FLORENCE, Ky. -- He's a long shot, but at Saturday's Kentucky Derby, there are a lot of reasons why one may want to lay a bet on Fast and Accurate.
Five-and-a-half years ago, Hansen, sprinted seemingly out of nowhere to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Hansen the horse, along with local owner, Dr. Kendall Hansen, went to the Kentucky Derby.
This year, Hansen the human is back at the Derby. Hansen the horse sired one of this year's long shots, Fast and Accurate, and Hansen the human is the owner.
Fast and Accurate is the toast of Turfway Park after winning the Derby prep Spiral Stakes in March. That gave Hansen the human a second chance at a once-in-a-lifetime moment, taking his horse to the Kentucky Derby.
"The numbers are 20,000 or 30,0000 are bred. So with 20 to the Derby, that's once chance in 1,000, and nobody lives to be 1,000 years old," Hansen said. "You can try every day of every year."
Five years ago, Hansen admits he was "eccentric." He has excited and infuriated the sometimes staid horse racing business, such as four years ago at Lexington when he decided to dye Hansen's tail Kentucky blue. That boiled some blue bloods.
"Everybody thinks it's a good idea five years later," Hansen said.
Hansen the owner said he thinks things have been going well for him lately because of his Ukrainian-born bride, Anatashia.
But it may take more than that for a trip to the winner's circle. Fast and Accurate's changes to win the Derby are listed at 50-1.
"We're not going to be embarrassed," he said. "OK, our odds tell us we're going to come in last. And so, I think that's great, 'cause I'm a bit of a bettor. I bet professionally for two years. So when I have a 20 percent chance to win the Kentucky Derby and somebody's going to give me 50-1 odds, I'm going to go to the window."
Fast and Accurate will start third from the rail.
