02/06/2012 7:59PM

The history behind 'Luck' episode 2

By DRF Now
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"Calumet was long considered the crown jewel among Bluegrass horse farms, and its Kentucky Derby record is unparalleled. Since 1935, when founder Warren Wright was at the helm, the farm has bred nine winners, eight of whom it also owned. Two of those winners, Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948, went on to win the Triple Crown. The farm's last Derby success came with Calumet-bred Strike the Gold, who won the race in 1991, just months before Calumet collapsed into bankruptcy and a web of lawsuits after the resignation of its chief at the time, J. T. Lundy. A sordid series of accusations followed, including one alleging that Lundy had ordered the farm's star-crossed stallion, Alydar, killed for insurance money.

"Lundy is serving four and a half years in federal prison for his role in the Calumet bankruptcy on counts of fraud, conspiracy, and bribery. Alydar was found in his stall at Calumet Farm with a broken leg in November 1990 and was euthanized on Nov. 15, with Calumet collecting on a $35 million insurance policy. Prosecutors have failed to connect the stallion's death with Lundy, who has denied any wrongdoing."

- Glenye Cain Oakford, Daily Racing Form

Sound familiar? As Bill Christine noted in his DRF Weekend piece on "Luck" creator David Milch, the controversy surrounding Calumet Farm and Alydar's death provided the inspiration for the story of Delphi, the late sire of trainer Walter Smith's (Nick Nolte) star colt. Smith still seems haunted by the whole affair, which he recounted to jockey Ronnie Jenkins (Gary Stevens) in episode 2 of HBO's horse racing drama "Luck," which aired Sunday.

Meanwhile, the members of the pick six syndicate struggle to deal with their newfound wealth, exercise rider Rosie still hopes for her shot at a breakthrough mount, and we learn why Ace Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) went to prison in the first place.

If you're still sorting out who's who on "Luck," read DRF's character guide.

And if you're on Twitter tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, join a chat organized by the NTRA at hashtag #LuckChat, with Stevens, Chantal Sutherland (Lizzie), and John Ortiz (trainer Turo Escalante) lined up to answer viewer questions.

