Derby long shot Giacomo pays off with a wealth of feel-good stories

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | 10:51 a.m.

SUN WIRE SERVICES

Tom Ritchie does not claim to be a great handicapper, nor does he say he knew Giacomo would run a big race in the Kentucky Derby. There was just something about the 50-1 long shot's name that he liked. It reminded him of the former Rangers goaltender Ed Giacomin.

It may be an unsophisticated way to bet a race, but there is nothing wrong with being lucky. Ritchie, from Kinnelon, N.J., and his longtime friend Brian Wien, an Allentown, N.J., resident, turned their propensity for betting names and hunches into a small fortune Saturday.

They decided they would place superfecta bets combining Afleet Alex, Giacomo and several other long shots, hoping they could stumble into a nice payday.

They wound up holding a ticket worth $864,254, one of seven $1 tickets sold in North America on the winning superfecta combination on the Derby.

The superfecta requires a bettor to pick the first four finishers in exact order in a race.

Of the seven $1 tickets sold across the country, one belonged to Phoenix firefighter Chris Hertzog, who thought he'd lost his winning ticket until the mutuel clerk who'd sold him the ticket at Turf Paradise found the misplaced slip of paper next to the machine where he'd made his bet.