February 16th - Giacomo

Before the world embraced Zenyatta, Jerry Moss had another famous horse, Giacomo, the winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby. They don't have much in common in pedigree, but maybe in name. You see, Giacomo is named after the son of musician Sting, who recorded on the A&M label founded by Moss and Herb Albert. Sting came to prominence as a member of the band The Police whose albums included Zenyatta Mondatta and there you have it.

Giacomo was by Holy Bull. I noticed that Jerry's email address had "Bull" in it, and I always meant to ask if there was a Holy Bull connection. Jerry passed in the last couple of years, and I never did ask him.

Let me give you my story of the 2005 Derby. I went as a guest of client. We sat in the Silks Room. I figured we'd see the track, but at Churchill these side rooms are surrounded by TVs. You must go outside to see the track. My friend spent days handicapping all the races for that day. We arrived well before the first race and hit the ground running as we “the four of us" teamed up to bet on the races. We hit exacts should this be exacta? in almost every race leading up to the Kentucky Derby. I personally think High Fly was the horse to beat. It was a warm day that Saturday and I liked the horses coming in from warmer tracks. Bellamy Road was the favorite in the Derby, coming down from New York after a win in the Wood Memorial. High Fly had won a few stakes races at Gulfsteam and ran second once. He had won the Florida Derby. His one loss came to Closing Argument. Meanwhile, Giacomo was coming in from California, but he generally was being overlooked with odds at about 50-1.

As the four of us kept winning races, our group's leader kept adding to his Derby exacts bets. When the race was over, my friend had a $10 exacta of Giacomo at 50-1 with Closing Argument for second at 70-1. That was good for another $35,000.

Also, in the silks room was a group of soldiers from Ft. Campbell Air Force base. I'm guessing that it was between 50 and 100 soldiers. My friend, Ron, bought a round of drinks for all the soldiers and about 20 minutes later, bought them all a second round of drinks. About this time O. J. Simpson wandered into the Silks room. My buddy paid the security guards (a lot) to walk O.J. out of the private room. The guards took a moment to take selfies with O.J. while the crowd booed them. As they escorted him out of the room, the crowd began to cheer wildly.

Ah, but the best was yet to come. My friend was so ahead that he bet on the last two races: trifectas and he bet ALL over ALL over ALL. The bets alone cost $1,300 and $1,500 and when luck is with you, you just have to accept that it's your day. The longest shots on the board hit in both races and made money both times.

The Trifecta on the 2005 Kentucky Derby with Giacomo, Closing Argument, and Afleet Alex paid over $180,000 and was dubbed the Golden Trifecta. For years, this painting was called the Golden Trifecta as it featured that moment when Mike Smith took Giacomo wide around the other passing Closing Argument who was passing the stretch leader Afleet Alex. The three would be spread out by the time they reached the finish line. It this one particular stride when all three horses were lined up side by side. It's an amazing photo that was taken by my brother down on the rail. I think it's one of the best racing photos I've ever seen, but he never showed it to anyone to not take away from the painting. Without Brian's incredible photo, this painting never would have happened.