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Kentucky Derby Prologue

The beginning of the 2009 "Run for the Roses" (Getty Images)

Two Minutes That Last For a Lifetime

Jockey Calvin Borel celebrates his win atop 50-1 shot Mine That Bird at the 135th “Run For The Roses” in 2009 (Getty Images)

The first Saturday in May.  The “Run For The Roses”.  The most exciting two minutes in sports.  The Kentucky Derby.

Any casual fan of horse racing will know that this one race is the greatest in this nation, some would say the world.  Every jockey, trainer and owner dreams of winning it.  Each year, around 35,000 thouroughbreds are born, and when they reach the age of three, they have exactly ONE chance to win this glorious race.  Only twenty out of those thousands will make it to the starting gate, and when doing so, will run the demanding distance of one and one-quarter miles for the first time in their lives.

Let’s take a look at what I consider a “National Treasure”: The Kentucky Derby.

The path to the Derby can take many routes.  Odds-on favorites that won the race such as Spectacular Bid  (1979), Seattle Slew  (1977) and Secretariat  (1973) took their usual prep races as two-year-olds, raced through the winter and spring as three-year-olds, reached the stating gate in Louisville and went on to cement their legend there.  In recent years, however, we have seen some shocking results.

Secretariat, with jockey Ron Turcotte, is draped in roses after the 1973 Kentucky Derby win.

Obscure horses such as Animal Kingdom (2011) had only a handful of starts under their belt yet went on to capture the trophy.  Mine That Bird (2009) was a shocking 50-1 winner who made his way to the derby via a circuitous route that included racing stops in Canada, New Mexico, and finally Louisville.

Of course, there is the memorable and heart-rendering story of Barbaro(2006).  Going into Louisville a perfect five-for-five in his career, he wowed every spectator at Churchill Downs to the tune of a six-and-a-half length triumph. It was the largest margin of victory at the Derby in 60 years, evoking memories of the dominance of Secretariat and also giving the public one of the most realistic hopes for the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed (1978), despite the fact that there were two legs left to go before making history AND nine other horses between 1979 and 2006 had won the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Sadly, his career ended two weeks later, suffering a catastrophic and life-threatening leg injury at the very beginning of Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.  He fought on bravely after the injury until he was euthanized and his story is well-documented as one of the most tragic losses the sport has endured.  That said, there are several interesting horses this year that will attempt to wear the rose covered blanket on Saturday.

What is different about this year’s Derby is that the qualifying system to consider a horse eligible for the race has changed significantly.  In the past, the horse’s earnings in graded stakes races determined who got in, and some of those races may have been when they were two years old and sprinting.  The Derby, however, is one and one-quarter miles — not exactly a sprint.  For so many years, horses that qualified for the Kentucky Derby due to their earnings were ill-prepared or not suited to run this demanding distance.

The traditional mint julep drink will be all around Churchill Downs (Getty Images)

This year, Churchill Downs, the site of the race, instituted a “point system” to qualify for the race.  In this format, horses earned points by winning or placing in designated prep races leading up to the Derby. The more prestigious the race, the more points.  Winners of meaningless sprint races as a two-year-old were awarded no points.

So we have a field of twenty horses who deserve to enter the gate to the roar of the crowd of 150,000 or more.  Millions more around the world will be watching on their television.  I know I haven’t missed one since 1972.  The most exciting two minutes in sports.  The first Saturday in May.  The Kentucky Derby.

*Note: For Michael’s predictions on this year’s Kentucky Derby, head to the Handicapping the 2013 Kentucky Derby story.

 

 

Featured Image (2009 Derby at starting gate): Andy Lyons/Getty Images

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