LINK: How Jim Boeheim became part owner of a Derby long shot (that races under blue-and-white checkerboard silks)

The Syracuse Orangemen made it to the Sweet 16 as an 11-seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. On Saturday, Jim Boeheim will be hoping for another Cinderella run, this time at Churchill Downs.

Boeheim is part owner of Hidden Stash, one of the long shots in the Kentucky Derby. He was gifted a very small share — “two hairs on the tail,” in his words — by his friend Adam Weistman, a New York businessman and Syracuse super fan who told Dana O’Neil he just wanted to cheer Boeheim up.

“He’s so miserable and grumpy, and he never liked any gifts I gave him,’’ Weitsman says. “Shoes, jackets, he’d just complain. So I bought him a share of this horse. I didn’t think he’d be very good. And now he’s going to the Derby. That’s his luck.’’

[The Athletic]

Funnily enough, Boeheim’s horse will be running under the blue-and-white checkerboard silks of BBN Racing, an ownership group founded by Brian Klatsky and Brendan O’Brien. The duo played college basketball and Klatsky founded Team Rio National, an Under Armour-sponsored grassroots team whose roster included former five-star prospects Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine (you may remember it was the center of some scandal in 2018).

Hidden Stash Wraps Up Serious Derby Preparations https://t.co/fWAq1SXIzN @BH_FAngst #TC2021 pic.twitter.com/tzAt2Mziy1

— BloodHorse (@BloodHorse) April 23, 2021

Hidden Stash was bred at Rhineshire Farm in Kentucky, purchased by Weitsman and O’Brien in September 2019 at Keeneland, and is trained by Victoria Oliver, the only female trainer in the Derby field. He finished ten lengths behind Essential Quality, the Derby favorite, in the Blue Grass Stakes and is currently one of six horses with 50-1 odds. So, his chances of winning Saturday aren’t great; in Boeheim’s terms, “this would be like the 68th team in the field winning the national championship.’’

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[The Athletic]