Alex's Asteroid Astrology

The 150^th Run for the Roses occurred Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, as the Kentucky Derby reached a milestone anniversary.  Despite competing with five higher-ranked horses in a field of twenty, Mystik Dan came across the finish line barely a flared nostril ahead, in the first photo-finish at the Derby since 1996.  The three-year old colt, ridden by jockey Brian Hernandez, paid off at 18-1, and I am heartily wishing I’d had the foresight to investigate this race before its running, and placed my bet!

Because the cosmic signs are everywhere that Mystic Dan would pull this off.  For this analysis, we’ll be using asteroids Misto 6929 and Misik 18456 for “Mystik;” and Daniel 2589, Daniela 107054 and Daniels 315088 for “Dan.”  Asteroid Church 10343 and Downs 24027 will serve for Churchill Downs, Rosa 223 for the race’s nickname of “Run for the Roses;” Derbes 28660 is closest to “Derby,” and Louise 2556 for the Louisville venue.  Asteroids Brian 2683 and Hernandez 19079 are exact matches for the jockey; asteroid Kenny 10107 represents trainer Kenny McPeek; and asteroid Lancelot 12598 will do for owner Lance Gasaway.

Post Time was 6:57 PM EDT, but the race (which I viewed live) got off to a late start at 7:01 PM, and that’s the chart under review.  Its 26 Libra Ascendant is appropriately conjoined by asteroid Fast 27719 at 1 Scorpio, opposing asteroid Daniel at 3 Taurus on the 26 Aries Descendant.  Yes, indeed – Mystic Dan (Daniel) was fast (Fast)!  Also rising, asteroid Misto at 17 Libra, while Daniel is accompanied on the Descendant by asteroid Brian at 24 Aries, conjoined Daniel, uniting horse and rider.  Brian is also squared asteroid Derbes at 20 Cancer with asteroid Photographica 443 at 23 Cancer, for the first photo-finish (Photographica) at the Kentucky Derby (Derbes) in 28 years.  (Second-place finisher Sierra Leone is also here, as asteroid Sierra 12598, at 24 Cancer.) Oddly, even Brian Hernandez’ racing silks in green and black made the grade, with asteroid Green 12016 and asteroid Black 11207 united at 19 and 22 Cancer respectively, conjoined Derbes and squared Brian.

The track itself is seen as asteroid Downs, which is stationary at 8 Virgo (turning direct April 22^nd), marking its pivotal importance in the story, and Churchill Downs’ prominence in the news of the day; asteroid Rosa at 16 Scorpio (“Run for the Roses”) highlighted by the 14 Taurus Sun in opposition; and asteroid Church at 21 Pisces, semisquare the Sun.  The Louisville location is seen as asteroid Louise at 2 Aries, sandwiched between the Moon (ruling public events) and Mars (competitions) at 1 and 3 Aries.

Additional markers of Mystik Dan’s victory include asteroid Misik at 9 Aries, conjunct asteroid TRIUMF at 8 Aries (an acronym for a Canadian science research center, but functioning as its homophone “triumph,” a stunning success); asteroid Daniel at 3 Taurus conjunct asteroid Champion 8732 exact with Venus (the “Lesser Benefic”) at 6 Taurus; asteroid Daniela at 15 Gemini conjunct asteroid Nike 307 (named for the Greek goddess of victory) at 14 Gemini; and asteroid Daniels at 2 Libra conjunct asteroid Victoria 12 (Nike’s Roman counterpart and the root of our word “victory”) at 5 Libra.  That’s about as emphatic a celestial statement of “winning” as you’re ever likely to get!

But it’s not just about the horse – the rider and trainer have something to say about the outcome as well.  Similarly, jockey Brian Hernandez shows as asteroid Hernandez at 26 Aquarius, conjunct asteroid Swift 5035 at 22 Aquarius, squared to asteroid Caballo 24044 (Spanish for “horse”) at 24 Scorpio, as well as asteroid Rosa (“Run for the Roses”) at 16 Scorpio.  Hernandez is also conjoined asteroid Jockers 331371 (for “jockey”) at 0 Pisces, and widely trine that Nike/Daniela pairing, for the winning (Nike) rider (Jockers) of the fastest (Swift) racehorse (Caballo) in the Kentucky Derby, Mystik Dan (Daniela). 

The Hernandez/Swift/Caballo square becomes a Grand Cross with the inclusion of Uranus (also known for swiftness and speed, as well as surprises or unexpected outcomes) with Jupiter (ruling horseracing, “the sport of kings”) at 22 and 25 Taurus; and asteroids Kenny and Lancelot at 29 and 28 Leo respectively.  Kenny represents trainer Kenny McPeek, while Lancelot stands in for owner Lance Gasaway.  Lancelot is at station, turning direct April 16^th but still at its station degree, indicating a pivotal turning point is in the offing for Lance, with Mystik Dan his first Derby-winner.  Seeing the rider, trainer and owner so closely linked with points reflecting horses (Caballo), horse races (Jupiter), swiftness (Swift, Uranus), luck (also Jupiter) and upsets (also Uranus) is quite staggering.

