Welcome to year six of the Brooklyn Backstretch Kentucky Derby charity game. We started in 2009, piggybacking on the Saratoga Special Derby fantasy league, and from 2010 to 2013, we used the Road to the Roses as the base for our league play.
This year, handicapper and writer Mike Dorr (@mikdorr77), who writes about racing at Up the Track, has offered to put together our very own version.
As in years past, I pledge $75 to the racing charity of the winner’s choice. There’s no entry fee, but contributions are welcome; over the years, we’ve donated $2,500 to racing charities like Old Friends at Cabin Creek, Our Mims, the Belmont Child Care Association, and organizations that take care of the backstretch cats. Every dollar donated goes straight to the charities; info on pledging can be found below.
In an abbreviated version of the game last year, long-time Brooklyn Backstretch reader Lynne Cassimeris was our winner, donating $475 to Our Mims, a sanctuary for retired broodmares in Kentucky.
This year’s contest is a point-based fantasy horse racing game based on the Kentucky Derby qualification system. Players will select a fantasy stable consisting of eight Triple Crown-nominated 3-year-old horses, and horses will earn points for the players’ stable with top-4 finishes in official Kentucky Derby qualifying races, racing in the Kentucky Derby, and a top-5 finish in the Kentucky Derby.
Points will be allocated according to the Kentucky Derby points system. Kentucky Derby starters will earn an additional 30 points each; Kentucky Derby points will be, for finishes in the top 5, 300-120-60-30-15.
Mike has divided the Triple Crown-nominated horses into three groups based on criteria including current Derby points standings, graded stakes earnings, and Derby future wagering odds. Group A consists of 12 top horses, Group B 24, and Group C the remaining 378 TC nominations. Players will choose for their stable:
2 Group A horses
3 Group B horses
3 Group C horses
The groups are available in this Google doc.
You must select and post your stable by this Saturday, February 22, by 12:00 PM CST.
After the Sunland Park Derby on March 23, the horses will be divided into two groups (D & E, again grouped by performance criteria above) and stables will be able to add:
1 Group D horse
1 Group E horse
Round 2 of the contest will begin with the UAE Derby on March 29; supplemental horses must be selected by 6:00 PM CDT Friday, March 28. Points earned by Group D and E horses in Round 1 will not count toward the players’ total. A reminder post will go up the week before Round 2 begins.
The contest will conclude with the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3. The winning stable will have the most accumulated points. In the unlikely event of a tie, ties will be broken as follows:
Highest # of Derby Starters in your stable
Highest # of Points at the end of Round 1
Questions? Contact Mike Dorr (mikedorr77@yahoo.com) or me, leave a question in the comments, find us on Twitter (@BklynBckstretch). As questions come in, we’ll post an FAQ.
If you’re interested in contributing, please leave the amount in the comments or e-mail me at Teresa@brooklynbackstretch.com.
We hope that you’ll join us again this year by posting the names of your horses in the comments section by noon CST this Saturday. It will cost you nothing more than a little time to put together your stable, and I’ve already got one donation pledge, which means that at the very least, one person will be able to donate $150 to the racing charity of his or her choice.
Good luck, have fun, and join us to do some good for the racing community.
Brooklyn Backstretch 
count me in! 🙂
Group A horses: Candy Boy, Tamarando
Group B horses: Conquest Titan, Ride On Curlin, Top Billing
Group C horses: Bayern, Coltimus Prime, Hoppertunity
(yes, i’m aware Coltimus Prime is a risk because there’s no good info as to where he’s pointing. but, he’s a risk i’m going to take! let’s see what taking him instead of Extrasexyhippzster, my first-out, does for me…)
Welcome! And good luck with that risk–nothing ventured, nothing gained!
$100, and I’ll 2x if I win (which based on my history in this Contest is a pretty safe bet I won’t be contributing $200)
Group A: Rise Up, Tapiture
Group B: Ride on Curlin, Noble Moon, We Miss Artie
Group C: Gold Hawk, Hoppertunity, No Nay Never
Scott, wow, THANK YOU! That’s incredibly generous and we’re so psyched to have you back this year–best of luck to you!
I’m in!! Will post my picks before the deadline and let you know what my contribution will be this year.
Great, Linda–thanks!
I am in for $75…horses are:
Group A – Commissioner & Tapiture
Group B – Chitu & Top Billing
Group C – Financial Mogul, Gen a Rod & Golden Hawk
Oops…should be Gold Hawk, and add Vicar’s in Trouble to Group B, please!
$75 Donation
Group A- Candy Boy, Commissioner
Group B- Conquest Titan, Samraat, Vicars in Trouble
Group C- Bayern, General a Rod, Tonalist
I’m in for $50
A – Cairo Prince, Honor Code
B – Conquest Titan, Intense Holiday, Top Billing
C – Bourbon Sense, Kristo, Recall Dynaformer
Group A: Cairo Prince, Strong Mandate
Group B: Chitu, Top Billing, Vicar’s in Trouble
Group C: Almost Famous, Constitution, Gold Hawk
LeafLady – Recall Dynaformer broke down in a GP race 2 weeks ago. I need to remove him from the page, but please pick another Group C horse. Sorry – MD
I’m sorry to read about Recall Dynaformer.
Please substitute Penobscot (how could I have missed him, living in Maine as I do?)
Pledge amount: $50
A-Cairo Prince, Tapiture
B-Indianapolis ,Ride on Curlin, Uncle Sigh
C-Get Lucky, Hoppertunity, Bourbonize
OK here goes. I will pledge $50.
