Mint Juleps and the Smell of Kentucky Bluegrass
A twenty-horse field for the 132nd year of the Kentucky Derby and the superlatives swirling around winner Barbaro pile up;
Largest margin of victory in 60 years, six and a half lengths
4th win in a row by a first-time trainer
Only the 6th undefeated horse to win here
14th fastest run in Derby history
1/5th second slower than Affirmed, the last Triple-Crown winner
First Derby win for jockey Edgar Prado
Second largest Derby Crowd.
One of the great things about horse racing is that it’s so unchanged over the decades since we celebrated horses like Man O’ War, Whirlaway and Citation. Jockeys with legendary names like Eddie Arcaro, Willie Shoemaker and now Edgar Prado continue to sweat out weigh-ins and risk their lives every time the gate opens.
Bean-counters don’t train race-horses at 5:30 in the morning, horsemen (and women) do that. Rock-star CEOs don’t build bloodlines, breeders like Roy and Gretchen Jackson put in the years and tears and cheers that bring champions down to the wire.
Racing is …