Soul Of Louisville Speaks

I have never been to the Derby. Like many other locals, I have found the activities that surround the event exciting enough. During the two weeks leading up to the big day there is an event for everyone. But who in the area doesn’t love to be part of the speculation.

The last time I had a hunch about a Derby horse which proved to be right was when Strike the Gold took home the coveted rose garnet in 1991. I didn’t place a bet, though I wish I had. I did, however, manage to pull his name from a party drawing, which made me feel somewhat part of his victory.

This year it was my mother who had the hunch. I had been too busy working to pay attention to the usual Derby chatter and had given the ordeal no thought until I heard that this year’s favorite, a horse given the nickname of my employer’s competition (Big Brown), had a braggadocios owner who was said to have quoted Muhammad Ali by saying, “If you can do it, it ain’t bragging.” What a Louisville connection, I thought. Muhammad Ali is from Louisville. UPS’s hub is in Louisville. And Louisville is the home of the Kentucky Derby, the fastest two minutes in sports. That got my attention.

And there was another horse. Her name was Eight Belles. She was a filly in a colt’s race, and was believed to be a worthy competitor. It so-happened Hillary Clinton was courting Indiana around the time her name came up. She identified; even made Eight Belles part of her campaign speech by encouraging prospective voters to “put their money on the filly.” Now, I’m not in the Hillary Clinton camp, but even I was reserving hope for the female runner. Once again I was tempted to follow the hunch. This time I was considering a win, place, or show. But, for the second time, I didn’t follow through.

The race did not disappoint. Big Brown maintained a cool stride from the worse lane in the race (lane twenty on the outside) until he reached the stretch, where he performed a cool “walk down” on each of his competitors and won by a sizable lead. Eight Belles, who appeared for a while to have a chance at first, gave everything she had, which won her a non-contested second. It was a very impressive effort. It just wasn’t enough. Once again, I regretted not acting on my hunch, well, my mother’s hunch. (Not really. I’m cool.)

My first thought was to count my would-be winnings. My second thought went briefly to politics. Both thoughts were interrupted when Eight Belles took a fall shortly after crossing the finish line. The tragedy would not take away the excitement of Big Brown’s win right away. Never-the-less, the news that Eight Belles had been euthanized due to ankle brakes in both legs would ultimately put a damper on the day. It would turn out to be a day of joy and pain, with Big Brown going on as the undefeated contender and Eight Belles remembered for her courageous blaze of glory.