My knowledge of horse racing is about two notches above zero, so picking a winner for the Kentucky Derby isn’t exactly the most scientific of processes. Unlike Hi-Plains Drifter, who has all the information you could ever want in making an educated decision, my pick will probably come from a smattering of facts, a little bit of thought, and just plain ol’ gut feelings.

Oh yeah, and this column from the Associated Press’s Jim Litke.

The basic premise: Storm in May is a 30-1 long shot with a lot of what the experts like to call upside. Really, how can you go against a horse that…

a) …only has one eye.
b) …is the grandson of Storm Cat (the sire of former Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Tabasco Cat) and the great-grandson of the legendary Secretariat.
c) …was trained at the same school as Barbaro.

Rooting for Storm in May requires a momentary suspension of common sense: specifically, the fact that neither of the two one-eyed horses to run the Derby in the last quarter century fared very well, finishing 13th and 17th. I’m willing to overlook that reality (throw a check mark in the karma column) in order to focus more on the latter two.

Handicap aside, the truth is that Storm in May comes from a remarkable lineage – Storm Cat was a crappy racer that does nothing but sire top-notch thoroughbreds and Secretariat was Secretariat. Later today, we’ll see which one he more closely resembles.