In the United States: The 2017 Kentucky Derbywill be run this afternoon at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky. This storied event has been called thefastest two minutes in sports. Thisafternoons race will be the 143rdrunning of the Kentucky Derby. On May17, 1875, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15three-year-old horses contested the first Derby. The race has always been held at theChurchill Downs, which is considered a cathedral in the world of horse racing. The race has always featured and been limitedto three year old thoroughbreds, runningthe 1 1/4 miles distance (2 km.). Nohorse since Apollo in 1882 has won the Derby without having raced as a two yearold. The Kentucky Derby isthe first of the Triple Crown of horse racing, including the Preakness Stakes,run at Pimlico Racecourse, Baltimore, Maryland and New York City's BelmontStakes, which follow in the weeks after. The winner of the Kentucky Derby is considered a potential winner of theTriple Crown, keeping the horseracing world in suspense until the PreaknessStakes. The attendance at the KentuckyDerby ranks first of all races in North America and usually surpasses theattendance of all other stakes races, including the Preakness Stakes, BelmontStakes, and the Breeders' Cup. The Triple Crown has been won by only 12 horsessince 1919. The Kentucky Derby isreplete with traditions, from the playing of "My Old Kentucky Home"to Mint Juleps served in souvenir glasses, from the burgoo, the thick stewserved throughout the park, to the elaborate hats worn on Millionaires'Row. Queen Elizabeth of the UnitedKingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, attended the Derby during a USvisit in 2007. The Derby is frequentlyreferred to as "The Run for the Roses," because a lush blanketof 554 red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each year. Thetradition originated in 1883. The Kentucky Derby is the last event inLouisville's two week Derby Festival, a great time to celebrate springtime in abeautiful city. This afternoon, 20 horses will constitute this year's Kentucky Derby field. This morning,"Always Dreaming" is the odds on favorite to win, followed at thispoint by "Mc Cracken," "Classic Empire," and "IrishWar Cry."
In Italy: The Kentucky Derby isnot the only thoroughbred race before the public eye today. Kicking off on the Island of Sardinia, 200stud cyclists at the top of their game will be contesting the 100th Giro d'Italiafor the next three weeks. Today sees thesecond stage of this annual Grand Tour of cycling. There are three inauguralstages in Sardinia, then two in Sicily, and then the rest on the ItalianPeninsula, from now until the last Sunday in May. While several of the Kentucky jockeys may bein pink, only the race leader in the Giro d'Italia wears pink. Favoured in this year'srace is Nairo Quintana, with Italian Vicenzo Nibali as another strong favorite. A Colombian, "Nairoman" races withthe Spanish Movistar team. VicenzoNibali, an Italian, has been a strong favorite also, representing the hometownboys now that Sardinian Fabio Aru had to drop out with a knee injury. Controversy struck theGiro last week. Two cyclists wereremoved because of positive drug tests. Also, a novel and dangerous prizeoffered for the first time this year, for the fastest descent from 12mountains, was dropped, because outside of Italy it was considered novel anddangerous. Within Italy it seemed likean awesome idea. Today's stage will showsome beautiful Sardinia scenery, beautiful coastal views from rarely seen partsof the island. Sunday, and the rest ofthe stages, should continue the traditional Giro style of challenging, ifunorthodox and surprising, race courses and stages. In the USA: National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffscontinue. The Pittsburgh Penguinshold a 3-1 series lead on the Washington Capitals, and hope to put it away in Game 5, scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Saturday in Washington. The Penguins' top player, Sidney Crosby, wellknown already to readers of this space, has been out with a concussion, buttook part in a full contact practice yesterday. Fans hope this means he will be at Game 5, to put the nail inWashington's coffin. -- Posted By Rex to SR at 5/06/2017 06:36:00 AM -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "omnisport" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/omnisport. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
