Horse Blog

While many across the nation had huge tailgate parties for Super Bowl Sunday, those of us in the southern region of the US might also be planning Kentucky Derby parties where we’ll have the aforementioned foods as well as tall, cold drinks, appetizers, and just general fun finger foods. In fact, there are probably some who are already sending out Kentucky Derby party invitations, listing the activities and the foods that will be served!

Finally, the real thing tomorrow, something that I truely hold near and dear to my heart is the Kentucky Derby. Blame it on my upbringing, blame it on the Kentucky school systems, hell, there is nothing to really blame it on, the Kentucky Derby is probably the most spectacular sporting event ever. Hell, even the Queen will be there, so it can’t be all that bad…

I noticed during the Derby Daze that while much is made of a horse's sire, his dam is seldom discussed. I'm not sure why that is, and I fear I'll never understand all of the subtle nuances of pedigree handicapping (though perhaps if I ever pick up Lauren Stitch's book Pedigree Handicapping, I might get a handle on that 2x4 stuff that often appears over at Left at the Gate.)

I always enjoy the Kentucky Derby, not that I’m any great judge of horseflesh. I’m not above dropping a few bucks on the ponies, and don’t get much of a chance to do it any more. SWMBO likes horse racing too, and as pleasant as her company is, women and men just bet differently. She can’t read a racing form; I can. I never notice cleverly-named horses; she does. I never notice the colors of the jockey’s silks; she does. She never bets to win; I do.

I admit that I will watch the Derby on the tube. It’s a great sporting tradition and a great show. And I love a good horse race.

After listening to these kids talk about their hobbies, interests, and basic ways of living, I realized that I had very little if not any things in common with them. We dressed differently, ate different foods, watched different shows, and attended different types of social events. When one girl started talking to me about NASCAR, I realized that the closest equivalent of which Vanderbilt students attended was a horse race like the Kentucky Derby or Preakness in Baltimore.

Beautiful in Metropolitan Louisville, KY. Slept in, had a liesurely breakfast. Went to the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill downs. Watched the movie, Got to see the 2nd race from right by the rail next to the winner’s circle. Got a nice pic of the winner.

One week ago I was in Louisville, Kentucky, fulfilling another lifelong dream by attending the Kentucky Derby. I think there are many ways of dividing the world into two kinds of people (e.g., the people who think there are two kinds of people, and the people who don’t), and a major bifurcation is between those who are horse people and those who aren’t. I’m definitely a horse person. I took dressage and equitation riding lessons with my niece, Morgan, and dream of having my own horse if my life wasn’t...

Another envelope in the mail today...full of Kentucky Derby Chips. There are two more I need to get, the $100 Palms and the $100 Trump Plaza. The Hard Rock NCV is still a pipe dream but I'm sure I'll get one eventually.

The method he was to use to cover the crazy-quilt of subcultures exploding into the consciousness of mainstream American news was gonzo journalism. Gonzo journalism, the crazed admixture of fact and fabrication for which Thompson will always be remembered, is a literary response to modernity as surely as James Joyce’s dense word collages or William S. Burrough’s crazed cut-ups and grew out of his frustration with capturing challenging times. Most call the above-mentioned piece in Scanlan’s Monthly on the Kentucky Derby in June of ’70 the...

So someone went to the Turf Club here in Philly and placed a $1 bet on the superfecta for the Kentucky Derby, and won $875,000. The paper said that they have not come forward to claim it yet, but “experts” say that the person is probably consulting legal advice to work out a financial plan. Right, I think that whoever won it is still partying and visiting the Hummer dealership. What is funny is that Steve’s office is right by the Turf Club and he likes to bet on horses. For a minute I thought it might be him that won the money, but then I got an email from him just now telling me to get back on the stick and update the blog so I figure that he’s at work, or just emailing me from his Blackberry at the bar across the street from the Hummer dealership.

