What a payday for anyone who bet on Mine that Bird! The horse went off at 50 to 1 odds and scored the second biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history and the second biggest payday.

In case you are under the impression that Mine that Bird was a broken down nag, he is the son of 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone which makes it even more amazing that Mine that Bird was purchased by Toronto horse trainer Dave Cotey two years ago for only $9,500. Mine That Bird won four races, three of them stakes races, at Woodbine last year and was voted Canada’s top two year old male. Dave Cotey decided to sell the horse because he is a gelding and could never earn any money from breeding. Last fall a New Mexico group bought Mine that Bird for $400,000.

Clearly no one thought that Mine that Bird was a Derby contender with odds at 50 to 1. Not only did he contend, but we won by an impressive 6 ¾ lengths for a purse of $1.4 million USD. Jockey Calvin Borel ran a magnificent race holding him back and then bringing him home along the rails before he broke away and scored an amazing win. Calvin Borel’s nickname is Bo-rail because he uses the strategy of bringing the horse up along the rails as often as possible and this is a strategy that clearly works for Borel. He won the Derby two years ago astride Street Sense the same way.

Mine that Bird paid off $103.20, $54 and $25.80; place was worth $8.40 and $6.40, and a show ticket paid $12.