What horse will finish last in the Breeders’ Cup Classic? What will be the temperature at Del Mar when the Classic is run? Who will the owner of the winning horse thank first?
What? Correctly answering obscure questions like those in a free online Breeders’ Cup contest in November has earned a Manitoba commercial fisherman huge bragging rights. “I couldn’t believe it,” Calvin Bruce, 33, of St. Laurent, Manitoba said after receiving an email from contest organizers saying he had beaten entrants from all over North America to land the top prize of US$5,000.
“Did I beat a million, maybe two million?” he wondered. The Breeders’ Cup people were coy. “It is our policy not to reveal the number of entrants in the contest,” said Jim Gluckson, senior communications consultant for Breeders’ Cup Ltd., in an email.
Regardless of the number, Bruce has every right to be shouting his win from the rooftops ‒ or from the shore of Lake Manitoba where he’s been hauling in walleye, pike, pickerel, perch and tullibee for 10 years. Here was a fisherman from the tiny community of 1,330 holding sway over sophisticated horseplayers in California, New York, Florida and the like.
Maybe he could trace his horsey chutzpah back to his early childhood when his parents owned and trained a horse. On his iPhone he proudly carries a 1990 photo of the winner’s circle at Assiniboia Downs where he’s a two-year-old in the arms of his father.
Among the obvious questions in the 12-question Classic Predictor contest were: What horses would win and finish second? (Knicks Go followed by Medina Spirit.) What would be the margin of victory? (2 3/4 lengths) and how fast would the race be run ((1:59.50-1:59.74 seconds). But there was also this: How many NBC talent/celebrities would correctly predict the winner? (Three.)
Bruce isn’t the only horseplayer in recent memory who has done Manitoba proud in a continent-wide contest. About nine years ago, Jim Roberts, a mathematics professor at Red River College in Winnipeg, won $5,000 (USD) when he was the last person standing among more than 2,800 in Show Me the Money, a free online contest at the now-defunct Hollywood Park where entrants were required to pick a show horse in each race card.
Manitobans are also holding their heads high when it comes to recent horse breeding. Ziprick Thoroughbreds in Russell, MB, near the Saskatchewan border, bred the mare Escape Clause (Going Commando/Danger Pay), who was dubbed “the darling of Del Mar” when she won the Kathryn Crosby Stakes at that track in the fall of 2018. She then went on to dominate the La Canada Stakes (Gr. 3) at Santa Anita two months later. In April 2019 at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, she lost the Apple Blossom Handicap (Gr. 1) by a mere nose to the great Midnight Bisou who would go on to finish second in the $20 million Saudi Cup the following year.
Escape Clause is now in the hands of breeders at Northern Farm in Japan where her first foal (by Japanese Derby winner Duramente) was sold last fall for almost US$1 million.
Try Your Luck
Here are the 12 questions that entrants in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Predictor contest were required to answer. Did you enter? How do you think you would have done?
1. Which horse will cross the finish line first?
1 – Tripoli
2 – Express Train
3 – Hot Rod Charlie
4 – Essential Quality
5 – Knicks Go
6 – Art Collector
7 – Stiletto Boy
8 – Medina Spirit
9 – Max Player
2. Which horse will cross the finish line second?
1 – Tripoli
2 – Express Train
3 – Hot Rod Charlie
4 – Essential Quality
5 – Knicks Go
6 – Art Collector
7 – Stiletto Boy
8 – Medina Spirit
9 – Max Player
3. Which horse will finish first between Essential Quality and Knicks Go?
4 – Essential Quality
5 – Knicks Go
4. Which horse will finish first between Art Collector and Max Player?
6 – Art Collector
9 – Max Player
5. What will be the margin of victory for the winning horse?
a) A nose, neck or head
b) ¼ – ¾ of a length
c) 1-2 ¾ lengths
d) 3-4 ¾ lengths
e) 4-6 ¾ lengths
f) 7+ lengths
6. Which horse will be on the lead at the half-mile mark?
1 – Tripoli
2 – Express Train
3 – Hot Rod Charlie
4 – Essential Quality
5 – Knicks Go
6 – Art Collector
7 – Stiletto Boy
8 – Medina Spirit
9 – Max Player
7. What will be the final race time?
a) 1:59:00 and below
b) 1:59:00-1:59:24
c) 1:59:25-1:59:49
d) 1:59:50-1:59:74
e) 1:59:75-1:59:99
f) 2:00:00-2:00:24
g) 2:00:25-2:00:49
h) 2:00:50-2:00:74
i) 2:00:75-2:00:99
j) 2:01:00-2:01:24
k) 2:01:25-2:01:49
l) 2:01:50-2:01:74
m) 2:01:75-2:01:99
n) 2:02:00-2:02:24
o) 2:02:25-2:02:49
p) 2:02:50-2:02:74
q) 2:02:75-2:02:99
r) 2:03:00 and above
8. Which horse will finish last?
1 – Tripoli
2 – Express Train
3 – Hot Rod Charlie
4 – Essential Quality
5 – Knicks Go
6 – Art Collector
7 – Stiletto Boy
8 – Medina Spirit
9 – Max Player
9. What will be the temperature at post-time (8:40 PM ET / 5:40 PM PT)?
a) 60° F and below
b) 61° F
c) 62° F
d) 63° F
e) 64° F
f) 65° F
g) 66° F
h) 67° F
i) 68° F
j) 69° F
k) 70° F
l) 71° F
m) 72° F
n) 73° F
o) 74° F
p) 75° F
q) 76° F and above
10. Who will the winning owner thank first on the NBC telecast?
a) Family
b) God
c) Jockey
d) Spouse
e) Trainer
f) Someone Other Than Listed
g) No One
11. How many NBC talent and celebrities will correctly pick the winner of the Classic?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
12. What brand will have the first commercial on NBC following the race?
a) Big Ass Fans
b) FanDuel
c) Longines
d) PNC Bank
e) San Diego Tourism
f) TVG
g) Other
Answers: 1-5; 2-8; 3-5; 4-6; 5-C; 6-5; 7-D; 8-9; 9-A; 10-G; 11-3; 12-C
