Completely Off Topic - Derby Day
May/07/08 08:49 AM
A recent hobby of mine has been racehorse handicapping. So Kristin and I have been following the Road to the Roses and participating in a fantasy horse racing league. Ironically, since I grew up in Hot Springs and my first job was working at Oaklawn racetrack, most of my friends think of me as the closest thing to a horse racing expert that they know.
Some friends of ours, who were also in the horse racing league, had a derby day party on Saturday. It was a day of sipping mint juleps and eating waaay too much (Yes we took a perfectly good saturday that we could have spent on the house, and did something strangely unfamiliar... we had fun).
I don’t know if any of you watched the Derby but it had an oddly sad ending. The horse that came in second, Eight Bells, broke both front legs and was immediately euthanized on the track. She was the only filly running in the race, and honestly ran a helluva race. And even though I lost my exactas and trifectas, I have to give her a special nod for competing in such a stiff competition and doing so well, albeit at the cost of her life. I suppose if I were a racehorse, I couldn’t think of a better way to go than to do it crossing the finish line of the Kentucky Derby.
People seemed shocked that this happened and some are raising a big stink about it. I, however, have seen this before and it happens surprisingly more often than most people know. But sometimes you have to realize that these horses are bred specifically for this reason, such as a cow that is bred for the beef industry. If people saw their beef being “euthanized” on national television, then I think Eight Bells’ blaze of glory would quickly be forgotten.
As far as our fantasy racing league goes, the only thing the winner gets is bragging rights, so here goes...
I WON! I WON! I WON! (Thanks Big Brown!)