Bad Luck Board Reconvenes for Dessman in Oaklawn Race 4 on March 16

Hours before Improbable and Game Winner came up short in their respective divisions of the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, Dessman was the first of three odds-on favorites sent out by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to disappoint his legion of supporters. In the fourth race, an entry-level allowance for three-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles, Dessman was sent away as the 1-2 favorite. The Triple Crown-nominated son of Union Rags had won on debut by more than seven lengths, and his most recent start he had missed by a nose in the San Vicente (G2), also at Santa Anita. Possessing a class edge sometimes isn’t enough. When the gates sprung open, Dessman was momentarily left standing still and conceded his main rivals several lengths. Last entering the first turn, he proceeded to stalk the pace five wide behind a moderate pace. Though only a length behind the eventual winner with an eighth to go, the energy expended to make up the early deficit deprived him of a winning kick against a potentially good horse like Last Judgment. We at TwinSpires.com consider Dessman’s loss to be bad luck and in part unforeseeable via normal handicapping processes. In our quest to do things differently, TwinSpires has instituted a Bad Luck Board. Every Monday, TwinSpires will select a race from the preceding weekend in which we feel unforeseen circumstances or just plain bad luck cost our players and compensate them. In our attempt to deliver a win one loss at a time, TwinSpires will compensate players who bet $10 or more to Win on Dessman. Players will be compensated $15, the amount a $10 Win wager would have paid had Dessman won. Hear from the Bad Luck Board on Oaklawn Race 4 with Dessman: