The Vicarious Bettor plays off a $100 stake provided by his employer. Each week he reports on the results here.

Sunday's Fairmount Derby was supposed to be a showcase event for the track. Some of the nation's top jockeys, including Pat Day and Shane Sellers, were in to ride a pretty decent collection of 3-year-olds in the Grade III, $150,000 stakes race.

Let's just say that everything didn't go as planned.

About two hours before the race, it started pouring, leaving the horses to traipse through a quagmire on their way to the wire.

Still, there was plenty of anticipation about the race. Most of the betting action focused on the favorites - Strawberry Wine, a Churchill Downs invader with Day up, and Tenant's Harbor, also from Churchill via Arlington with Eddie Martin Jr. up.

I was seeking a decent price and put $5 across on Da Bull, who had been in the money in four of five starts this year and was looking to bounce back from a luckluster third at Belmont in his last race. …