"And down the stretch they come!" They say that the Kentucky Derby is the most exciting two minutes in sports. Once again, the spectacle that is "Derby Day" goes out the window when the gates open and a thundering herd of immature horseflesh reduces the months of training and speculation down to a fractional horse: a length, a neck, a nose.

Today's race had the usual personal interest stories of the horses, the jockeys, the trainers. It had the classy, well-bred, well-connected favorite, Empire Maker, a son of Derby winner Unbridled, and the great mare Toussaud, already a "Reine-de-Course", one of the grand dams of Thoroughbred racing. There were the total long shots and several good horses that had a predictably good chance at the win.

The 129th running of the race saw the favorite run short - it wasn't his race to win. It belonged to a chestnut named Funny Cide, the first New York-bred to ever win the Kentucky Derby. The first gelding to win since Clyde Van Deusen in 1929. And you know that there is someone out there tonight thinking . . .

"WHY DID I GELD HIM?!?!"

[Perhaps he'll be the next John Henry.]

Quote du jour:

"I bet on a horse at ten to one. It didn't come in until half-past five."

-- Henny Youngman (1906 - 1998) US comedian

previous ~ home ~ next