The Run for the Roses

The first Saturday in May is the date of one of the biggest events in America, but most people on the street don't have any idea what that event is. It's been dubbed the most exciting two minutes in sports, with the most expensive drink. The Kentucky Derby at Churchill downs is a 134 year tradition, the biggest race of the year for three years olds and the start of the legendary Triple Crown. It is a grueling mile and a quarter, but it turns into a sprint as twenty horses vie for dominance.

As the first leaders fall back, others take their place, until the horse with the most stamina and speed, or the luckiest horse, is the last one standing. It's a time honored tradition, with the rich and famous of the world flocking to fill expensive boxes and the less rich and famous to fill the lower grandstand and infield. The record holder is Secretariat, nicknamed Big Red. He ran the race in a mind-blowing 1:59 2/5. Average Derby time is 2:04 3/5.

The most recent winner was Street Sense, whose come from behind victory had people all over the contry singing his praises. His Triple Crown dreams came to a bitter end two weeks later, as he just missed a head bob finish to third place Derby finisher Curlin.

The year before, horse racing was buzzing over Barbaro, the undefeated bay colt by Dynaformer, who won the roses by the biggest margin in 60 years. Two weeks later, fans cried out in astonishment and horror as he was pulled up as the field passed the finish for the first time, his leg shattered in 23 places. Eight months later, the racing community mourned his death from laminitis.

The Run for the Roses is a race of agony and ecstacy, with the best horse not always winning. Giacomo, the 50-1 long shot, won in 2005. He has only won once since. Still, a Derby win is a Derby win. You have to realize that even though some horses in the Derby may not have much chance, they are still one of the greatest three year olds in the country. Of the thousands of horses born every year, only twenty can run three years later.

To win a Derby classifies you as among the elite. The best trainer around, Todd Pletcher, is 0 - 23 in the Triple Crown races. He is good, even great, but he hasn't won the Roses yet, and therefore hasn't truly joined racing's legends.