Last year at the Kentucky Derby, Eddie Olczyk did what every horse racing fan and disabled person has done – he changed his choice and ended up regretting it.
The difference, though, is that Olczyk changed with nearly 15 million people watching.
Before the Run for the Roses, Olczyk told friends and fans he met after calling NHL games that he liked Mage. However, when it came time for the final choices segment on NBC’s coverage, Olczyk opted for Verifying.
Mage won, while Verifying finished a distant 16th in the 18-horse field.
“Sometimes you change and you win, and sometimes you lose,” Olczyk said during a phone interview. “But last year was probably the most dejected I’ve ever come out of the Kentucky Derby. Win or lose, you leave feeling good about yourself and the experience, because there’s nothing like it. It still burns, and will probably burn for a long time.”
Olczyk was reminded again last week when he was in Las Vegas for the Stanley Cup playoffs when a fan thanked him for picking the Wizard. If there was ever a time to feel good about at least making money for someone else and bad about personal misfortune, this was it.
Olczyk, however, has been right more often than not when it comes to his choices. The best example was the 2018 Derby, when the former hockey player recommended a trifecta of Justify, Good Magic and Audible, which ended up paying $141.40 for a $1 bet.
Olczyk — part of NBC’s Kentucky Derby coverage since 2015 — remains part of the network’s horse racing coverage, although he no longer carries the NHL. This is his third season of hockey for Turner Sports, but it gives him a few days during the NHL playoffs to transition and get back on the rink.
“The landscape has changed, but I’m lucky that TNT and NBC were able to come to an agreement and that NBC still wants me to be part of the coverage,” he said. “Everyone in the league at this time of year wants to talk about Derby, and everyone wants Derby to want to talk about hockey. I think I’m the channel that appeals to both sides this time of year.”
Olczyk had been pushing his NBC bosses for a few years to be part of the horse racing coverage. It wasn’t until he sat down to talk to analyst Randy Moss during the 2014 Sochi Olympics that things started to move forward. Olczyk worked a few Breeders’ Cup challenge series races in 2014 and made two long shots.
“A lot of people told me, before Edzo started racing horse races for NBC, that you need to know this guy. This guy is a big horse racing guy, a big horse racing fan. At some point, you’re going to have to meet him,” Moss said during an NBC conference call earlier this week. “Friends of mine convinced me to go to one of the hockey games at the Olympics. … After first period, Eddie arrives and introduces himself and sits next to me. The guys I was with said I didn’t know anything about hockey, and they were horrified that Eddie showed up and sat with me.
“All we talked about was horses, not hockey. After the second half he came back and sat down again, and all we talked about was horses and not hockey. It was obvious at that point that Eddie wasn’t just a hockey guy. He knew a lot about horse racing, very knowledgeable about horse racing.”
Olczyk’s first experience with disability on television wasn’t on NBC. During an NHL lockout, he was the in-house simulcast handicapper at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Speedway in the fall of 1994.
Olczyk was paired with the late Bob Neumeier for the first two years. Neumeier, coincidentally, called Boston Bruins games on the radio for five seasons in the late 1990s.
It was Olczyk, Matt Bernier and Steve Kornacki the last two years.
“Bob was a legend. I’m inspired because I’ve watched him for so many years. I miss him, especially this time of year,” Olczyk said. “Being able to have the camaraderie with Matt, have fun and teach the game has been great. Steve has a lot of energy. When we’re up there, he’s a rock star. He brought a lot to the show. I think we all bring different things and it’s been great for horse racing.”
“Matt and I went our separate ways and Steve has experience in the political world and is great with numbers and statistics. I think people like the camaraderie and the disagreements.”
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