Episode 3 - January
17
Previously on AMERICAN
DREAM DERBY, Dean won a weighted foot race in
the Owner's Challenge and picked Jewel, Levar and Chris
to join her in the mansion. Aaron was the winner of a
MESSY Stablehand Challenge by noticing horses and
digging through oats to get the names right. Jewel and
Deanna were picked to go through the Guts Match and,
like last time, Deanna won it, earning $5000 more
for herself and making Jewel depart.
The next day, the ten remaining owner-wannabes have a
hot lunch in the clubhouse. They're all thinking about
yesterday and how Gad-awful Jewel's choice of horses
was. Even Deanna, who has won TWO Guts Matches so far,
couldn't believe how poorly Jewel chose. Aaron thinks it
was just luck and Susan thinks she can out-think her.
Dean and Levar are close to an alliance.
OK, it's time for another Owner's Challenge
to find out who's sleeping in luxury and who's sleeping
in the hay tonight. Your host Steve Santagati explains
the game. On the DiamondVision toteboard, horse-related
questions will appear. The answer to each question is a
number. Steve will go down the line asking for answers.
If they're wrong, Steve will say higher or lower for the
next player to answer. Whoever gets it right can knock
out any player of their choosing. After nine questions,
the last one standing gets $1000 added to their cash
card, becomes Lead Owner and chooses three players to
join them and give $500 to.
Question #1: How many horses played the role of "Seabiscuit"?
Tara C. says 6, but it's higher. Chris says 10...and is
right! He kicks out Deanna.
Question #2: By how many lengths did Secretariat win the
1973 Belmont Stakes? Eric says 6 1/2 (higher), Susan
says 31 (right). Dean is gone.
Question #3: How many months did the Pony Express
operate? Aaron: 124 (lower). Sara: 3 (higher). Levar: 36
(lower). Tara W.: 12 (higher). Tara C.: 22 (lower).
Chris: 18 (right!) He KOs Susan.
Question #4: When Seattle Slew retired, he was valued at
$12 million... but how much was his original purchase
price? It takes some time but, when it comes around to
Eric again, he gets $17,500 right. He offs Chris for
being too lucky.
Question #5: What is the official length, in
centimeters, of a pommel horse? (Oh, no fair throwing
gymnastics into a horse racing show!) Again, it takes
time. But Levar stumbles upon 160cm as the right answer
and ditches Aaron.
Question #6: When was the last year that thouroughbred
horse racing's Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness
and Belmont Stakes) was won by one horse? Eric manages
to get 1978 (Affirmed) and knocks off Tara W.
Question #7: How many inches tall was legendary jockey
Bill Shoemaker? Sara gets 59 inches (which means I'm a
half-foot taller than he was) and puts away "her friend"
Tara C.
Question #8: How many total episodes of Mr. Ed
aired? Sara gets it narrowed down to 143 and puts away
Eric because "Levar wants to stay". Whoever gets the
last question right becomes the new Lead Owner.
Last Question: In what year was the first Kentucky Derby
run? It goes back and forth...and Sara mutters, "1875?"
She's right for the third time and becomes the Lead
Owner! Not bad for someone who joined the game just to
learn how to ride a horse. She chooses Tara C., Levar
and Eric to join her...much to Deanna's chagrin.
CURRENT STANDINGS
|
1
|
DEANNA
|
$11,060
|
2
|
ERIC
|
$2237
|
3
|
SUSAN
|
$1990
|
4
|
SARA
|
$1800
|
5
|
TARA W
|
$1330
|
6
|
CHRIS
|
$1250
|
7
|
LEVAR
|
$1250
|
8
|
DEAN
|
$1144
|
9
|
TARA C
|
$820
|
10
|
AARON
|
$425
|
First order of business
for the new Owners: a soak in the jacuzzi. Levar tells
the whole story: "It was hot...it was bubbly...there
were boobs." It was hedonistic...especially between him
and Sara. They think that Deanna will be chosen for the
Stablehand part of the Guts Match.
Meanwhile, the Stablehands are being hassled by trainer
Alex Hassinger into doing work for him. See, he let the
REAL stablehands have some time off... so THESE
Stablehands have to pick up the slack. They have to
change out the straw in the stables, wash out the feed
buckets, make hay bails for the horses to munch on, etc.
It's a LOT of work... especially with Alex all but
yelling at them the whole time.
After the long day, the six Stablehands talk things over
for the Guts Match coming up. They think Sara goofed in
not picking owners that were good handicappers... but
Deanna is the most furious... not just for Sara but the
whispering being done behind her back. She's exhausted
of being the target... and with Susan being the
know-it-all! And she takes it all out on the others.
And now it's time to introduce the horses that they get
to choose from:
The Stablehands later
meet Steve in the "Directors' Room", where most owners
watch clips of horse races to get a feel for the
opposition. The six Stablehands will compete in a
Stablehand Challenge here. They're
going to handicap a race...but not a HORSE race. They'll
handicap an EATING competition between the Owners, who
are just now having lunch in the Clubhouse. The one who
can handicap the field the best becomes Lead Stablehand.