John Ortiz tweet

Magic Mark 8 months ago
Any thoughts if Gary Stevens/Ronnie is playing his real life good buddy Chris Antley with all the drugs and drinking ?
Bob Chorak 8 months ago
Was excited when I found out about the series, but so far,it's been disappointing. Who is going to pay 30,000 for a horse just claimed for 8,000. Hope there's something good going to happen.
Marcelo 8 months ago
The poster that criticized that gang of 4 not being authentic made me laugh because those characters are loosely based on a betting syndicate at the track that I am a part of. We were at the track last year around this time and David Milch walked up to us, introduced himself, and sat with us shooting the breeze for about half an hour about track life, etc... The show is great and the dialogue is Milchian at its finest.
ed 8 months ago
people should stop the pointing out the minor flaws in the script and remember we are watching an entertaining television show with several very fine actors not a true life event past or present sit back and enjoy something racing fans have been waiting for a long time it will get better if given a chance be POSITIVE
John Boyes 8 months ago
I think its hard for a non-lifetime player such as a scrip or screen writer to really understand and "get" all the racing "jargon" , as Trevor would say, "spot on "..........but its still a good glance at the ways of racing . There is a group of movies among most sports fans that stand up and above when discussing the best of a certain sport, Basketball gets "Hoosiers"...Baseball "Field of Dreams", Golf, "Tin Cup" and I think the fun side of racing has no equal to Richard Dryfus in "Let it Ride" Maybe LUCK will be mentioned in the future as a great racing movie, but I also think it would be well served to re-run on NBC during Breeders Cup week when new fans are bombarded with Breeders Cup commercials.....................................pik their interests, with maybe now I understand a bit, lets go to Santa Anita !
Mike G 8 months ago
I DVR'ed the 2nd episode and turned it off 3/4 thru. The staged races are brutal. I lost count of the plot lines. The characters are annoying. Especially the sterotypical horse players that are for some reason terrified to let anybody know they won the pick 6. Not to mention the jockey agent, that may or may not be mentally challenged. The Horse Racing 101 lessons injected in the dialog are also painfull. I can't see how anybody thinks this show will be good for racing. They make every action that a character does seem like they are doing something underhanded. They would be doing racing a favor is the show was cancelled.
Clemintine 8 months ago
Maybe if we all took a cue from Sherman T. Potter of MASH, who said, ""It's got the three things that make a movie great: Horses, cowboys and more horses!" Then again, he also said, "If a horse thinks he is Man O' War, I might not want to change his opinion!"
Joe 8 months ago
Life imitates art!!! Toro Escalante...uhhh...I mean...Julio Canani just took today's first at Santa Anita with a horse paying $26.20. I wonder if Julio has $3000 in win tickets to cash like Toro?
Philip Messing 8 months ago
A successful show relies upon plot and the characters, so it's perhaps unfair to lambast the show "Luck," based upon a few minor script mistakes, particularly when the show promises to be an amusing look at the underbelly of a sport we all enjoy. That said, it's still rather disappointing that simple plotting errors are so easily discerned, for if the show can't appeal o its core audience -- those of us who read the Racing Form and take this somewhat seriously -- how convincing is it apt tla Not only was there that rather distracting error in episode one that was previously noted about the potential payout for the #2 horse in the Pick-6 suddenly changing -- it went from $300,000, or so to an only-winning-ticket payout of $2.7 million in one screen shot!-- there was a far more annoying error, too, as it involved the central premise of the episode. Specifically, one the four down-on-their luck partners in the Pick-6 construct a ticket that costs about $700, but their play is vastly more expensive. If memory serves me right, their play was 3 x 3 x 4 x 1 x 5 x 9 (the number of entrants in the last leg) x $2 (the cost of a $2 bet). Not to quibble, but that comes to $3,240 -- a far cry from the $700 or so they jointly put up. Again, perhaps such nuances are meaningless to the larger and entertaining plot line that will unfold as the show progresses, but all the same when you see such sloppy lapses in the script, well, it seems to me that it makes it more difficult to suspend one's disbelief and enjoy the show as much as you might like. Best, PhilipM
frank bamford 8 months ago
how about julio and the carrots?he sold carrots to get thru the stable gate. regards,wambam
jeff Fruitman 8 months ago
The probable payoffs for the pick 6 showed 9 betting interests. Horses 1 through 9. When the race started there was a #12 horse running. OOPS Also, the time between the 3rd leg where the "single" (#5) won and the next race was almost immediate. I don`t know who they are using as consultants on this show, but the mistakes are gargantuan. Please respond Jeff
Robin 8 months ago
I was looking forward to LUCK. What a huge disappointment. I guess I should have known...but this really does plumb the depths. I can't understand Dustin Hoffman having anything to do with a production that is so bad. Rule #1...staged races look awful...these are without doubt the worst I have ever seen. Otherwise, the characters are from a time warp...somewhere between The Rockford Files and very bad porn..... What a shame.
beth 8 months ago
LOL! Robin, thank you. I thought I was the only one who found the first episodes rather ridiculous. (Although both Nick Nolte and Gary Stevens give amazing performances.) Why does everyone have to be a cliche? The Gang of Four cover the misfit spectrum. Then we have the plucky Irish exercise rider who must battle sexism to be taken seriously. A mobster named "Ace". Oh, and the agent, he must have a speech impediment. Is this the only way to make the characters memorable? The script is indeed a throwback, with such original lines as "When was the last time you saw your pr**k without a mirror?" (Hi-larious fat joke.) or "Got my disability. Two hundred and fifty-five simoleons." (Who uses that phrase these days?) The staged races are indeed awful--boy they certainly don't put that money into production. They might as well just give the jockeys hobby horses and have them scamper round the track as fast as they can. And I realize that horse racing in So Cal is hurting, but the stands are EMPTY. It's distracting. They couldn't rent the blow up crowds they used in the movie Seabiscuit?
Karl 8 months ago
I have to agree with Robin that all of the races looked staged - jockeys standing in their irons in the last furlong just doesn't cut it. Also, did anyone notice the miraculous change in the payout on #2 from the 1st episode?
Rose Cola 8 months ago
I knew that Delphi was Alydar from the first time trainer Walter Smith mentioned it! I was probably the last fan to see Alydar alive. My husband and I were in Kentucky in Oct. 1990 and that was before people were allowed to visit the stud farms in mass. Calumet was very gracious to say yes to my phone call asking them to allow us to visit many of my childhood heroes. He was such a beauty and I loved my time with him feeding him carrots at his paddock fence.
hialeah 8 months ago
I actually talked to someone at a Super Bowl party, and they said that they stumbled on the first episode of "Luck". Now this person really does book acts into a venue, and he said he liked the show. He then added, "If I hadn't stumbled on it, I never would have watched it." Despite a Seabiscuit photo on the wall in the hall, few others, at the SB party, would even consider horse racing. All the girls were up on the "talent" shows, however. Can we get a horse to sing?
Bruce Friday 8 months ago
There was another historical reference in episode two. Nick Nolte reminds Gary Stevens of his "Pimlico Hell" when the blue-bloods were after him. This would seem to be a reference to the '88 Preakness when Woody Stephens directed Pat Day on Forty Niner (Claiborne) to keep Winning Colors (with Gary Stevens aboard) from winning. Day herded Winning Colors for most of the race allowing Risen Star a perfect rail trip and perhaps cost Winning Colors the win. Woody was widely criticized for the display of poor sportsmanship including a rare, front page editorial in the DRF.
Robin 8 months ago
Bruce...comments like this just confirm why racing is going down the drain..