Weirdest Derby hunch bets?

[Merlinsky]

People might pick a horse because the jockey has the same last name as their mother's best friend's uncle who died last summer, or maybe they always like the pretty grey horsies. What are the weirdest hunch bets you've heard of for the Kentucky Derby?

I have a friend whose fiance got invited to sit in someone's box at the Oaks/Derby from what I understand, and she's obviously going with him. She's picked her hat, and asked me for a horse. She just wanted a win bet and I was all set to pick one out for her. She's got a weird habit of winning NCAA tourney brackets even though she's Canadian and has zero knowledge of U.S. college basketball. I knew in the end she'd go with gut. I don't know if she'll bet on Oaks day but I insisted she pay attention to the La Troienne just from the standpoint of appreciating a star. I told her to get over the Real Housewives she's looking forward to--that there's another diva with 4 hooves named Rachel who's got much more talent.

I thought about trying to help her handicap, but that was obviously not her thing. Then she says the best story that's likely to win, and I'm sure I don't know all the tearjerkers so I was going to run it by you guys, but I thought to ask her favorite number or numbers just in case. She ended up with 2 and 13 (Ice Box and Jackson Bend), and got good vibes from Ice Box so there ya go. Can I get a rundown of the biggest NBC sob story horses? It's not too late to give her a good sniffle.

[DerbyCat]

Look at the story behind Stately Victor's name... He's named after Victor Perrone, one of the owners best friends who died in an auto accident years ago. My partner is friends with Victor's brother Matt and this story is all I've heard about all week . The Perrone family will be in the owners box and I've been told there won't be a dry eye in that box when My Old Kentucky Home is playing.