OKC man picks ponies based on news headlines

Don Morris, a 60-year-old project manager at an Oklahoma City architecture firm, has a unique method for betting on horses: He pays attention to the headlines.
 
In other words, the names of horses that correspond to ongoing national news stories are the ones who come out on top.
 
"You've heard of 'The Bible Code,' 'The Da Vinci Code,'" Morris said. "Well, mine's 'The Kentucky Code.' The theory is: What's in the news?"
 
HISTORY REPEATS
In 2000's Kentucky Derby, he noticed the horses he picked " and won " were related to then-President Bill Clinton's troubles: One was named Impeachment; another, Fusaichi Pegasus, which he loosely translated into "floozy page."
 
In 2002, when the country was talking about a possible invasion of Iraq, Morris noticed patriotic names among that Derby's roster like "War Emblem" and "Proud Citizen."
 
This time, he bet. Said Morris, "I made a hell of a lot of money on that race."
 
MILLION-DOLLAR PICK
Before the 2005 Derby, Morris told friends the Derby winners would all correspond to the then-ongoing Michael Jackson child molestation trial, including a horse named Closing Argument.
 
Sure enough " or strangely enough " that's exactly how it played out.
 
"You know what that super paid? One-point-seven million dollars on a $2 ticket," Morris said. "And I told everybody about it a month before the race, 'This is how they're gonna run; it's The Kentucky Code!'"
 
Too bad he didn't take his own advice. He chickened out at the last minute.
 
"That's when I said, 'Yeah. What's in the news " this does work,'" he recalled. "Rod Lott

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