“Some have even wondered whether Google is a window into the mind of God, since it monitors, reflects and records the preoccupations and questions of mankind, God’s finest creation. This peculiar notion means that last week God was thinking, in order of priority, about Mother’s Day, the Kentucky Derby, Orlando Bloom, Paula Abdul and the new Xbox 360. He also thinks about Himself a great deal, but mostly He thinks about sex.”

Co-Sponsor of H.RES.231: Recognizing and celebrating the life and accomplishments of the great African American jockey Jimmy “Wink” Winkfield and the significant contributions and excellence of other African American jockeys and trainers in the sport of horse racing and the history of the Kentucky Derby.

New Rule: This year, instead of running a new Kentucky Derby, Kentucky must just show an old one. No one will know the difference. They’ve been showing the same NASCAR race since 1994, and no one seems to mind.

After finishing a poor third in last weekend's Preakness race at Pimlico, Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo announced today that he was entering rehab and thanked his fans for their support and prayers.

If the government tells you it’s running a thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby, and you notice that this horse’s ears are unusually large, there is a natural inclination to wonder if it is, in fact, a mule. You can’t help but start checking its teeth. I think the whole WMD thing got the press looking a lot more closely at ears, and teeth, and various other anatomical anomolies…

Such stories are what the Kentucky Derby is all about. It's a gunfight. You cram 20+ horses on a track built for 10 or 12 and see who can shove through to the front the fastest without breaking any rules (and getting caught). And as for the incredulous "How did it happen," where have you been for the past 130 years?

Wherein HBO boxing announcer and Huffington Post newbie blogger, Jim Lampley, explains how they fixed Saturday's Kentucky Derby right under your noses.

CNN/SportsIllustrated: "The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority is reviewing advertisements worn by at least four Kentucky Derby jockeys that were not approved by Churchill Downs."

For Discussion: It has been remarked that there will never again be a .400 hitter in baseball because of the rise of relief pitchers. Similarly, it has been suggested that there will never again be a Triple Crown winner because owners of distance horses bypass the Kentucky Derby to keep their entries fresh for the longer Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

As if George Steinbrenner's Yankees losing all those games wasn't enough, the Yankee principal owner had to endure another loss yesterday at the Kentucky Derby. Steinbrenner's horse Bellamy Road was the 5-2 favorite and looked a shoe-in for victory. Yet, much like the Yankees, Bellamy Road lost to the 50-1 long shot, Giacomo. Giacomo is the 2nd biggest long shot to win in Kentucky Derby history after Donerail in 1913 who paid $184.90 for a $2 bet (Giacomo paid $102.60).

As you may have heard, a long shot named Giacomo won this year’s Kentucky Derby at unheard of 50-1 odds. This was the second largest payout ever in Kentucky Derby history.

In honor of Kentucky Derby week, I'd like to nominate this post on the true Mint Julep from cookiesinheaven. I'm not from the South but I don't entirely buy into the if-you-aren't-from-here-you-can't-make-one mentality so as a cocktail drinker from Chicago I'm always interested in a good recipe!

Giacomo, a 50-1 shot, defied the odds and won the $2.4 million Kentucky Derby in a gigantic upset Saturday, running down a game Afleet Alex in the final strides and generating a huge payoff.

Even though trainer Nick Zito had five horses in the field of 20, including the favorite, George Steinbrenner's Bellamy Road, this Derby belonged to a 3-year-old colt who won just once in seven races.

Sabato prossimo, il Churchille Downs di Louisville ospiterà la 131esima edizione del Kentucky Derby, la prestigiosa corsa riservata ai cavalli di 3 anni. Il Kentucky Derby è la prima prova della Triple Crown, che comprende anche il Preakness Stakes (Baltimore, 21 maggio) e il Belmont Stakes (Elmont, NY, 11 giugno).

