05-04-2008, 01:41 AM
wurm noted that the race lasts about two minutes and the broadcast lasts about two hours. Well, the Derby Festival lasts two weeks. It's a fun time to be around Louisville! Starting off with a major fireworks show, then races in many varieties including a mini and a full marathon, hot air balloon races, a run for the rose' (wait staff running with trays of wine), bed races, a steamboat race. http://www.kdf.org/
Only the horse race is serious. The rest is just springtime fun.
By the way, something I did not know until I moved to the area, the Kentucky Derby is race number 10 on a card of 11 races. Folks go to the track for a full day, not just for 2 minutes. Lots of celebrities, lots of plane ol' folk having a good time. Around here, the Derby is the day for out of towners. Friday is the Kentucky Oaks race for fillies and is considered The Day for locals. Two inches of rain yesterday made this year's Oaks something less than a Chamber of Commerce day!
The loss of the filly today does take some of the fun out of it.
Whether racing is cruelty to animals is certainly something to be considered. Very few of these animals would be bred and born were it not for the industry so there is some tradeoff between no life at all and a life of racing. Winnners do have a good life after racing; as is true with humans, less successful adults don't have is so good although some of the barns in the Bluegrass are pretty nice quarters!
Only the horse race is serious. The rest is just springtime fun.
By the way, something I did not know until I moved to the area, the Kentucky Derby is race number 10 on a card of 11 races. Folks go to the track for a full day, not just for 2 minutes. Lots of celebrities, lots of plane ol' folk having a good time. Around here, the Derby is the day for out of towners. Friday is the Kentucky Oaks race for fillies and is considered The Day for locals. Two inches of rain yesterday made this year's Oaks something less than a Chamber of Commerce day!
The loss of the filly today does take some of the fun out of it.
Whether racing is cruelty to animals is certainly something to be considered. Very few of these animals would be bred and born were it not for the industry so there is some tradeoff between no life at all and a life of racing. Winnners do have a good life after racing; as is true with humans, less successful adults don't have is so good although some of the barns in the Bluegrass are pretty nice quarters!