Glamour, tradition and, oh yeah, bourbon – what’s not to like about the Kentucky Derby? It’s also, of course, America’s premiere horse racing event and sets the stage for the Triple Crown (the Derby, the Preakness in two weeks and the Belmont three weeks after that)
Of the 40,000 Thoroughbred foals born in the United States each year, only 20 get to the Kentucky Derby. Only eleven horses have gone on to the win the Triple Crown. To the Swift chronicles the triumphs and heartbreaks, drama and hope of this beautiful and exciting sport. Heavily illustrated and filled with stories of not only the winners but those that came up short, this collection of stories from The New York Times combines original reporting with new essays on the sport.
Now, what was that about bourbon? The key ingredient for mint juleps of course! No traditional Kentucky Derby Party would be complete without them.
How sad about Eight Belles. Horse racing is an interesting sport indeed. I had no idea about all that’s involved until I read Seabiscuit: An American Legend.
It can be a heartbreaking sport (ie Barbaro two years ago at the Preakness) There’s a movement in the sport to change tracks from hard dirt to a synthetic surface; in fact California has mandated that all of their tracks must be synthetic by the end of this year. However, the jury is still out on whether they will prevent injuries such as these.