“How do I play [the horses]? Probably unwisely and too aggressively,” Kornacki said. “But I just enjoy the challenge. I liken it to trying to put together a puzzle with a thousand pieces. If you can ever get the combination just right, there's this feeling of satisfaction, a real rush that comes with that. So I'm always chasing that kind of rush. We did three of the final [Derby] prep races, the Wood, the Blue Grass and the Santa Anita Derby, on NBC a couple of weeks ago and they asked me–I think they were trying to spare me the embarrassment–if I wanted to pick them on the air. I said, 'Sure, I'll go ahead and take some shots,' and I went 0-for-3, but I knew that was a distinct possibility. And there was a part of me, when I went for some prices, that said maybe I should go with a safer pick like Mo Donegal in the Wood. But that's how I approach it. I'm always more interested in 8-1 than 2-1.”

Asked about his approach to his acclaimed election coverage and how it compares to his new gig analyzing racing, Kornacki said, “The comparison would be in the run-up to the election and the run-up to whatever race we're covering, you're looking for potential angles that can provide some insight and context. For instance, in 2020, we were very mindful that the polls systematically failed in 2016. They had undercounted [Donald] Trump support. They had overestimated Democratic support. So in the month leading up to the election, we were always trying to adjust the polling averages and say, 'If the same error applies in 2020 that applied in 2016, here's what the numbers look like now.' Suddenly you went from [Joe] Biden blowouts to these razor-thin Biden margins, and it turns out that is pretty much exactly what happened on Election Night. That's why it stretched into Election Week. That's the kind of context we're trying to provide. Now I'm looking at this Kentucky Derby field and asking myself what I can contribute on race day and in the run-up to it? Which prep races have had the best track record [with Derby runners], which horses have the best final furlong times, Beyer Speed Figures? I think a big one in the Derby is in this [qualifying] points era, being at or near the front of the pack at every point of call has been huge and a total departure from what it was before. So I look for those kinds of angles, whether it's politics or horse racing.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, Bianca and Finley discussed what the closure of harness track Pompano Park could portend for racing, the exciting and growing new technology being used to detect potential breakdowns before they happen and a big upcoming weekend for older fillies and mares. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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“I knew he wasn't going to bring much because no one was looking at him,” she said.

A few minutes later, Medina Spirit would be hers, forever remembered as the GI Kentucky Derby winner who sold for $1,000 as a yearling.

It's the umpteenth reminder about how beautifully unpredictable this sport can be. The Derby field included horses who sold for $525,000, $725,000, $650,000, $950,000, plus a handful of beautifully bred homebreds. But these sons of super sires Tapit, Into Mischief, Curlin and others didn't have what it took to win the Kentucky Derby. A bargain-basement colt did.

“That's what is so great about this sport,” Whitman said. “Anybody could have bought the Derby horse. Anybody could have put up $1,000 and had a Kentucky Derby winner. That's what makes horse racing so special.”

One of Whitman's exercise riders, Jose Gallego, asked her to see if she could buy on his behalf an inexpensive horse that could be sold for a profit at the 2-year-old sales the following year. Whitman had a small budget and modest plans for the purchase.

“I've always been on a bit of a budget and I don't have a lot of money to spend on a horse,” she said. “I kind of have a knack for finding horses everyone else is overlooking, whether they are immature or maybe have a slight issue. I am looking for diamond-in-the-rough horses. I have honed that skill over the years because that's the only way I've been able to get horses bought.”

She realized that Medina Spirit's pedigree page was not a selling point. The sire, Protonico, who never won a Grade I race and stood at the time for $5,000, was hardly in demand. And on the dam's side you had to go back three generations before finding any blacktype. This was the first foal from a mare, Mongolian Changa (Brilliant Speed), who won one of six starts and earned just $25,970.

“He had all the things I look for,” she said. “He was really well balanced, had a really good hip and top line, was decently correct, athletic and had a good walk to him. I really liked the colt and nobody was looking at him and that was because of his page. With the mare there was pretty much no blacktype and it was her first foal. I didn't even know who Prontonico was. I had to look him up. This was a really nice colt, pretty well put together, but I knew he wasn't going to bring much because absolutely no one was looking at him.”

Whitman opened the bidding on Medina Spirit at $1,000. It was the only bid for the horse.

Gallego broke the horse and Whitman had him back in the Ocala sales ring for last year's July 2-Year-Old Sale.

