With the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, I can't resist writing a little something about it, especially since there is a little political angle to it as well.
Hillary Clinton actually made a pick for the Derby on Thursday, as she zipped into Louisville, KY for a quick meeting with supporters.
Her choice was the filly Eight Belles, who breaks from post position #5 and is 15-1 in the morning line.
(Let's give some kudos to the staffer who realized that she needed to know which horse to pick. Can you imagine the howls of outrage if Clinton had rumbled into Louisville two days before the Derby and not known the name of ANY horse in the field?)
No filly has won the Derby since Winning Colors in 1988.
Eight Belles has won her last four races, including three straight at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, marked by a narrow win in the Grade II Fantasy Stakes.
Her speed figures are a bit lower than the favorite, Big Brown, who will start from the far outside post. (Only one Derby winner has come from post position 20, FYI.)
If you feel the need to check out the past performances of this year's Derby field, then go to http://www.drf.com/tc/kentuckyderby/2008/pps/kentuckyderby08.pdf
Now some of you will ask, "Why was Hillary Clinton in Louisville?"
A good chunk of the Louisville media market goes across the Ohio River into Indiana, what they call "Kentuckiana."
Kentucky votes on May 20th, two weeks after Indiana. There is no doubt that Clinton is the favorite there and I'm sure she hopes that she can stir up a few more votes in southern Indiana by making a quick foray into Kentucky right before the Derby.
If I were a true professional journalist, I would have made sure that I was in southern Indiana covering the Presidential race and driven into Louisville tomorrow for the supposed purpose of "voter interviews."
The last time my father and I trekked to Louisville for the Derby was in 1995, when Thunder Gulch salvaged my weekend by paying $51 to win. It was about the only race that I won all Derby Day, but it gave me bragging rights for the long drive home.
As for this year, we may as well pick a longshot, right?
I like Gayego at 15-1, but he's in the post 19, which hurts. So I will look inside for a horse that can save ground and rally from behind. Colonel John will get a lot of play and low odds, so look one post over for a good price on Z Humor or Z Fortune. Also look at Pyro.
One thing I will do right now is re-read one of my favorite stories based on the Derby in the turbulent times of the Vietnam War. Hunter S. Thompson's, "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved." Google it and enjoy the tale.
Dust Commander won that 1970 Derby at odds of 16-1. Two years later, Thompson would produce "Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail," about the 1972 elections.
Some of the parallels to this year are very interesting.
The anti-war candidate struggled to defeat the establishment candidate who tried desperately to wrest away the nomination. The primary battle went into June, marked by rampant behind-the-scenes maneuvering on convention delegates.
"How long, O Lord, how long?" Thompson wrote of the Democratic race in June of 1972. Where will it end?"
Exactly. Where will it end in 2008?
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