And, to help them, we have a special guest: country
superstar Leann Rimes (who, coincidentally, provided the
theme song for the show ["You Take Me Home"] and will be
performing live at the Derby Race). She is going to give
info on the owners (but won't specify WHICH owner) to
help the Stablehands pick a winner. According to her,
one likes to eat slow in company (Eric), one says lunch
is their favorite meal (Tara C.), one is a former
vegetarian (Sara) and one likes their steak cooked
medium-well (Levar). The challenge will be deciding who
eats an 8 oz. medium-rare steak in the shortest amount
of time. Each Stablehand chooses an Owner and a time
it'll take for him/her to eat said steak. If no one or
MORE than one picks the right Owner, the time written
down will be the tie-breaker. Their choices for the
winner:
SUSAN - Eric |
CHRIS - Eric |
AARON - Eric |
TARA W. - Levar |
DEANNA - Levar |
DEAN - Levar |
(Guess they thought the
ladies wouldn't be chowing down a steak too fast.)
Now it's time to take Leann down to the Owners. She says
hello to them and then departs along with Steve as the
steaks get brought in. As soon as the covers on the
plates are lifted off, the timer starts and the
Challenge begins (unbeknownst to the Owners).
Tara C., however, IS a vegetarian and will not eat the
steak. While they wait for a more veggie meal, the other
Owners wait to start on THEIR steaks, even though Tara
wants them to continue. It's about five minutes before
her new meal arrives and they finish saying grace before
they chow down. Eric goes for the baked potato first
(much to Susan's chagrin)... but, then, he starts
chomping on HUGE hunks of his steak while Levar picks on
his own. You'd think this was the Kentucky Derby the way
the Stablehands are cheering for their respective guy to
finish their steak. It's neck and neck down to the
wire...and it's LEVAR by about 2 ounces of meat in 11
minutes, 54 seconds. So who won? Deanna, Tara W. or
Dean?
DEANNA - 7:30
|
TARA W. - 6:45
|
DEAN - 6:45
|
Deanna wins her first
Stablehands' Challenge! She can RELAX!
Now it's time to tell the Owners to smile...'cause
they're on Stablehand Camera! The Owners can now bet on
who they think won the challenge. After thinking about
it, Levar says he didn't bet anything on this challenge.
Eric bet $200 on Dean, dropping him to $2037. Tara C.
bet $100 on Chris,
lowering her to $720. And Sara bet $150 on Chris,
meaning SHE'S down to $1700. But the IMPORTANT thing is
that it'll be Sara vs. Deanna as to who will face off in
the Guts Match for $5000... or a ticket home!
Back at the mansion, the Owners talk about strategy
going into the Guts Match. Tara C. thinks Eric is ready
to step up or shut up. In fact, he WANTS to be in the
Match. Still, Sara is nervous about this.
In the stables, Susan is CERTAIN she'll be asked to do
the Match... if only because she's Deanna's biggest
rival right now. Deanna, however, is still thinking
about it... though she's OFFERED the spot to Chris.
Aaron wants to help Susan as best he can, so they look
at the Racing Forum to make sure they're BOTH ready for
whatever happens tomorrow.
The next day, at the Santa Anita
Chandelier Room, the Guts and Glory Ceremony
commences. For the Owners, Sara, of course, nominates a
supremely confident Eric. For the Stablehands, Deanna
chooses... Aaron.
The two are again allowed to ask Alex one question about
one horse. But there's a hitch here: any horse that has
already run in a Guts Match is no longer eligible for
this one. Eric asks if Lauren's Halo, a filly, can keep
up with "the boys". Alex says yes because she's
competative. Aaron asks about Free to Please and her
sutures under his neck. Alex says that he was cleared to
race before they even purchased him.
And the choices are...Eric going for
#4 Free To
Please, the 3-year-old son of
champion horse Free House, based on the Racing Forum.
And Aaron, surprisingly, goes with
#2 Sharp As A Fox
because the 3-year-old filly is "a true pisser" and will
show "her true colors" today.)
It's the "Call to the Post" for the
Guts Match between Aaron and
Eric. The two horses will race 2 furlongs (1/4 mile) in
a straight line on the front stretch of the track. The
winning horse nets its picker $5000 and the other one
has to go home broke. And, as always, the others get to
bet up to $500 with even odds for whichever horse they
think will win. The wagers:
DEAN - $500 on #4 |
CHRIS - $500 on #4 |
SARA - $500 on #4 |
LEVAR - $500 on #4 |
TARA W - $250 on #2 |
SUSAN - $100 on #2 |
DEANNA - $500 on #4 |
TARA C - $500 on #4 |
(Levar even has a spur
on his sneaker.)
So the filly is the major underdog. Not only are 6 out
of 8 betting AGAINST her... but the bets for her are the
only bets that are NOT $500.
The horses are in the gate...and it's Post Time!
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd they're off! And DOWN THE STRETCH
THEY COME! And they're neck-and-neck all the way. Free
to Please inching up the outside, but Sharp As a Fox is
taking the inside lane like a champ. Free to Please
kicks in the afterburners! He's starting to pull away as
they head for the line...
...and it's
#4 Free To Please
by a length and a half! Eric earns $5000 and puts a
chokehold on second place! Everyone but Susan and Tara
W. wins $500!
And, unfortunately, Aaron has been "scratched" from the
game. Sara and Susan are bummed (Suasn mostly) as says
his good-byes and goes back to GROOMING horses instead
of OWNING them.
CURRENT STANDINGS
|
1
|
DEANNA
|
$11,560
|
2
|
ERIC
|
$7037
|
3
|
SARA
|
$2150
|
4
|
SUSAN
|
$1890
|
5
|
CHRIS
|
$1750
|
6
|
LEVAR
|
$1750
|
7
|
DEAN
|
$1644
|
8
|
TARA C
|
$1220
|
9
|
TARA W
|
$1080
|
9 are left. Who will be
Owners? Who will be Stablehands? Who will be scratched
next? |