Whitman was starting to believe that the $1,000 yearling had some talent, but she and Gallego stuck to their plan. Medina Spirit worked three furlongs in :33 flat prior to the sale, which, Whitman knew, would mean there would at least be some interest in him. He was bought by Gary Young, the agent for Zedan Racing Stables for $35,000.

“He sold for the $35,000, basically, because he had a good work,” Whitman said. “If he hadn't had that, he would have been a $10,000 2-year-old. I thought $35,000 for a $1,000 yearling was a pretty good turnaround.”

Whitman will occasionally keep a horse and race them, but she never gave that a thought with Medina Spirit.

“If I had kept the horse and raced him, he would have never made it to the Derby,” she said. “It takes a lot of things coming together to make that happen. He's a good horse, but it is important that he wound up with a good trainer in Bob Baffert. Everything fell into place for him.”

Whitman may never again come across another horse like Medina Spirit, but she will keep trying. She looks for horses that have been overlooked for one reason or another and doesn't worry about their breeding.

“One thing I've always been adamant about is that a lot of people overlook a horse for what I would say are stupid reasons, like their page,” she said. “The horses don't know what their pedigree looks like. They don't know what you paid for them. Just because a horse has a great pedigree does not necessarily mean they are going to be a great horse. I very much go for the individual. If I like the horse I don't care about their page. It's always easier to sell a horse who is an athlete, whether it has the pedigree or not.”

Speed Wins

It's no coincidence that Bob Baffert's two most recent Derby winners won the race in wire-to-wire fashion. Baffert and jockey John Velazquez clearly understand the importance of using early speed as a weapon in the Derby.

In five prior starts, Medina Spirit went wire to wire only once, but there he was on the lead at every call for the Derby. Of course, it didn't hurt that Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) got off to a poor start.

A year earlier, it was the same story. Authentic (Into Mischief) wasn't always on the lead in his starts prior to the 2020 Kentucky Derby. But in his Derby, he led every step of the way under Velazquez and had a relatively easy time holding off the heavy favorite Tiz the Law (Constitution).

Kornacki Picks the Winner

Medina Spirit wasn't an easy horse to come up with, but at least one person from the NBC team was not fooled. Working his first-ever Kentucky Derby broadcast, Steve Kornacki nailed it and was the only one from the NBC talent pool who picked the winner.

Kornacki is best known for his work as a national correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, but is also a long-time racing fan and horseplayer. He brought a lot of insights to the broadcast, in particular his explanation of how the $2-million-plus win bet on Essential Quality (Tapit) by Jim McIngvale affected the odds on the other horses.

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Kornacki, who has been widely lauded for his ability to easily communicate the complex election process, will apply his unique analytical perspective in “Meet the Contenders” segments on the Kentucky Derby field. In addition, he will offer insight on notable betting trends.

Last fall, Kornacki brought his election-style coverage to Football Night in America, breaking down the NFL playoff picture.

“After successfully tackling FNIA, we're excited to have Steve join our Kentucky Derby team,” said Rob Hyland, Coordinating Producer of NBC Sports' Kentucky Derby coverage and Football Night in America. “We expect he will be right at home working a sport that includes terms like neck-and-neck, down-to-the-wire, and dead heat.”

“It's going to be a thrill to be at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May, something I've wanted to do since the very first Derby I watched as a kid in 1987,” Kornacki said. “To get to play a role with the NBC Sports team, which I've been a fan of for years, is an honor.”

Kornacki, who will be making his first trip to Churchill Downs, is a native of Groton, Massachusetts, and regularly attended races at nearby Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park in his teens and as a Boston University student. One of his earliest horse racing memories came when an uncle took him to the harness races at Scarborough Downs in Maine. He picked five consecutive winners. It's a performance he's spent the last three decades trying to replicate.

NBC SPORTS GROUP AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports Group is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Royal Ascot, and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown.

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Kornacki, who has been praised for his ability to explain the complicated election process, will apply his analytical perspective in segments entitled “Meet the Contenders.” He will also offer insights on notable betting trends.

Kornacki also contributed to NBC's Football Night in America programming over the winter, where he broke down the oft-confusing NFL playoff scenarios.

“After successfully tackling FNIA, we're excited to have Steve join our Kentucky Derby team,” said Rob Hyland, Coordinating Producer of NBC Sports' Kentucky Derby coverage and Football Night in America. “We expect he will be right at home working a sport that includes terms like neck-and-neck, down-to-the-wire, and dead heat.”

“It's going to be a thrill to be at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May, something I've wanted to do since the very first Derby I watched as a kid in 1987,” Kornacki said. “To get to play a role with the NBC Sports team, which I've been a fan of for years, is an honor.”