But that pales in comparison to the phenomenal indications of Derby victory in Mystik Dan’s chart.  Foaled at Magdalena Farm in Lexington, Kentucky on 4 March 2021, Mystik Dan’s 14 Pisces Sun is conjoined by asteroids Louise and Rosa, at 15 and 18 Pisces respectively, with a square from asteroid Downs at 8 Sagittarius, a trine from asteroid Derbes at 17 Scorpio, and an inconjunct to asteroid Church at 13 Leo.  This directly links Mystik Dan’s core essence (Sun) with the Churchill (Church) Downs (Downs) track in Louisville (Louise), where the Run for the Roses (Rosa) is held at the Kentucky Derby (Derbes).  Derbes also opposes asteroid Champion at 15 Taurus, identifying Mystik Dan as a Derby champion. No doubt about it, this horse was born to run!  Asteroid Jockers at 18 Gemini, squared the Sun, establishes him as a racehorse, to be ridden professionally.

Mystik Dan’s propensity for winning can be seen in asteroid Daniels at 0 Aries with asteroid Misik at 8 Aries, both squared asteroid Victoria at 3 Capricorn; and asteroid Nike embedded at station from 25 Scorpio, making “victory” a vital component of his makeup.  A stunning combination of asteroids Fast and Swift at 10 and 11 Aries with asteroid Misik at 8 Aries establishes Mystik Dan as built for speed.

Nike is within orb of both asteroid Derbes at 17 Scorpio and asteroid Kenny at 29 Scorpio, appropriate for trainer Kenny McPeek’s first Derby winner, foretold in this horse’s birth chart.  Nike is also closely inconjunct asteroid Daniela at 26 Gemini, which rests at the Apex of a Yod pattern, or Finger of Destiny, with a second inconjunct to asteroids Caballo (Spanish “horse”) and Lancelot (his owner, Lance Gasaway) at 21 and 24 Capricorn.

His jockey Brian Hernandez is there as well, as asteroid Hernandez at 23 Taurus conjunct TRIUMF at 24 Taurus, squared asteroid Brian with asteroid Photographica at 22 and 26 Leo, in a T-Square with Nike, for the photo-finish (Photographica) win (Nike, TRIUMF) facilitated by his rider (Brian, Hernandez).  A loose Grand Cross is completed by asteroid Lexington 35977, the town of his birth, at 19 Aquarius, with Greater Benefic Jupiter, ruling the sport of kings, at 17 Aquarius.  Asteroid Magdalena 318, the name of the farm where he was foaled, appears at 28 Libra, sesquiquadrate his Sun.

Brian Hernandez also seems fated for this moment.  Born 3 November 1985 (no time available), this was the 38-year-old Herandez’ fourth Run for the Roses, never finishing better than eighth previously.  We can chalk up his victory this time to asteroid Daniel’s stationary stance in his birth chart.  At 4 Cancer, Daniel turned retrograde October 31^st, just three days before Hernadez’ birth, is trine the 11 Scorpio Sun, and squared asteroid Nike at 10 Libra, in a T-Square with asteroid Victoria at 1 Capricorn, conjunct asteroid Karma 3811 at 0 Cap and Neptune at 1 Cap.  That’s doubling down on victory (Nike, Victoria) with Mystik Dan (Daniel), the fated (Karma) culmination of a life-long dream (Neptune) for Hernandez (Sun) of winning the Derby, which he’d held since the age of six.

The Sun is also in a T-Square, with a combination of asteroid TRIUMF with Jupiter at 5 and 8 Aquarius, and asteroid Caballo at 5 Leo, for a self-identity (Sun) bound up with horses (Caballo) and horseracing (Jupiter), ultimately with great success (TRIUMF).  A square from asteroid Brian at 16 Leo to the Sun fits the normal pattern of one’s own PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids) connecting with the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Mercury, while asteroid Hernadez at 22 Cancer is at station, turning retrograde November 12^th, marking his surname as a vital part of him as well.  Further, Brian opposes asteroid Champion at 19 Aquarius, in a T-Square with the Sun, identifying him as a born champion; Hernandez squares a union of asteroids Daniels and Rosa at 21 and 23 Libra, bookending Venus, the Lesser Benefic, at 22 Libra, again linking the jockey (Hernandez) with the winning horse (Daniels) and the Derby (Rosa).  Asteroid Lancelot, for Mystik Dan’s owner Lance Gasaway, is also here, at 25 Libra.  Asteroid Kenny at 25 Scorpio conjoins Saturn at 28 Scorpio, identifying trainer Kenny McPeek as pivotal in Hernandez’ career (Saturn).

Also at station is asteroid Church at 13 Pisces, trine the Sun, implying a major role to play in his biography for something resonating to that name (like Churchill Downs).  A pairing of asteroids Derbes and Misto at 14 and 18 Gemini opposes asteroid Daniela at 12 Sagittarius with Uranus and asteroid Swift, both at 16 Sag, T-Squared Church.  This remarkable pattern not only brings together both names of the horse he rode to victory (Misto, Daniela) with the venue (Church) for the race (Derbes), but it was conjoined by the transit Nike/Daniela (victory for Mystik Dan) pairing for the race itself, at 14 and 15 Gemini, also aligned with Mystik Dan’s natal asteroid Jockers (jockey) at 18 Gemini.

We’re all familiar with the dynamic, dramatic outcomes possible between man and beast when they work in tandem toward a goal, but when the cosmos puts in its oar as well, we are well and truly off to the races!