Oaks Day -- Softball Visits Pitt -- What Day Is It -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Oaks Day!

On May 19, 1975, less than 10,000 people found their way to Churchill Downs for the inaugural Kentucky Oaks, trailing the inaugural Kentucky Derby by two days.  Originally 1 1/2 miles, the race was lessened to 1 1/4 miles and eventually 1 1/16 miles before being raised up to its current distance of 1 1/8 miles in 1982.

Now, the Kentucky Oaks is run on the day before the Kentucky Derby, the Friday before the first Saturday of May.  Three year old fillies line up in front of a crowd over 100,000 in hopes of being able to have a garland of lilies draped over them.

The Kentucky Oaks ranks number one in horse racing attendance in regards to races that are not part of the Triple Crown.  It is common for patrons to wear pastel-colored suits or spring dresses as well as a chance for the women to showcase the "southern belle tradition" of extravagant head ware for both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.

Betting

Whether you are a pro handicapper or an amateur betting has been a popular tradition for everyone who walks through the gates of Churchill Downs.  However, types of bets and terms can confuse the newbies.

WIN- betting on a horse to finish first.
PLACE- betting on a horse to finish first or second.
SHOW- betting on a horse to finish first, second or third.
ACROSS THE BOARD- betting to win, place, and show. You're making and paying for three different bets. If your horse finishes first you get payouts for win, place, and show. If your horse finishes second you get payouts for place and show.  If your horse finishes third you get the payout for show.
WIN/PLACE- betting to win and place. You're making and paying for two different bets. If your horse finishes first you get payouts for win and place. If your horse finishes second you get the payout for place.
PLACE/SHOW- betting to place and show. You're making and paying for two different bets. If your horse finishes second you get payouts for place and show. If your horse finishes third you get the payout for show.

EXACTA- betting on two horses to finish first and second in exact order.
QUINELLA- betting on two horses to finish first and second in any order.
TRIFECTA- betting on three horses to finish first, second, and third in exact order.
SUPERFECTA- betting on four horses to finish first, second, third, and fourth in exact order.
DAILY DOUBLE- betting on two horses to win back-to-back races
PICK 3- betting on three horses to win three races in a row
PICK 4- betting on four horses to win four races in a row
Although tellers have become more relaxed about how you introduce your bet the traditional way is racetrack (unless you are at that facility already), race number, amount of bet, type of bet, horse number.

For example, if you are betting on a horse on the Longines Kentucky Oaks you would say "Churchill Downs, race 11, $2 to win, horse 10."

For the latest in handicapping our very own expert Paul Sykes breaks it down for you on his site http://pauliesykes.blogspot.com/.  This guy is good, folks.  He doesn't guarantee you will walk away on top, but odds are you will.  LINK: HANDICAPPING HEROES OAKS DAY SELECTIONS

Someone came into the bank the other day to offer betting advice by going with the horse's name followed by "between the sheets".  By that standard my Oaks pick is Eskimo Kisses and my Derby picks are Promises Fulfilled and Good Magic.  I would not advise this as a good way to bet if you hope to come out on top.

Softball Visits Pittsburgh to Conclude Regular Season

The travel socks crew is coming down to their final few trips as Louisville softball (32-17, 10-10) visits Pittsburgh this weekend.  They will have a chance to showcase their fancy socks on their trip to Atlanta, and hopefully to an NCAA Tournament location after that.

Megan Hensley continues to heat up.  After pitching a majority of the game Wednesday and hitting the go-ahead grand slam the junior from Ashland hopes to strengthen her case for All-American with strong performances in the three games against the Panthers.  She has now surpassed 100 career RBIs and is tied for tenth in program history.  Her 25th career home run moves her to tenth in program for that category, just one homer shy of tying Cardinal-great Maryssa Becker.  Her four career grand slams are tied for first in program history.

Sidney Melton is 15-for-15 in stolen bases and has moved into tenth in program history in stolen bases.  Celene Funke is 16-for-17 in stolen bases and needs one more steal to move into the top ten in program history for successful stolen bases in one season.

Nicole Pufahl also homered in the win against Marshall.  By crossing the plate she has scored 115 times in her career.  If she scores two more times she will move into the top ten in program history in career runs scored.

Pitt is 29-17-1 and had an eight-game win streak before falling to Ohio State earlier this week.  They're second in the ACC and first in the Coastal division with a conference record of 14-6.

Louisville is eighth in the ACC currently.  Depending on what they do and how other teams fare they could climb to as high as sixth or drop down to ninth.  The 8- and 9-seeds will battle it out with the winner taking on 1-seed Florida State in the conference tournament.  The 7- and 10-seeds will face each other with the victor taking on the to-be-determined 2-seed in the tournament.

Louisville is nowhere to be found in or near the Top 25 rankings.  Their RPI clocked in at 39th before their Wednesday game.  One can assume it stayed the same or rose due to the win.

64 teams make the NCAA Tournament.  Similar to baseball the first round is a regional consisting of a four-team double elimination tournament.  The regional winners will advance to the super regional, where two teams will battle it out in a best-of-3 series.  Eight teams will earn a trip to Oklahoma City where its another four-team double elimination tournament and the championship being another best-of-3.

What day is it?

If you haven't figured it out from the top half of the article it's Oaks Days!  It is also national Star Wars Day - May the Fourth (Force) Be With You!

Grab candied orange peels, orange juice, or have a healthy snack (lunch hero day) for your food holidays.  It is also a day to celebrate space, respect for chickens, and to promote anti-bullying.

Being a musician I must recognize that it is also national tuba day, my secondary instrument back in my music major days.  The 2014 football season involved me parading around Papa John's Cardinal Stadium with a sousaphone on my shoulder and back.

Happy Friday and Oaks Day!  May the Force be with You as you follow Paulie's advice on your betting today!

- Jared -