- Sep 22, 2013
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The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of one and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kilograms) and fillies 121 pounds (55 kilograms).
The race is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate duration, and is also called "The Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is the first leg of the American Triple Crown and is followed by the Preakness Stakes, then the Belmont Stakes (source of information from top: Wikipedia).
This year's main festivities (the 143rd Kentucky Derby!) will be on Saturday, May 6 at 2:30-7:15 pm (on NBC), but the actual race is actually not long, so it will start towards 6:30 pm!
Classic Empire and Always Dreaming are the top-contender horses this year. The race is only 1.25 miles long, but the prize money is $2 million. The track record for this iconic and celebrated American sporting event is held by the horse Secretariat (1973).
I like the horse Irish War Cry (trainer: Graham Motion), because he exhibits handsome speed and is already the winner of the Wood Memorial. The jockey of Irish War Cry is Indo-Jamaican Rajiv Maragh who has come back from serious injuries.
What makes me keep watching this cherished horse-race on TV every year (since 2006) is my love of the films National Velvet and Black Beauty and my appreciation of equine medicine (veterinarians who practice their healing arts specifically on horses). The recruitment of horse-doctors at Churchill Downs represents a general society investment in the proper concern for animals. The first race I watched (in 2006) saw the gritty horse Barbaro win the Kentucky Derby only to have his leg shattered in the Preakness States, leading to his unfortunate demise and death.
Plus, who doesn't like the horse-racing in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (Christopher Walken)?
The classic drink at Churchill Downs is the tasty Mint Julep.
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JAMES BOND: I like Irish War Cry in the 2017 Derby.
MAX ZORIN: Nah, I prefer Always Dreaming.
JAMES BOND: Some like Classic Empire.
MAX ZORIN: What great names!
JAMES BOND: Right, Max. Irish War Cry will give some nice political inspiration, no?
MAX ZORIN: I hate politics. I prefer profit.
JAMES BOND: You're a gambling man?
MAX ZORIN: Who isn't in this age of Silicon Valley brouhaha (e.g., eBay, eTrade, etc.)?
JAMES BOND: If Irish War Cry wins, you owe me a trip to Dublin...
MAX ZORIN: If I win, you owe me a Guinness.
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Kentucky Derby (Official Website)
The race is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate duration, and is also called "The Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is the first leg of the American Triple Crown and is followed by the Preakness Stakes, then the Belmont Stakes (source of information from top: Wikipedia).
This year's main festivities (the 143rd Kentucky Derby!) will be on Saturday, May 6 at 2:30-7:15 pm (on NBC), but the actual race is actually not long, so it will start towards 6:30 pm!
Classic Empire and Always Dreaming are the top-contender horses this year. The race is only 1.25 miles long, but the prize money is $2 million. The track record for this iconic and celebrated American sporting event is held by the horse Secretariat (1973).
I like the horse Irish War Cry (trainer: Graham Motion), because he exhibits handsome speed and is already the winner of the Wood Memorial. The jockey of Irish War Cry is Indo-Jamaican Rajiv Maragh who has come back from serious injuries.
What makes me keep watching this cherished horse-race on TV every year (since 2006) is my love of the films National Velvet and Black Beauty and my appreciation of equine medicine (veterinarians who practice their healing arts specifically on horses). The recruitment of horse-doctors at Churchill Downs represents a general society investment in the proper concern for animals. The first race I watched (in 2006) saw the gritty horse Barbaro win the Kentucky Derby only to have his leg shattered in the Preakness States, leading to his unfortunate demise and death.
Plus, who doesn't like the horse-racing in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (Christopher Walken)?
The classic drink at Churchill Downs is the tasty Mint Julep.
====
JAMES BOND: I like Irish War Cry in the 2017 Derby.
MAX ZORIN: Nah, I prefer Always Dreaming.
JAMES BOND: Some like Classic Empire.
MAX ZORIN: What great names!
JAMES BOND: Right, Max. Irish War Cry will give some nice political inspiration, no?
MAX ZORIN: I hate politics. I prefer profit.
JAMES BOND: You're a gambling man?
MAX ZORIN: Who isn't in this age of Silicon Valley brouhaha (e.g., eBay, eTrade, etc.)?
JAMES BOND: If Irish War Cry wins, you owe me a trip to Dublin...
MAX ZORIN: If I win, you owe me a Guinness.
====
Kentucky Derby (Official Website)
