DerbyWars player turns $22 into $5,000 KDBC entry

Winning a $5,000 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge seat via DerbyWars is among the biggest scores of Marty Setren’s horseplaying career, but the 61-year-old Virginian is just getting warmed up.

"I’m thrilled," Setren said after his Sunday fun day score. "I started with just $22, so this would be quite a story if I win."

That $22 was for entry in a satellite tournament on DerbyWars. He used that tournament to qualify for an $80 game that got him an entry into the $365 qualifier for the KDBC on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

Setren’s march to the first Saturday in May started with a couple of losers, but then he got on the board with a second-place finish followed by six winners in the last seven races. Jassai, at 15-1, was the coup de grace in the penultimate race in the contest.

"I had no idea that horse would be 15-1," Setren said. "I figured he’d be around his 8-1 (morning line) and was between him and another horse, but went with Jassai. Horses don’t know their odds, and he was really consistent."

The KDBC qualifier was a live contest, meaning players can make their picks up until post time of each race. Going into the last of 10 races, Setren had a 38.2-point advantage and felt pretty good about his chances regardless, but the 7-2 winner good for 18.6 points across the board more than sealed the deal.

"The live format allowed me to adjust for the weather at Fair Grounds," Setren said of the track, where he picked four of five winners including a trio of deuces. "Going into the day I liked some outside horses, but it looked like an inside bias, so I re-handicapped those races, and it worked out."

The biggest challenge in preparing for the KDBC will be adapting to a live wagering format that includes exotic wagers.

"I’m a win-place tournament guy," Setren said. "I’m not sure about exotics, but no one remembers who finishes second or third, so I’m going into this to win it."

Setren said he’s an old-school, pen-and-paper handicapper and would go to Charles Town Races on Kentucky Oaks day to pick up the program. On Derby say itself, Setren will settle in at home and play the KDBC via the Twin Spires account-wagering site.

Charles Town in eastern West Virginia is his home track now, but Setren grew up in the shadow of Pimlico. He attended many Preakness Stakes through the years, including Secretariat’s in 1973 and American Pharoah’s in 2015.

"My grandfather took me to Pimlico, and that’s how I got into horse racing," Setren said. "My grandfather actually died at the finish line of Pimlico. He got excited and died doing what he loves to do. I hope I go that way. I don’t want to die in assisted living with tubes up my ass. I want to die doing something I love."

The next KDBC qualifier on DerbyWars is Sunday, March 9, with qualifiers for as low as $22 ongoing. The KDBC has a guaranteed purse of $250,000.