Harley Man Beats the Odds, Wins Feature

Someone forgot to tell Rodrigo Aceves that Harley Man was a 45-1 shot Friday night at Los Alamitos.

Despite the odds, Aceves rode Harley Man to victory in the $156,800 El Primero Del Ano Derby.

The California-bred gelding broke well and led throughout, finishing the 400-yard race in 19.71seconds for his fourth win in 17 starts.

Harley Man earned $65,856.

“As I was watching, I didn’t believe that was my horse,” trainer Adan Farias said, “but at about the 300-yard mark, I started believing, and I was so excited. Usually Check Him Out will catch him at the wire, but not tonight.”

Check Him Out, the third-place finisher, was the 3-5 favorite, but the colt was nervous in the gate and broke slowly. By the time jockey Mike Smith, a last-minute replacement for Jacky Martin, got Check Him Out rolling, he had too much ground to gain on Harley Man and second-place finisher Don’t Dink With Me.