A Huge Payday in Louisiana : Horse racing: Senor Tomas shows that he is more than a turf specialist, winning the Super Derby by a neck. Bien Bien is last.

BOSSIER CITY, La. — Senor Tomas won more than the Grade I Super Derby on Sunday.

Going off at 25-1, he won by a neck in the 13th running of the $750,000 stake at Louisiana Downs and earned some respect.

“We had won three stakes on the grass this year, and he’s been mislabeled as a turf specialist,” trainer Peter Vestal said. “But this horse got good in the spring, and I had to run him in a couple of spots on the grass at Churchill (Downs) and we stuck with that.

“We just felt we had to take a shot at this race.”

In the 14-horse field, which was the largest in the race’s history, it was a gamble that paid off big.

Aaron Gryder kept the 3-year-old gelding just off the pace until the top of the stretch, took a narrow lead and then held off a late bid by Count The Time in the 1 1/4-mile race.

“When we got to the three-eighths pole and I realized how much horse I had left and nobody was really running or making a big move, I thought we would be awful tough to catch,” Gryder said. “He had no trouble with the mile and a quarter or the dirt. He ran a super race.”

Orbit’s Revenge was third.

Swaps Stakes winner Bien Bien, who went off the 5-2 favorite, never threatened and finished last. The winning time was 2:04, well off the Super Derby mark of 2:00 1/5 by Gate Dancer in 1984.

The victory was Senor Tomas’ seventh in 19 starts, and the $450,000 winner’s share more than doubled his previous winnings of $201,244. He paid $57.80, $25.60 and $11.20 at Louisiana Downs. Count The Time paid $12 and $6.80 for second, and Orbit’s Revenge was $5.20 to show.

Vestal gave Gryder a lot of credit.

“Aaron got him relaxed and off the pace as we planned, and it set up just perfect for us,” Vestal said.

Chris McCarron rode Bien Bien and knew early his horse wasn’t going to be a factor, never getting closer than next-to-last.

“About an eighth of a mile out of the gate, I knew he wasn’t getting ahold of the track,” McCarron said. “He just didn’t like it at all. He probably just wants to go back on the turf.”

The complete order of finish after the top three was: Hold Old Blue, Ghazi, American Choice, the leader for the first mile; Star Recruit, Coach Rabbey, Desert Force, Fax News, Place Dancer, Hill Pass, Vying Victory and Bien Bien. All carried 126 pounds.