Tuesday, March 5, 2002
Handicapping's boy wonder
By Bill Finley
Special to ESPN.com
The boy wonder says that Kenny McPeek blew it when he sacked Tony
D'Amico, who was riding lukewarm Kentucky Derby favorite Repent. "McPeek hit
the self destruct button when he replaced that rider," he said. But before
McPeek mutters something about children being seen and not heard, he ought to
consider one thing: the kid knows what he's talking about.
Merv Huber proved as much when won the 2000 Kentucky Derby Fantasy
Challenge, wiring a field of 12,000 in a contest requiring contestants to
collect fantasy points with their mythical stables in Derby preps and the
Derby itself. Then just 14, Huber was ratted out for being too young to
legally participate, but he has parlayed the exposure he received for
"winning" into a website, frequent appearances with Tony Kornheiser on ESPN
Radio and the unofficial title of "world famous handicapping prodigy." Not
too bad for a kid who isn't even old enough to place a bet.
While down on Repent, Huber is high on Kentucky Derby candidate Siphonic,
who will race next in the March 17 San Felipe at Santa Anita. His is a
knowledgeable opinion formulated through careful study, a far cry from his
first Derby pick, Silver Charm in 1997. That's how it all got started.
Then just 11, the Louisville native attended a Kentucky Derby party and
picked Silver Charm for the dumbest of reasons: he's a gray. But when Silver
Charm edged Captain Bodgit and Free House in a scintillating finish, young
Huber was hooked.
"When he won, I just thought that it was really cool," Huber said.
"Basically, you could say that Silver Charm brought me into horse racing."
While his friends were busy getting their tongues pierced or riding
skateboards or listening to *NSYNC or whatever it is that kids do these days,
Huber was diving into the Daily Racing Form to dope out the double.
"When he first got started we thought he'd be real interested and then go
on to something else," said his father, Marv, a part-owner of a flooring
store. "Literally, he hasn't gone on to anything else. This has been his life
for the last four or five years and I don't see his interest ebbing. Rather,
it's getting stronger."
When Churchill began an on-line fantasy contest revolving around the
Derby and its preps, it was a natural for Merv. He logged in, signed up and
beat every professional, amateur, horse nut and horse novice that played. But
he was unable to contain his enthusiasm and confessed to neighbor and
Churchill Downs Vice President John Asher that he was the one in first place.
Rules are rules and Huber was technically disqualified, but track officials
were kind enough to provide him with a nice consolation package of prizes,
including seats for the Derby.
When word leaked out of Huber's win and subsequent disqualification he
became a minor celebrity and he was savvy enough to take advantage of his
notoriety. For the 2001 contest, he was the ghost picker for Kornheiser, the
Washington Post sports columnist and ESPN Radio host. Leading up to the
Derby, Huber left classes briefly at Trinity High School to find a phone and
join Kornheiser on the air. Tens of thousands of listeners became tens of
thousands potential customers. Last year, the high school sophomore launched
Mervspicks.com, a website where, for just $10.95 a month, you, too, can share
in the selections at the Kentucky tracks from the adolescent analyst.
"I used to be speed figure handicapper," Merv said. "I'm not so much that
way anymore. I mostly look at class, the level they've been running at and
how well they've been doing versus better or worse horses."
Business is a little slow during the current Turfway meet, but it will
pick up as the Derby nears. Huber says that at its peak the website will have
300 customers. That's not getting anybody rich, but the revenue could help
Huber fulfill his post-high school ambitions. He hopes to use the money to
attend the Racetrack Industries Program at the University of Arizona and then
become a trainer.
In the meantime, he will continue to study the form and the Derby preps
in search of the winner of Kentucky Derby 128 and might just sneak over to
the track one weekend to bet a few dollars with an adult handling the
transactions at the windows. That's fine with his parents.
"I'm perfectly happy with what he's doing," Marv Huber said. "There
haven't been any negatives related to this at all. As far as gambling goes,
that's not why he's into this. I realized that when we were talking about the
Dubai World Cup and I mentioned that I didn't see why anyone would get
excited about it when you can't bet on it in that country. He said that I
didn't understand and that the gambling had nothing to do with why he liked
racing so much."
It's unlikely Huber will be betting on or picking Repent in the Derby,
even though the great Jerry Bailey thus far listed as his rider.
"That's the problem," he said. "Bailey isn't going to be available. He's
going to wind up riding Siphonic. That's why McPeek is rolling the dice."
The boy wonder has spoken.
