price in the morning line. Only Happy Saver  , who hasn’t won a graded stakes in more than two years, was higher at 30-1.

“He’s got to earn everything he gets,” trainer Eric Reed said. “Until he wins again, this will happen. It is what it is.

“The odds really don’t determine anything,” he added. “We found that out in the Derby.”

Since stunning the racing world in the opening leg of the Triple Crown by rallying from 18th to post his second—and still most recent—career victory, RED TR-Racing’s 3-year-old is winless in three starts. He sat out the Preakness Stakes (G1), then finished sixth in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) before turning in two improved efforts.

He was fourth in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) behind Classic 5-1 second choice Epicenter , though he missed second by only a nose and a neck in that 1 1/4-mile test. He then seemed headed for victory in the stretch of the Oct. 1 Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs only to have Hot Rod Charlie  (15-1 in the Classic) battle back to prevail by a head.

“He’s coming into the race in good order and he couldn’t look any better than he does,” Reed said about Rich Strike’s chances in the 10-furlong Classic. “He’s matured a lot. Each time we’ve run him he’s taken a step forward and hopefully he’ll do that one more time.”

Suffice it to say, Rich Strike has a much more loyal following among racing fans than oddsmakers. His story is surely compelling. Bred by Calumet Farm out of the Smart Strike mare Gold Strike, he was claimed by his owners and Reed, who never had a Kentucky Derby starter, for $30,000 out of his maiden win as a 2-year-old. Before his horse’s heroics on the first Saturday in May, Reed had not captured a graded stakes since 2009.

The chestnut colt didn’t even have a spot in the Run for the Roses until a last-minute scratch opened the door for him to enter the race moments before entries were closed.

And, for his backers in the spring, who can forget a horse that rewarded them with $163.60 for every $2 they bet on him in the Kentucky Derby?

“It’s been a wonderful ride and hopefully it will continue on through next year,” Reed said.