Il sogno di ogni proprietario e allenatore è quello di vedere trionfare il proprio cavallo in tutte e tre le prove della Triple Crown: questa impresa è stata completata undici volte, tuttavia manca dal 1978, quando Affirmed si aggiudicò nello stesso anno Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes e Belmont Stakes. Complessivamente venti cavalli (dieci dal 1979 e sei dal 1997) hanno vinto le prime due prove, prima di perdere al Belmont Stakes: l'ultimo in ordine di tempo è stato Smarty Jones nel 2004.

However, in what was described as a change in its marketing strategy for Thoroughbred racing, Visa USA announced Monday it would not renew its 10-year sponsorship of the Visa Triple Crown series, but would focus on a "new partnership with the sport's most venerable race, the grade I Kentucky Derby."

The south end of the bridge is covered by fabric, which will be left in place through the Kentucky Derby until all the old paint is removed, when the process will resume on the next section of bridge.

The 3 1/2-year renovation, the most ambitious in the track's storied history, replaced the six-level clubhouse, added luxury suites and spruced up the aging home of the Kentucky Derby. The new digs will debut Saturday, a week before the big race on May 7.

Thoroughbred racing is joining the crackdown on drug cheats. The 20 horses expected to start in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby will be scrutinized for illegal substances as much if not more so than their human counterparts in other sports.

Beneath its twin spires, Churchill Downs has completed a sparkling $121 million makeover in time for the 131st running of the Kentucky Derby, America’s most famous horse race.

Okay, so the fireworks have something to do with a little upcoming event called the Kentucky Derby. Still, the fireworks are coming on the eve of the DriveDemocracy/Clergy and Laity Network rally (at 2:30, Central Presbyterian Church) and the Frist/Dobson Family Research Council telethon Sunday night from a nearby megachurch.

I was going through some of my old notes that were on an old computer and found this exchange with Steve Roman the father of the Dosage Index theory. Since it’s Kentucky Derby time again I thought it might be an interesting addition here.

After reading some of the comments at other forums it struck me that dosage theory nay-sayers were probably confused or misinformed about the way this statistical information should be expressed (in terms of DI and/or dual qualifiers winning the Kentucky Derby). Here’s my question. Would it be feasible to express the DI qualifier winners of the Kentucky Derby as an impact value instead of stating it in absolute terms like “no horse has won the Kentucky Derby since 19xx with a DI of more than 4.00”. It would seem (since, I believe, more than...

Kentucky.com: "The Jockeys’ Guild has agreed not to strike the upcoming Churchill Downs race meet, including the Kentucky Derby, in a compromise announced today.

Blues And Royals will miss the Kentucky Derby because of a respiratory condition, a setback for the famed Godolphin stable.

If you have not recently lived in Louisville, you might not realize how big the Kentucky Derby Festival has become. It's much more than the balloon festival and the Pegasus Parade.

Holthus was encouraged by his colt's ability to relax in the Rebel after he found himself near the pace. "That showed he could lay a little closer than usual, which he may do again if it's a speed-favoring track," he noted. Greater Good probably will chase Afleet Alex, who received the most support — at 8-to-1 — of any individual horse in the second Kentucky Derby Future Pool but slipped to 18-to-1 in the final Future pool after a sixth-place finish in the Rebel.

Bellamy Road is one of the favorites for this year’s Kentucky Derby. Sis City will race the day before the Derby in the Kentucky Oaks.

First you need the right ingredients and the right gear. Try Maker's Mark or pricier small-batch bourbons like Basil Hayden's and Elijah Craig. Brown sugar and fresh mint give the drink depth and freshness. Get pewter Julep cups ($12 at landsend.com) and a wooden muddler ($3.50 at amazon.com) for crushing mint.

For each serving: Crush 4 cups of ice. In a pint glass or cocktail shaker, muddle 8 mint leaves and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Add 2 oz. of bourbon and stir. Pack a julep cup with ice until overflowing. Strain bourbon mixture into cup. Stir drink until the outside of the cup frosts. Top with more ice, garnish with a fresh mint sprig, and serve.

In addition, attendees will be able to enter a drawing for 2006 Kentucky Derby tickets, among other prize offerings.