Horse and Auto Racing

I know I've talked about the Kentucky Derby here, but that's only one of three races in the Triple Crown. The second race is the Preakness, and it's run in Baltimore.

Now the Derby was won by a long shot, a good horse that no one had ever heard of, named Mine that Bird. Bird ran in the Preakness, and finished respectably, but he didn't win. In fact, his jockey jumped ship before the race to try a horse called Rachel Alexandra.

Rachel Alexandra is probably the best horse you've never heard of. Before the Preakness, she'd only run against other fillies, but she was always winning- she was, simply, bigger, stronger, and faster than the competition. The new owners thought the three-year-old filly would do well against the boys, and ponied up $100,000 to enter her in the Preakness. The bookies gave her 9-5 odds.

She delivered.

She took a lead right out of the gate, and she never gave it up. Two other horses, including Mine that Bird, came within a length, but never really had a chance to overtake her. Sometimes, it can be boring to watch one athlete dominate a race, but this wasn't one of those times. Rachel Alexandra just showed that she's one tough girl.

And she did it in Balitmore, my hometown!

This post is a bit of a personal update.

I've written here before about how I've started running with my wife. It started on the indoor track at the gym, and later I started jogging on my own. I've grown to like it; it's a good exercise, it helps me to wake up in the morning, and while I still prefer cycling, I integrated jogging into my personal program.

Yesterday, I was up at 5am, went running, and instead of taking a slow go around the neighborhood, I did something a little different: I ran straight out for one mile, turned around, and came back the same way. I timed it, too. I ran 2 miles in 19 minutes.

That felt great. I hadn't broken a 10-minute mile before. I know it's nothing to sneeze at, but with my knees, I think I can feel a bit pumped about it. I feel even better that I barely broke a sweat running it. I guess 18 months of slow jogging has finally paid off.

Is there any deeper message here? Nope. I did this strictly for myself, and I liked it. On my next run, I'll still do a slow go around the neighborhood, but I'll start it out differently from now on: with one mile straight out, at as fast a pace as I can manage. Let's see if I can ever hit a 4 minute mile.

So, they ran the Kentucky Derby again, and as it is every year, the event was more than just a race. There were ladies in wide sunhats, there were mint juleps, there was music, there was pagentry, there was a nineteenth century atmosphere transplanted into today, and to top it all off, there were two minutes on a muddy track....

There was also real money betting and books, winners and losers. For the most part, the losers were the ones who'd bet on the favorite, a horse named Friesan Fire, who only finished 18th in the field of 19. So much for odds-on favorites.

The big winner was Mine That Bird, a 50 to 1 long shot, who won by more than 6 lengths, the widest winning margin since 1946. He's also the 9th gelding to win the Derby, and first since 2003. It's not that geldings are slower runners; rather, racehorses have a fairly short productive career, and much of their value is realized after they finish racing and start serving as breeding stock.

So all in all, it was an exciting race. There were a lot of firsts, some unexpected and unusual statistics, and a big payout for those who where lucking enough to pick the winner. Now it's time to pour a nice cold mint julep, drink a toast to Mine That Bird, and wait for the Preakness on May 16.