O’Donnell: $$$ status as a global lottery has to be in the future of the Kentucky Derby
SOMEWHERE OVER THE RACING RAINBOW, the Kentucky Derby will be a global lottery.
Scratch-off tickets will be sold.
For a dollar or two, they'll list a combination of the top 10 finishers in order, along with a PowerBall-style number.
That digit will designate a post position that must win the race while the rest of the pack-10 comes in as listed for the ticket to cash.
A handful of people will make a lot of money.
Everyone else — from Singapore to Schaumburg — will shrug and move on.
LAST SATURDAY, Derby watchers and wagerers got a real-time lesson in how chaotic the Run for the Roses can be and how utterly futile seriously handicapping the event is.
The finish came Golden Tempo (23-1), Renegade (5-1), the maiden Ocelli (70-1) and Chief Wallabee (7-1).
NONE OF THE TOP THREE were better than 15th of the 19 starters after six furlongs and only Ocelli was within the top eight turning for home.
Golden Tempo's rally began somewhere around Cincinnati.
The $1 trifecta paid $11,250. The $1 superfecta (top four in order) returned $94,489.
It was a grand trial run for something even bigger, spanning the equator, the Greenwich prime meridian and better betting kiosks in-between.
THE RACE CONTINUED TO COMMAND significant attention, much to the chagrin of devotees of Arlington Park. They'll curse Churchill Downs Inc. for destroying their palatial local oval until they can curse no more.
Still, NBC and Peacock claimed that a record average of 19.6M watched the 152nd Derby. That audience peaked at 24.4M during the quarter-hour when Cherie DeVaux became the first women to ever saddle a rosy champ.
OTHER NOTABLE MOMENTS:
· NBC analyst Donna Barton-Brothers, working her final Derby, correctly selected Golden Tempo ($48.24 for $2) to win. That is no casual accomplishment, even from someone who knows the game so well.
As Donna Barton, she rode at Arlington in the early 1990s. That was also when she befriended trainer Frank Brothers at a gym in Arlington Heights. They've been married since 1998.
· Insightful network staple Jerry Bailey missed the opening 90 minutes of the 4½-hour telecast while being treated for painful kidney stones at the nearby University of Louisville Hospital.
The Hall of Fame rider, in a return right out of Willis Reed's walk-on for the NY Knicks before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, made it back on set next to Mike Tirico and Randy Moss for the final three hours.
At any entrance gait, that's grit.
BEYOND NBC'S CLAIMED VIEWERSHIP, other measurements for the Derby were fine.
Total mutuel handle on the race was $225M, down $9M from the record $234M in 2025.
Attendance was put up at 150,415, well below the 2015 gold line of 170,513.
BUT THE RACE CONTINUES to hold a unique spot on the international gaming and sports calendar.
And that slot will one day be taken to even higher profit levels by its single-minded bluegrass barons.
STREET-BEATIN':
If Munetaka Murakami were slamming all of his yard ding for the Cubs instead of the White Sox, a feeling persists that contract extension talks would be deep in progress. Instead, given the history of personnel gaffes at West 35th and Rot, some calloused Sox fans are filled only with dread. The 26-year-old's two-year, $34M deal may get an odd extension if there is a labor lockout next season. …
All of the speculation about Matt Lloyd and the Bulls reminded that it was after the 1999 season when media ace Tim Hallam brought Lloyd and Sebrina Brewster into the team's image channeling after the voluntary departures of Tom Smithburg and Lori Weisskopf. The brand was taking a surreal pounding at the time thanks to the downbound bro-foolishness of Jerry Krause and Tim Floyd. …
Erin Andrews — now in her third decade as a network sports reporter — has been hired by FanDuel as “a responsible gaming ambassador” — whatever that means. (Who can forget her rookie national TV season alongside ESPN'S Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin covering much of the magic of Bruce Weber's 2004-05 Fighting Illini?) …
Bob Sullivan reports that North suburban natives Larry and Edward Wrather — son and father — directed Fort Valley State of Georgia, an HBCU school, to a rare appearance in the NCAA men's volleyball tournament. The Wildcats were spiked out of the 12-team field by Pepperdine last weekend. Cindy Panagiotaros, Sullivan's longtime partner, is one of the top game officials in the state of Illinois. …
The news is positive for Cheryl Raye-Stout about some ongoing health business. The WBEZ-FM (91.5) sports mainstay gets a further lift Friday night when she, Lynn Sweet and Jim Williams will be the recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards during the annual Peter Lisagor Dinner at Chicago's Union League Club. …
And Phil Rosenthal, one of the most versatile all-stars in the past 30 years of major-league daily journalism, is reported to be in the midst of work on a first book. The Lake Bluff prodigy transitioned from boy wonder TV writer at the Los Angeles Times to deputy sports editor of the Sun-Times before a lively turn as business columnist for the Tribune. …
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.