May is one of the best months for television. For the networks, it's a "sweeps" period, the time when they roll out all of their season finales. But it's also a great month for sports on TV. In addition to regular season baseball and playoff hockey (plus playoff basketball for those of you who care about that sort of thing), you've also got the opening weeks of the French Open. Then there's the special events on the May calendar: the Kentucky Derby and the Indy 500.
The oldest continuous sporting event in the country, the Kentucky Derby has been run annually since 1875. This is one of the events that is on that list of "sporting events you must see in person before you die." People who don't give a crap about horse racing make it a point to either watch or go to the Kentucky Derby every year. Even if you don't do that, you're still going to make your bets or at least pick your favorite horse. It's kind of like the NCAA Tournament in that way. Everyone makes a pick, no matter how much or little they might know. And the method for that pick varies from cool name (which is generally my strategy), silk colors, liking the jockey, or trying to be knowledgable and trying to base it on past results and prior earnings.
I must say that the horse names this year are pretty awesome (if not somewhat contradictory). You've got Brilliant Speed, whose speed must not be that brilliant, since his current odds are 30-1. Watch Me Go, the 50-1 longshot, is probably going to watch everyone else go instead. Dialed In must be. He's the current favorite at 4-1. Twice the Appeal comes in at 20-1, so I guess the odds on Once the Appeal would've been 10-1 if that horse was in the race. There's Animal Kingdom, which is an appropriate name, since all horses are members of the animal kingdom. Stay Thirsty, Pants On Fire, you're both 20-1 shots. Will the Derby be a Decisive Moment? Or will there be a Midnight Interlude? A trainer named Michael J. Maker has two horses in the race, and he must be really into the Kentucky Derby. Their names are Twinspired (Churchill Downs is known for its twin spires by the finish line) and Derby Kitten. Then there's Master Of Hounds and Comma To The Top.
I make a Derby wager every year with a friend of mine where we each pick three horses, add up their finishing places, and the lowest number wins. Part of my approach is cool names, but I also look at the odds so that my decision can be somewhat "informed." My trifecta includes Archarcharch, who starts from the inside post, Mucho Macho Man (shouldn't it be Mucho Macho Men?) and Unclo Mo, the second choice at 4.5-1. I'm somewhat concerned with Uncle Mo coming from an extreme outside post position (No. 18), but since I'm an Uncle Joe and Uncle Mo is kinda similar, I'm sticking with that pick.
Part of the appeal of the Kentucky Derby is that it's the first leg of horse racing's "Triple Crown." Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown, and none since Affirmed in 1978. The current 32-year gap between Triple Crown winners is the longest in history. After the Derby, only one horse can become the 12th, and all the attention shifts that way come the Preakness, which takes place two weeks later. That's part of what makes the Triple Crown so tough to win. But everybody's a Triple Crown contender prior to the Derby. That's why it's so much fun.
Then at the end of the month, you've got the Indy 500. This truly is one of the classic events in American sports. It's called the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," and I can't disagree with that claim. Indianapolis might be where Peyton Manning plays football, but that's not why it's known worldwide. People know that city because of one legendary race and one legendary racetrack. My viewing of auto racing is almost exculsively limited to NASCAR, but I watch every lap of the Indy 500 every year. Danica Patrick is somewhat responsible for that, but I'd do it anyway. The Indy 500, just like the Kentucky Derby, only happens once a year. So you'd better not miss it.
This year's Indy 500 is even more special--it's the 100th anniversary of the first one. They didn't hold it a couple of times during the war years, so it's not the 100th race, but that's pretty impressive nonetheless. The anniversary will be one of the storylines, but the race itself should provide plenty of its own. Dario Franchitti (Mr. Ashley Judd) is the defending champion. But he's just one of so many big names in IndyCar these days. There's Helio Castroneves (yes, the Dancing With the Stars guy), Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan (my favorite male driver) and, of course, Danica. Can she become the first female driver to win the Indy 500?
The Indy storylines won't play out until later this month, but rest assured, May's got plenty to whet your appetite until then. Starting with the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
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