Kentucky Derby Dream Bet Winner Expects Sleepless Nights Before Making $10,000 Bet

What he does expect is some sleepless nights leading up to the First Saturday in May trying to land on a horse for his $10,000 bet. So far Arkansas Derby winner Classic Empire and Sunland Park Derby winner Hence are on his short list, but he expects that list grow to 4-5 before it narrows to one.

“I’ll see how they’re training and read all the reports on the TwinSpires blog and go from there,” Steadman said. “It’s a really interesting year because it does seem so wide open. I’ll probably have a lot of sleepless nights. My daughter Maisy watches races with me and always cheers for #3, so that might make my decision easier. I’ll be saying ‘come on 8!’ and she’ll say, ‘no, dad, 3!’”

"I usually try to play longshots, but with the Blue Grass didn’t think much pace and knew Irap would be near the lead and that he could get at least second," Steadman said. "Senior Investment was more luck that I got to see him run at Oaklawn, and I was at Oaklawn [for the Arkansas Derby] when he was running so I made him my play."

In addition to a $10,000 win bet on this year’s Kentucky Derby, Steadman wins an all-expenses paid trip to Louisville to make the bet live at Churchill Downs. The prize package also includes tickets to the Kentucky Oaks and VIP experiences such as Thurby in The Mansion and stable area tours.

"This is a bucket list item for me, so I'm glad to be checking it off my list," Steadman said. "I got into racing because of the Kentucky Derby. A friend took me to an OTB for the 2000 Derby, and I've been hooked on racing since."

Steadman’s final score of $352.50 (based on the results of six $5 win-place bets) was $23 more than Marvin Cauthorn of Oklahoma. However, weep no more for Cauthorn, who still wins $1,000 and two tickets to the 2018 Kentucky Derby and Oaks.

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