Group A: Cairo Prince, Rise Up
Group B: Indianapolis, Ride on Curlin, Top Billing
Group C: Gold Hawk, Hoppertunity, Vinceremos
OK. I’m in. $50 pledge.
A: Cairo Prince, Honor Code.
B: Noble Moon, Tonalist, Top Billing.
C: Constitution, Extrasexyhippzster, Mexikoma.
I’m in
Group A Honor Code, Strong Mandate
Group B Indianapolis, Top Billing, Matterhorn
Group C Bayern , Kristo , Gold Hawk
Heres my try 🙂
A: Cairo Prince (slightly biased for the PotN offspring)
Tapiture
B: Vicars in Trouble
Uncle Sigh
Conquest Titan
C: No Nay Never
Tap It Rich
Wired Bryan (Another biased with local farm ties)
I pledge $25.00. Thank you for organizing this, Teresa! My choices:
Group A:
Cairo Prince
Strong Mandate
Group B:
Indianapolis
Top Billing
Matterhorn
Group C:
Bayern
Gold Hawk
Hartford
I’ll match Scott’s effort: $100 (x2 if I win).
A: Kobe’s Back, Tapiture
B: California Chrome, Samraat, Wicked Strong
C: Baratti, High Ranson, Kid Cruz
OK, here we go. I probably should have posted mine first, so that you’d know which horses to avoid.
Group A: Cairo Prince, Commissioner
Group B: Tanzanite Cat, Midnight Hawk, Samraat
Group C: Vinceremos, Wildcat Red, Bayern
Update, 2/23: Yikes! The contest is barely a day old and we already have a scandal in the making.
After I posted these, I changed my mind and entered my group B in the spreadsheet on Friday night as Tanzanite Cat, Intense Holiday, and Vicar’s in Trouble, but I never changed them here. I know, I know–it sounds terribly fishy but it’s absolutely true, but rest assured: in the unlikely event that I win this thing, I wouldn’t take the money, anyway — it would go to whoever finished second. So I’m going to enjoy this weekend’s wins, as it’s probably the last time I’ll be able to do so!
In for $50, double if I win
A: Candy Boy, Strong Mandate
B: Indianapolis, Top Billing, Vicar’s in Trouble
C: Albano, Bayern, Constitution
cheers, Chris
Group A: Honor Code & Commissioner
Group B: Chitu, Samraat, Conquest Titan
Group C: Bayern, Hoppertunity, Vinceremos
Team Rotondo is IN.
$250 total pledge
Group A: Candy Boy and Cairo Prince
Group B: Chitu, Midnight Hawk and We Miss Artie
Group C: Gold Hawk, Hoppertunity and Tap it Rich
#gethot
#stayhot
Commitment: $50
A: Tapiture, Cairo Prince
B: Cleburne, Conquest Titan, Samraat
C: Gold Hawk, Awesome Sky, Bayern
A: Cairo Prince, Strong Mandate
B: Intense Holiday, Noble Moon, Top Billing
C: Blarp, Mexikoma, Wildcat Red
In the spirit of having mine on record:
A: Havana, Strong Mandate
B: Intense Holiday, Indianapolis, Top Billing
C: Hoppertunity, Kristo, Almost Famous
Put me down for $50
A. Havana, Honor Code
B. Top Billing, Wicked Strong, Midnight Hawk
C. Gen a Rod, Bayern, Constitution
Group A: Tapiture; Honor Code
Group B: Bobby’s Kitten; Indianapolis; Top Billing
Group C: Almost Famous; Extrasexyhippzster; Constitiution
Thanks! This will be fun 🙂
Anyone who has lost faith in humanity needs only to look at these comments to have that faith restored. You all are amazing–I am awed. This donation is up nearly $1,300, and we’ve got a huge group of competitors, which makes it way more fun. Good luck and huge thanks to everyone!
I’ll pledge $50 and double down
A. Cairo Prince, Strong Mandate
B. Top Billing, Samraat, Indianapolis
C. Constitution, Gold Hawk, Mexicoma
In for $50.00
Group A: Candy Boy, Cairo Prince
Group B: Top Billing, Tanzanite Cat, Samraat
Group C: Dunkin Bend, In Trouble, Emmett Park
Group A-honor code, shared belief
Group B- intense holiday, top billing, midnight hawk
Group C- kristo, almost famous,wired bryan
I pledge…$40 and THANK YOU for putting this together!!!
My pledge is $75 and here are my picks:
Group A:
Cairo Prince
Tapiture
Group B:
Top Billing
Vicar’s in Trouble
Intense Holiday
Group C:
Bayern
Hoppertunity
Constitution
A- Bond Holder, Tapiture
B- Top Billing, Vicar’s in Trouble, Indianapolis
C- Bayern, General a Rod, Kristo
Pledge $50 – 2x if I win.
Thanks Teresa!
Good luck to everyone & safe journeys for all of the horses.
$50 Pledge
A: Cairo Prince, Honor Code
B: Indianapolis, Tonalist, Top Billing
C: Bayern, Extrasexyhippzster, Vinceremos
My Pledge is $100.00.
A. Cairo Prince, Honor Code
B. Noble Moon, Uncle Sigh, We Miss Artie
C. Honorable Judge, Lawmaker Ria Antonia
My pledge is 100
A:Commissioner
Havana
B: Uncle Sigh
Top Billing
Coastline
c: General a Rod
Hesinfront
Hoppertunity