Kentucky Derby pick -- from the library shelves

Sometimes, like now, when Derby mania has reached a frenzied peak, I remember I'm still relatively new to all of this horse racing stuff.

After being dragged to the 2005 Belmont Stakes, I followed the horses I'd seen live, like Afleet Alex (not many races to follow, but lots of articles about how he was enjoying those peppermints while he healed up) and Giacomo (he finally won the San Diego Handicap in July 2006). Heck, I even have a soft spot for Pinpoint (whom we saw again last month at Keeneland.)

Then we trekked back to Belmont for the Breeders' Cup, and added a few more horses to the "Remember When We Saw Him Run at Belmont" Stable: Better Talk Now, who runs again today in the Woodford Reserve, and Ace, who merits mention after filling that nice exacta for me. And of course, Lost in the Fog, who broke our hearts.

So, when the Derby Trail of 2006 rolled around, frankly I was still more interested in horses I'd actually seen run and simply didn't pay attention to all of that "Sweetnorthernsaint worked 4 furlongs uphill both ways today" and "Brother Derek is receiving a special blend of California raisins and Kentucky bourbon" pre-race hype.

This year, though I'm finally catching on to the whole hoopla of the thing, I still find the massive amounts of pre-Derby information overwhelming. What does it all mean? For an answer, I can only turn, once again, to the card catalog. Though I expected the librarian's secret weapon to provide a playable horse, this time, it' given me a trainer with its selection of Traits of a Winner: The Formula for Developing Thoroughbred Racehorses by .... Carl Nafzger!



And we can't forget about this previous Card Catalog pick from November 2006 that paid something like 15-1:



Seldom is the catalog so sensible; let's hope it's lucrative as well! Good luck, y'all!

Note: Once again, a special shout-out to library techno-genius John Blyberg for his fabulous Catalog Card generator.