The COVID-19 Diary: Saturday 2 May

Today is Derby Day. Spring is an exciting time for sports in Kentucky. We start with March Madness (which now lasts until the beginning of April), move into baseball season (which was more exciting when the Cincinnati Reds played Major League Baseball), and arrive at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. It’s called the most exciting two minutes in sports, and I agree with that, although I get more emotional when My Old Kentucky Home is played while the horses are escorted to the starting gate than during the race itself.

The Derby is as much about spectacle as the races – and yes, there are several races throughout the day – and thanks to television the spectacle has overtaken the race itself. Like the Super Bowl, coverage begins well before the event. While some of it is the usual feel good stories about the horses, jockeys, trainers, owners, etc., much of it is about the celebrity attendees and their increasingly over the top fashion choices. It’s a bit like watching the red carpet interviews before the Grammy Awards.

There’s no Derby today, thanks to COVID-19. The race has been rescheduled to September 5. Churchill Downs and NBC Sports are holding a virtual race today, which apparently will be using the old standby of statistical modeling to determine THE GREATEST DERBY WINNER EVER, probably gussied up with a CGI race for viewing pleasure. Apparently Secretariat is 7-2, and Whirlaway and Citation are both 4-1. Despite misgivings, I’d probably watch it, but I don’t have cable. I suppose I’ll catch it later on YouTube.

I attended the Derby once, in 1984, my senior year at UK. I went with several of my fraternity brothers, and we were in the infield, of course. If you’ve ever done that then you know what it’s like. If you haven’t, then I won’t try to describe it here. Instead, I’ll refer you to this excerpt from Hunter S. Thompson’s seminal 1970 article, The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved:

Now, looking down from the press box, I pointed to the huge grassy meadow enclosed by the track. “That whole thing,” I said, “will be jammed with people; fifty thousand or so, and most of them staggering drunk. It’s a fantastic scene — thousands of people fainting, crying, copulating, trampling each other and fighting with broken whiskey bottles. We’ll have to spend some time out there, but it’s hard to move around, too many bodies.”

That captures it, even 14 years later, in 1984 and would probably still hold true to some extent 50(!) years later, were there a race today. Deadspin has some pictures from the infield in 2009.

Thompson’s article is still worth a read, for several reasons. It’s regarded as his first work of Gonzo Journalism, the style that defined his writing for the rest of his career, and grew to caricature him in later life. It paints an accurate picture of the debauchery that exists under the veneer of style and gentility that’s used to market the event. And it’s funny as hell.

It’s easy to find the article. A casual web search will turn up several sources. A few of my favorites are below. I’m also providing a link to Secretariat’s record breaking 1973 Derby win. Hopefully by September we’ll be able to watch the race.

Stay healthy and safe.