Any interest in the Triple Crown?

[Thomas Veil]

Honestly, I’m not a big horse racing fan, but for some reason I’m drawn to this three part event every year.

Maybe it’s the pageantry and spectacle (the fancy clothes, the extravagant hats, the call to post); maybe it’s the chance to see something odd, like a couple years ago when one horse threw his rider straight out of the gate and then proceeded to run the race without him…

But the “fastest two minutes in sports” (today’s Kentucky Derby) and its other two jewels have, over the last few years, held a fascination for me…especially when one horse goes on to win all three races.

As in most years, I don’t even know who’s running yet, but my wife and I will check them out today and find one to root for.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Honestly, I’m not a big horse racing fan, but for some reason I’m drawn to this three part event every year.

Maybe it’s the pageantry and spectacle (the fancy clothes, the extravagant hats); maybe it’s the chance to see something odd, like a couple years ago when one horse threw his rider straight out of the gate and then proceeded to run the race without him…

But the “fastest two minutes in sports” (today’s Kentucky Derby) and its other two jewels have, over the last few years, held a fascination for me…especially when one horse goes all on to win all three races.

As in most years, I don’t even know who’s running yet, but my wife and I will check them out today and find one to root for.

When I spotted the thread title I assumed that you meant the rugby union "triple crown" competition.

I must admit that I had no idea that this term also applied to a particular horse race (or three specific horse races?)

 

[Thomas Veil]

And I had no idea it was also a rugby thing!

In the US it’s the pinnacle of horse racing. The other two races are the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont.

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Thomas Veil]

I think I’m going to have to start using this guy for all my sports betting:

NBC, MSNBC political analyst Steve Kornacki correctly predicts Medina Spirit would win Kentucky Derby

The NBC News and MSNBC national political correspondent, who became a sensation during the 2020 election, contributed to NBC's Derby broadcast.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Yoused]

Maybe it’s the pageantry and spectacle

No, it is the cocktails. I saw Rachel Maddow showing us how to make a mint julep on Derby Day some years ago. It has to be the cocktails.

My best friend ended up with four hayburners a couple decades ago. One of them was a Quarter Horse (thoroughbreds are Arabian/Quarter crosses) and when I watched her walking that mare up the driveway, I thought, “if that is a Quarter Horse, I shudder to think what a whole horse would look like”. Joke was on me, though: a few months later the fifth horse appeared.

 

[DT]

We usually watch, certainly the Derby, but almost always all three races. Mint Julips, good bourbon, a hot brown!

 

[Pumbaa]

Honestly, I’m not a big horse racing fan, but for some reason I’m drawn to this three part event every year.

Maybe it’s the pageantry and spectacle (the fancy clothes, the extravagant hats, the call to post); maybe it’s the chance to see something odd, like a couple years ago when one horse threw his rider straight out of the gate and then proceeded to run the race without him…

But the “fastest two minutes in sports” (today’s Kentucky Derby) and its other two jewels have, over the last few years, held a fascination for me…especially when one horse goes on to win all three races.

As in most years, I don’t even know who’s running yet, but my wife and I will check them out today and find one to root for.

I’m more of a Three Crowns fan myself, but spectacles can be fun. Fancy clothes, extravagant hats, hmm, I’ll try to catch some of it. Thanks!

 

[Thomas Veil]

Say what?

Medina Spirit could lose Ky. Derby win; track bans Baffert

Medina Spirit’s victory in the Kentucky Derby is in serious jeopardy because of a failed postrace drug test.

apnews.com

Medina Spirit’s victory in the Kentucky Derby is in serious jeopardy because of a positive postrace drug test, one that prompted Churchill Downs to suspend Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert immediately on Sunday in the latest scandal to plague the sport.

Baffert denied all wrongdoing and promised to be fully transparent with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission during its investigation. Baffert’s barn received word Saturday that Medina Spirit had tested positive for an excessive amount of the steroid betamethasone, which is sometimes used to treat pain and inflammation in horses...

“I got the biggest gut-punch in racing for something that I didn’t do,” Baffert said of the failed test. “And it’s disturbing. It’s an injustice to the horse. ... I don’t know what’s going on in racing right now, but there’s something not right. I don’t feel embarrassed. I feel like I was wronged. We’re going to do our own investigation. We’re going to be transparent with the racing commission, like we’ve always been.

Medina Spirit is Baffert’s fifth horse known to have failed a drug test in just over a year. Flanked by his attorney Craig Robertson, Baffert said his barn was told that Medina Spirit was found to have 21 picograms of betamethasone — slightly more than double what the trainer said was the allowable amount — in a postrace sample.

I honestly don't know what to think. Baffert's a great trainer who doesn't need to cheat, and he doesn't come across as someone shady at all. OTOH, five horses? If he's not doing it, something weird is going on.

 

[Yoused]

21 trillionths of a gram? I have no dog in this hunt, but damn, that sounds absurd.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Oh my god…

No wonder this happened—Trump wasn’t in office!

Trump issues bizarre statement about Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit - CNN Video

CNN's Jim Acosta discusses former President Donald Trump's statement about Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit with Jim Avlon and Margaret Hoover. The racehorse tested positive for elevated levels of betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid that is allowed in horse racing at a certain...

www.cnn.com

What a horse’s ass.

 

[bunnspecial]

The native Kentuckian in me won't miss the Derby, even though I now only get a few hours of coverage and not the local stations all day. I went once, and that was enough, but I still love everything surrounding the event.

Say what you will, but I like Bob Baffert also. He's been under a microscope enough that I can't imagine he wasn't as careful as could be on this.

In addition, it seems ridiculous that something present at part-per-trillion quantities could even have a measurable effect on a horse. 30 years ago, that level of sensitivity was basically unheard of, and now you're trying to nail a respected trainer for it.

 

[bunnspecial]

We usually watch, certainly the Derby, but almost always all three races. Mint Julips, good bourbon, a hot brown!

Glad to read someone else knows what a Hot Brown is!

The last good one I had since moving away from Kentucky was...well...one of the last times I visited.