May 3 - A date to remember in Louisville...
The 132nd "Run for the Roses" a.k.a. the Kentucky Derby is Saturday, May 6th. It's always the first Saturday in May and for my money it's the most exciting two minutes in sports. Three of the most historic Derbies were run on May 3rd and are connected to the numbers 5, 2 and 54:
5 were the number of victories that Eddie Arcaro had after winning the Derby aboard Hill Gail in the 77th running of the big race in 1952. By winning for the 5th time, Arcaro would become the first jockey to total 5 wins (Bill Hartack will tie Arcaro with his 5th win in 1969)...
2 was the number of times a filly won the Derby after Genuine Risk came from well back in the stretch to win in 1980. The horse ridden by Jacinto Vasquez (one of my favorite sports names, it rolls right off your tongue. Try it at home. Ha-sinto Vas-kez. Love it) became the first filly since Regret in 1915 to take the race...
54 was the age of Bill Shoemaker when he won aboard Ferdinand in 1986, a 17 to 1 shot. By winning, Shoemaker would become the oldest jockey to win the race and oh, by the way, Ferdinand's trainer, Charlie Whittingham was 73. Who says this is a young man's game...
More May 3 Memories...
1802] Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city (but D.C. remains a district, not a state leading to this question, when you're asked to name a state for residence do you use n/a ?)...
1888] Thomas Edison organizes the Edison Phonograph Works...
1920] Owner of the Red Sox, Harry Frazee, becomes the sole owner of Fenway Park...
1936] Future Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio makes his debut with the Yankees by picking up 3 hits...
1937] Margaret Mitchell wins a Pulitzer Prize for "Gone With The Wind"...
1952] Eddie Arcaro becomes the 1st jockey to win 5 Kentucky Derbies (feature story)...
1960] The musical "The Fantastics" opens off-Broadway beginning a run of nearly 42 years and 17,162 performances (I guarantee you it's still playing at a Ramada Inn near you)...
1964] Gerry & the Pacemakers make their U.S. TV debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" singing "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"...
1966] The game "Twister" is featured on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and sales go through the roof...
1971] National Public Radio (NPR) debuts...
1973] The Sears Tower in Chicago is completed...
1977] Paul Simon and Phoebe Snow perform at a benefit concert at the New York Public Library (where it's discovered that Paul Simon has a book that's 33 years overdue. When asked to pay for it, Paul says "oh that was Artie that took that book out")...
1979] Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's 1st female prime minister...
1980] Genuine Risk becomes the 2nd filly to win the Kentucky Derby (feature story)...
1981] The Celtics beat the 76ers to win the NBA Eastern Conference title behind Larry Bird's bank shot after trailing the series 3 games to one (they will win their 14th NBA title when they beat Houston in 6)...
1986] "Dollywood", Dolly Parton's theme park, opens in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (Dolly also owns a radio station there and is quite the active owner according to the staff)...
1991] Primetime soap, Dallas airs its last episode. The show debuted in April, 1978 and broke ratings records in 1980 when 8.6 million viewers watched the "Who Shot J.R." episode...
1999] Hasbro releases the 1st collection of Star Wars toys following the success of "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"...
2000] Cardinal John O'Connor, the archbishop of New York, dies at the age of 80...
[To ensure accuracy of the dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Commentary...
I've gone to the Kentucky Derby and I recommend it as something to experience if you've never been. It does get a bit crowded with something like 120,000 or so people there, mostly in the infield which is inside the oval track but it is a spectacle with the ladies in hats that could even make Jerry Lewises head disappear. The drink of the Derby is the mint julep which is sweeter than Kellie Pickler. If you go, get ready to spot the celebrities who get lots of photo ops. What I also found interesting is overhearing the betting systems of the majority of the crowd who know nothing and when I say nothing, well maybe I'm underestimating here, less than nothing about the thoroughbreds. You'll overhear things like "well I like the name, I knew a minister with that name" or "the colors of that horse would clash with what I'm wearing so I have to bet another horse". Of course this won't give you an advantage in betting but you'll hear things you'll never hear at any other race track. It's worth a trip to Louisville and Churchill Downs, one of the most beautiful tracks in America...
Happy Birthday To...
1919] Pete Seeger...
1928] James Brown (nobody knows his real age. He could have been born in 1828)...
1937] Frankie Valli (who was rubbed out on "The Sopranos" a couple of episodes ago)...
1946] Greg Gumbel (who will be back in competition with his bro' who's going back to sports)...
1950] Mary Hopkin...
1951] Christopher Cross...
[Today is the 123rd day of 2006 with 242 days left in the year and 26 days until Memorial Day]...
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