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Booze, gambling dominate Derby
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Thankfully for those watching at home, “the most exciting two minutes in sports” is just what it claims to be: two minutes long.
Any more of The Kentucky Derby would be too much to take.
The Daytona 500 of high society, now on the verge of its 134th running, has become more of an NBC-televised excuse for people to drink and gamble in sunny spring weather than a sporting event.
Contrary to what you may believe, or what the name might indicate, The Kentucky Derby is not actually about horses at all. Instead, it is about gambling, socializing with celebrities, getting drunk and (possibly as a result of the alcohol consumption) wearing ridiculous hats.
While the event is often referred to as “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” because of the intensity and duration of the actual race, The Kentucky Derby, thanks to the amount of alcohol consumed and money wagered, could be just as well be called the “two drunkest minutes” and the “two most heavily bet-on minutes” in sports, too.
That’s right, just like any great American tradition, it’s getting tanked and throwing around money that lies at the heart of the Derby. Although betting and boozing probably contributed greatly to the event’s iconic standing, at some point, enough is enough.
That point is now approaching faster than a stretch runner coming around the final turn.
And there’s no ignoring it.
Horse racing, more so than any other sport, is fundamentally about gambling.
Sure you might root for Cowboy Cal this Saturday because he’s got a funny name, but the only other reason people have to cheer him on is that he pays off nicely at 20-1 odds.
Unless you’re just a big fan of animals with people names, the reason you watch horse racing in the first place is because you like to make a wager on it.
The drinking isn’t much of a secret either.
Almost as a big a tradition as the actual racing of the horses on the track is the downing of the glasses in the crowd.
In the infield, where Derby-goers arrive hours early to “pre-race” and party, beer is the choice. In the stands, it’s the famed Mint Julep. A bourbon and mint concoction, the Mint Julep is as synonymous with the event as Secretariat.
Now, there isn’t anything horribly wrong with alcohol at a sporting event. It’s just when it becomes a drinking event with some sports going on that a problem occurs.
As the drinking continues to take center stage at Churchill Downs; the Derby is starting to teeter down that line like a drunk in a field sobriety test.
Not that the Derby has found such a novel concept in pairing cocktails with betting slips. There is no doubting the relationship that betting and booze have with a number of other sporting events. Unfortunately, gambling and drinking are prevalent just about everywhere you look in sports. Sports betting is a billion-dollar industry, and any televised sporting event inevitably has an advertisement (or 12 of them) for a beer company.
Heck, gambling (in the form of poker) has even become a sport that’s televised and covered by ESPN.
The involvement of wagers and alcohol in sports isn’t a new phenomenon either, so it is hard to make the claim that the two are ruining the purity of sports because they have been there from the start.
They are starting to get a little too intertwined, though.
Betting lines and beer sponsors have turned into statistics readily available on the tips of fans’ tongues. It’s impossible to know that the Steelers are 8-2 without also knowing that they are nine-point favorites.
Watching the NBA Playoffs shouldn’t be about whether or not the Pistons can cover the spread, and watching De La Hoya fight Forbes should be more than an opportunity to drink.
As it is, sports are exciting enough and don’t need alcohol or gambling to make them better.
It’s too bad that shots of cocktail glasses and graphics featuring each horse’s odds will dominate coverage of the Derby this weekend because the actual race really is one of the most exciting, breathless and riveting two-minute stretches in sports.
And you don’t need a Mint Julep or a betting slip to enjoy it.
Mike is a sophomore majoring in political science. If you think Big Truck is going to give Colonel Josh a run for his money this weekend, he can be reached at mackerstein@wisc.edu.
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this is america ackerstein, get used to it.
Any reason to drink and gamble is fine with me … now all the Derby needs are some good strip clubs.
I live in Louisville and beleive me, their are plenty of great skin joints in Lousyville