Sunday, May 02, 2010
Why Change Anything?
(CHICAGO, IL – May 2, 2010) People who see the giant light stands rimming the grounds of Churchill Downs automatically assume that it’s only a short time before the country’s most popular horse racing event will be held in prime time. But Sam Flood, the Kentucky Derby producer for NBC Sports, told the Louisville Courier-Journal in a conference call that he believed moving the race to a later hour would interfere with one of its key components.
“Once you get dusk and darkness, I think it changes the feel for this,” Flood remarked, talking more like an artist than a businessman. “There’s so much history and tradition, I’m not sure being under the lights are going to do anything to enhance that,” he said. Flood noted that what makes the Derby unique has little to do with gambling and much to do with celebrating spring.
Churchill Downs shattered records for its two-day Kentucky Oaks/Derby festival on afternoons that were as different as day is from night. Friday’s Oaks was held in perfectly-designed weather. Saturday’s Derby, except for the two minutes during which it was run, took place amidst dreadful conditions. And, yet, all the key components that define horse racing’s success were met in each circumstance.
As for Derby Day, the overnights rose to 10,3 rating with a 23 market share - the highest in 18 years. On-track attendance was also staggering – the sixth largest crowd in history – although counting heads with the human eye would conclude otherwise. With the favorite at odds of 6.3/1 and 20 horses in the field on a sloppy track that portended unpredictability, total wagering on the race increased 7.8 percent. Wagering on the 13-race Kentucky Derby card was $162.7 million, an increase of 4.3 percent year on year. The satisfacotry result was achieved even though equipment failures occurred at TwinSpires.com and at many wagering outlets.
Artistically, the first day of the two days enabled a dazzling fashion show. Churchill Downs decorated the paddock, tote board, saddle cloths and outriders in pink, the charity’s distinguishing color. Blind Luck’s nose victory in the Oaks showcased the extraordinary pluck of this daughter of Pollard’s Vision, no slouch himself when the Lord passed out courage. Rachel Alexandra’s defeat in the La Troienne Stakes at the hands of Unrivaled Belle might have signified the telling development in a shift of power among distaffers.
The second day, drab in comparison on several accounts, had its own fascinations. The Derby connections that made the long walk from the backstretch to the paddock wore clear plastic ponchos. Inebriated fans in the infield wore nothing. Members of the media made side bets on which crazy kid could skid on his stomach in the mud farthest. Meanwhile, most everyone's attention fell squarely on trying to figure out which part of the track was bad and how that might hamper the Derby horses.
It seemed clear that the pace and the rail were disadvantageous until Calvin Borel rode a seemingly over-matched sprinter from Emerald Downs via Turd Paradise named Atta Boy Roy to a stunning ninth race triumph by utilizing speed and the inside. But what the inside is to some was not inside enough for Bo-Rail. The jock set his mount down on the narrowest of strips beyond where the tractors could travel – an inch off the paint not a horse's width. Borel then took to this unharrowed space again two races later and came home with his third Derby trophy in his last four Derby rides.
Super Saver represented something of a historic triumph for WinStar Farm, although few people realized it. Casner, Troutt, Cauthen, Walden et al has started seven horses in the last four Derbies and was set to start four more in quest of its first success this May. Trainer Todd Pletcher was zero for nine in previous Derbies, but Winstar’s team would have ascended to the top spot among the most frustrated owners in Derby history if one of its eventual two runners this year didn’t triumph. At nine starters and no winners, Charles T. Fischer’s Dixiana Farm has that honor.
Several observers have suggested that this Derby had more back stories than others. But, that’s not true. Each Derby is rich in the before, during and after. Those who think that the freak timing of Endorsement’s career-threatening injury was exceptional should think back only 12 months ago to the saga of I Want Revenge. Those who marvel that only a few trainers dominated the race with entries should wonder why the nation’s leading trainer and the world’s richest owner were not represented. If it’s only a game for the privileged, then some horse, owned by cowboys from New Mexico or blue-collared guys in a yellow school bus, such as Mine That Bird or Funny Cide, shouldn’t win. You can’t make sense of the Derby – that’s what’s great about it.
In reading the notes at the bottom of the chart, more than half of the 20 Kentucky Derby horses encountered difficulty. The comments about Lookin at Lucky left you feeling that, if the Derby favorite finds a fast track and a good post, he’ll win the Preakness. But visitors to this site have read things into what has been written before, so there's no guarantee that they'll get this.
Debate makes the sport fascinating. The “Run for the Roses” and the “Lilies for the Fillies” have no shortage of it. Why change anything?
Vic Zast invites you to meet him on Twitter.com and Facebook.com
Written by Vic Zast
|