The trainer of Rich Strike, the 80-1 long shot that won Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, is getting blowback about a crude tweet he allegedly posted about Vice President Kamala Harris.
Eric Reed, trainer of the second-biggest long shot in the 148-year history of the Run for the Roses, was asked on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” program if he was the author of a tweet saying Harris was “good on her knees.” The tweet was sent by a Twitter user who has the same name and goes by @daddyrabbit1964. His answer was ambiguous.
“I haven’t seen anything about it,” Reed told ESPN host John Barr. “Haven’t been told about it. I don’t know what’s going on out there. I’m more concerned with Richie and what’s going on with us, and this great horse, and how much he’s helping everybody. So, there’s haters out there, and that’s about how I’m gonna leave something like that.”
If you think it’s too good to be true…
His account is now private. pic.twitter.com/svGfX5W556
— Teresa Genaro (@BklynBckstretch) May 8, 2022
The response was to a question posed on Twitter by former adviser to President Trump Sebastian Gorka.
“So what exactly are Kamala’s qualifications?” Gorka asked his followers.
“Heard she’s good on her knees!!” was the response from @daddyrabbit1964.
Eric Reed, (r), trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, was asked if he posted a crude tweet about Vice President Kamala Harris. (Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The @daddyrabbit1964 Twitter account is private, but its bio reportedly identifies daddyrabbit1964 as a “Horse trainer and Reagan conservative. Fantasy Football fanatic, Owner of Mercury Equine Center.” Rich Strikes’s home track is the Mercury Equine Center.
In Saturday’s race at Churchill Downs, Rich Strike, which closed at 80-1 odds — the longest of any horse in the field of 20 — won by 3/4 of a length over Epicenter and third-place finisher Zandon. It was the second-largest upset in the race’s history Saturday. Rich Strike’s team won $1.86 million of the Derby’s $3 million purse.
The only time a horse overcame longer odds to win the race was in 1913, when Donerail triumphed after closing as a 91-1 longshot. Rich Strike was only added to the field Friday after Ethereal Road dropped out.
The colt was an even bigger underdog in Las Vegas, where some sports books had him as long as 300-1.
Former President Donald Trump was among the spectators, becoming the first former president to attend the Kentucky Derby since 2000, when George H.W. Bush attended. Former President Richard Nixon is the only president to attend the race while in office, watching in 1969 when Majestic Prince won.