Today is the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, the most famous horse race in the country. Unfortunately, last year, 12 horses died before and after the race, leading everyone to wonder what the hell was going on in that sport. There was an investigation by Churchill Downs, which found no discernable pattern to the deaths. However, they have adopted new safety measures to determine warning signs of potential injuries to the horses. Hopefully, this year will not see a repeat of that tragedy. One has to wonder if racehorse owners and trainers are pushing these animals way beyond their limits in the pursuit of winning, making them more vulnerable to injury. In any case, the race will take place this afternoon just before 5:00 in Denver and 7:00 in Louisville. And yes - I do indeed realize that this is the 4th blog post in a row that features animals. Is my blog beginning to resemble an online version of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins? Do you remember that television show? Marlin would take viewers into the wild to see exotic animals, along with his co-host, Jim Fowler. Marlin would narrate while he instructed Jim to go over and pry open a crocodile's mouth to show viewers what it looked like, or lift up a giant python to show its immense size. I am amazed Jim survived to the age of 89, still working as the host of the show after Marlin Perkins's retirement. Talk about fearlessness.
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