...winning ticket... like they did [link|http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/more/05/09/bc.rac.derby.bigwinners.ap/index.html?cnn=yes|this guy]. :-)

The times I've been to the derby, I haven't managed to win squat. Of course, the trick is that you're not betting against the house (they get their cut no matter what). You're betting against all those other hapless suckers who invoke numerology and cosmology in their picks. Of course, trying to pick a winner for rational reasons seems about as effective as they other means.