The Kentucky Derby horse race, the first in the Triple Crown races, happens Saturday, usually with a start at about 6 p.m. EST, but check your local listings. Coverage in the papers has been thin. One national paper published its first Derby story today, and basically it was a history of the Triple Crown, suitable for people who have never followed horse racing, illustrating the distance much of the public feels from the sport.
Last year the winner was eventually disqualified for the horse testing for performance enhancing drugs, and his trainer was disqualified from entering any horses this year, though the winnings on bets remained unchanged by standing rules that go by the results the day of the race, to avoid hopeless endless adjudication of those after the fact.
This isn't horse racing as our grandfathers knew it. But that's the state of the art. I hope to see a racing form or at least the field with odds before Saturday. We always watch the race, and sometimes use it as an excuse to drink a little bourbon.
Last year the winner was eventually disqualified for the horse testing for performance enhancing drugs, and his trainer was disqualified from entering any horses this year, though the winnings on bets remained unchanged by standing rules that go by the results the day of the race, to avoid hopeless endless adjudication of those after the fact.
This isn't horse racing as our grandfathers knew it. But that's the state of the art. I hope to see a racing form or at least the field with odds before Saturday. We always watch the race, and sometimes use it as an excuse to drink a little bourbon.
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