Click for a Bill Finley feature on Kornacki from this past February.

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Kornacki is well known to NBC and MSNBC viewers and political junkies. For hours before and after each election, stationed in front of an electoral map, he's the one making sense of the numbers, trends and voting patterns. Able to continue on for days at a time without sleep, Kornacki has been called a national treasure. That doesn't leave Kornacki with a lot of free time, but he still manages to carve out a few hours every weekend to enjoy one of his favorite hobbies, betting the races. He normally has Saturdays off, so that's when he takes a deep dive into the past performances and bets on the major tracks running that day.

Like many, Kornacki, 41, was introduced to racing by a relative. He had an uncle who owned a business in Maine and would take his young nephew to the harness races at Scarborough Downs.

“I was pretty young when I got into it,” he said. “My uncle owns a beach store in Southern Maine and when I was six or seven years old, he took me one night during the summer to Scarborough Downs. This was the late eighties, so there was no simulcasting or anything. It was just the trotters. I picked five straight winners that night. He still talks about that and he didn't bet any of them. I don't think I've had a night like that since.”

It was that same uncle who taught him a system, the 13 system. Kornacki acknowledges that it may be a silly way to play the races, but he still incorporates it into his handicapping.

“It might be the stupidest system you've ever heard of, but we swear by it,” he said. “It's called the 13 system. My uncle got it from a guy who was a jockey agent back at Suffolk Downs in the sixties. It's very simple. The last three finishes, if they add up to a 13 you bet the horse. It's the first thing I look for now when I get a program. I go through every race and circle them. Last Saturday at Aqueduct, in the second to last race, the winner was 19-1 and he was a 13 horse. It forces you to take a horse you otherwise would never take. When they come in, you can hit a big payout.”

Kornacki grew up in Groton, Massachusetts, a short distance from Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park, and would spend many a day or night at those tracks while in high school or later at college at Boston University. Starting with Alysheba in 1987, he began following the Triple Crown races closely every year.

Someone with an analytical mind, he's moved on from picking names and numbers and relying solely on the 13 system. Kornacki enjoys trying to solve the handicapping puzzle and though he says he's not very good at it, there have been some memorable hits along the way.

“The biggest payout I ever got when I really handicapped a race would have been the 2002 Pacific Classic,” he said. “My horse was Came Home. War Emblem was running and all the money was on War Emblem. I believed in Came Home, loaded up on him, and he won.”

Politics and horse racing don't exactly go together, but Kornacki finds that he often uses racing terms when analyzing an election. With 90% of the precincts reporting, Kornacki might say that election is coming “down the stretch.” On the night of the New Hampshire primary, he mentioned Rockingham Park when going over the vote totals for Rockingham County.

“What everybody seems to notice is when I use the terminology,” he said. “Unconsciously, I use so much of the language of horse racing because it applies to a political race and to election returns. I've definitely done that a lot on the air.”

From time to time, he gets to talk actual racing. A few years ago, he was hosting a show on MSNBC on the night before the GI Kentucky Derby and the subject turned to the race.

“I was sitting in for Brian Williams and we did a Kentucky Derby preview,” Kornacki said. “I told them at the outset that my track record was not that impressive. They ran a banner at the bottom of the screen that said 'Steve is really bad at picking horses.' I definitely didn't have the winner.”

After the 2020 election, NBC decided to let Kornacki branch out and he was used on NFL broadcasts. Using the same style he uses for political races, Kornacki broke down the NFL playoff picture.

“I loved doing that,” he said. “I was so psyched to get that opportunity. I am an NFL fan, so I didn't think, in terms of the subject that it would be a reach for me. My concern when they first reached out to me was that I didn't want it to become gimmicky. We did playoff probabilities, which was the perfect way in. The minute we put the graphics together I could see that it was a logical extension of what I've been doing. I hope it didn't come across as a gimmick at all because it was real information and the spotting of trends.”

With NBC having the rights to the Triple Crown races and the Breeders' Cup, perhaps there is a way to include Kornacki and what he does on racing broadcasts. He's not quite sure how that would work, but says if it ever came up he would be interested., even if he's not the best handicapper out there.

“From my standpoint, I'd love to see if there is something possible with the racing shows,” he said. “They have Eddie O (Olczyk) to do the handicapping. My friends and family have said don't let them talk you into doing the handicapping because you'll embarrass yourself. That's probably right. So we probably will have to come up with something else for me to do.”

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