The Derby In Perspective …

Mage won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday; this year was the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s definitive Triple Crown and I would like to put that feat in perspective today:

  • Secretariat set the record for the Derby and the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes in 1973.  Fifty years later those three records still stand.
  • Secretariat won the Derby in a time of 1:59 2/5; Mage won on Saturday in a time of 2:01.57.  In handicapping, a fifth of a second is considered to be one length on the track; it’s an approximation to be sure, but it is generally accepted as a measurement.  That means Mage would have finished 11 lengths behind Secretariat in an imaginary match race.
  • How big is 11 lengths?  Well, the 10th place finisher on Saturday – – a horse named Confidence Game – – was about 12 lengths behind Mage.  So, watch the replay of the Derby on Saturday and count the horses as they cross the finish line.  When you come to 10th place, that is the margin of Secretariat’s imaginary victory.

Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot had this to say about pageantry over the weekend:

“At the risk of beating a dead horse, the Kentucky Derby continues to recede as an American cultural event. Even the “Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” is too much commitment for a short-attention-span society. There is this, though: with the Derby in Louisville and the coronation of King Charles in London, Saturday will be a big day for silly hats.”

Last week, the NFL suspended 5 players for “gambling infractions”.  Two were suspended for 7 games because they placed bets on their phones while they were on the premises of team facilities and that is specifically prohibited in the existing CBA.  The other three players were suspended “indefinitely” and details in those cases are still murky.  However, it should be noted that Calvin Ridley was suspended “indefinitely” when the league found out that he bet on his team to win while he was on injured reserve.  Make of that what you will and consider that Ridley was reinstated after sitting out one year.

There was an interesting tidbit in the reporting that caught my eye.  The NFLPA has alerted all its members via e-mail that the mobile apps on the players’ phones alerted the online sportsbooks to their gambling activities and that it was the online sportsbook apps folks who alerted the NFL of the gambling events.  I think there is a lesson here for everyman and not just for NFLPA membership:

  • Online sportsbook apps know who you are and what you are wagering on – – and maybe have sufficiently sophisticated tracking and locating technology to know where you are placing your wagers.
  • The folks who own and operate those apps would seem to have no qualms about sharing that information with third parties like the NFL and who knows who else …

Maybe folks should consider these online gambling apps as the technical incarnation of Lamont Cranston – – known as The Shadow.

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man?  The Shadow knows…”

The lesson taught to ne’er-do-wells by The Shadow in every radio episode was:

“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit…”

Another report last week said that the city of Nashville, TN has approved a deal that will contribute $1.25B to the cost of building a new stadium for the Titans.  The total cost of the proposed new playpen for the Titans is $2.1B.  I do not like the idea of taxpayer financing of stadiums where the team owners get to keep most of the revenue generated by the stadium facility; I am also a realist and recognize that city fathers around the country are more than willing to appropriate taxpayer funds to these purposes.  So, I cannot blame leagues and team owners for accepting their largesse.

Here are three recent stadium funding offers put forth by cities:

  1. Las Vegas coughed up $750M to get the Raiders to move from Oakland.
  2. Buffalo and NY State allocated $850M to the Bills for a new stadium there.
  3. Now we have the Titans scoring $1.25B …

Folks, this is a prelude.  Once Danny Boy Snyder sells the Commanders, his toxic presence will no longer overhang any attempt to get a new stadium built in the DC area.  There are three jurisdictions that can aspire to host the Commanders’ new field – – Maryland, DC and Virginia – – and that bidding war will be intense.  I will not be surprised when the public financing for that deal goes beyond $1.25B.

Finally, since I mentioned crime and criminality above, let me close with a few observations on those subjects:

“The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is kind of a slander on the poor.”  [H. L. Mencken]

And …

“I think crime pays.  The hours are good, you meet a lot of interesting people.  You travel a lot.”  [Woody Allen]

And …

“The best of them were the kind of people you’d expect to drive a beer truck. They had no class.  The classy gangster is a Hollywood invention.”  [Orson Welles]

            But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

4 thoughts on “The Derby In Perspective …”

  1. Sham, who finished second to Secretariat in the Derby, set the record for the second-fastest time ever in the Derby. That record ALSO still stands. This is a testament to the concept that worthy competition makes everyone better.

    One other interesting note I came across the other day, Secretariat has one other record that stands among Triple Crown winners – each successive 1/4 mile time was faster than the one before. That makes sense to do a faster quarter in the Preakness. But a faster quarter than the Preakness at the Belmont? And then to win by 20+ lengths?… Unreal.

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