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The Kentucky Derby Is Turning 150 Years Old. It’s Survived World Wars And Controversies Of All Kinds

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Louisville, Kentucky – As a huge crowd cheered, American Pharoah came from behind to aim his final two challengers in the stretch. In the 2015 Kentucky Derby, the bay colt and jockey Victor Espinoza raced to the lead with a furlong to go and finished a length ahead of the field.

“There’s nothing like winning the Kentucky Derby,” recalled Espinoza, who has won three times. “To me it’s the most important thing in horse racing.”

This Saturday, America’s longest-running sports event will celebrate its 150th anniversary. It is two years older than the Westminster Dog Show. The Derby has weathered two world wars, the Depression, and pandemics, including COVID-19 in 2020, when it was run in virtual quiet without the customary 150,000 spectators.

Derby Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in May. It features beautiful hats, supporters dressed in their Sunday best, mint juleps served in souvenir glasses, the audience chanting “My Old Kentucky Home,” and the winner receiving a hand-sewn garland of red roses. The Derby was the second-most-watched sporting event in 2023, trailing the Super Bowl.

kentucky derby

kentucky derby

The Kentucky Derby Is Turning 150 Years Old. It’s Survived World Wars And Controversies Of All Kinds

“I’ve heard a lot of people say it’s on their bucket list to attend and the one horse race they watch every year,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, a two-time Derby champion with Fierceness as this year’s early favorite.

The fact that only 3-year-olds are eligible for the Derby adds to its uniqueness. It is also the only race in America with a field of 20 horses. Since 2013, horses must accumulate points in qualifying events to gain entry. Previously, the money won in graded stakes races determined the field.

“It’s very difficult to keep them on track to get to the Derby, get into the Derby, and then, hopefully, everything goes well and you get a good, clean trip,” said trainer Brad Cox, a Louisville native who will saddle Catching Freedom, Encino, and Just a Touch on Saturday.

Louisvillians take pride in their city’s 1875 history, preparing at-home versions of high-calorie treats such as Benedictine dip (grated cucumber, cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo), Derby pie (chocolate chips and almonds) and cocktails when they aren’t at the track.

Thirteen of the fifteen jockeys in the first Kentucky Derby were black, including Oliver Lewis, who led Aristides to victory in front of 10,000 applauding fans in 1875.

Black riders won 15 of the first 28 Kentucky Derbys, and there were none from 1920 to 2000. As Jim Crow laws were implemented, segregation extended throughout the country, including horse racing, where Black riders found it practically impossible to obtain a license.

In 2021, Kendrick Carmouche became the final Black jockey to compete in the event.

Black trainers also dominated the Kentucky Derby’s early years, winning seven of the first seventeen from 1875 to 1891. Larry Demeritte will saddle long shot West Saratoga on Saturday, becoming only the second since 1951 and the 17th overall.

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AP – VOR News Image

The Kentucky Derby Is Turning 150 Years Old. It’s Survived World Wars And Controversies Of All Kinds

Following the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black EMT, by police during a botched narcotics raid at her Louisville home, protesters calling for racial justice and an end to police violence gathered at Churchill Downs in 2020 and 2021.

Women have had an intermittent presence in the Kentucky Derby. Only six riders have competed in the race, the last being Rosie Napravnik in 2014. Seven women have trained Derby runners, with Vicki Oliver last doing so in 2021.

“It’s an incredibly hard race just to get into, let alone win,” he remarked.

Cox was named the winner of the 2021 race nine months after Medina Spirit was disqualified for failing a drug test — only the second such DQ in race history — and Mandaloun was promoted to first.

“We’re all trying to win this race to experience the thrill of victory,” Cox said, “and we’ve yet to do that.”

Last year, 12 horses died at Churchill Downs in the weeks leading up to the Derby, damaging the race’s image. An independent investigation ruled out any faults and found no single cause. The track continued to train but relocated the remainder of its spring racing event to western Kentucky.

The trainer who won a record-tying six races for the third consecutive year will not be in Louisville. Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Bob Baffert after Medina Spirit failed a drug test, upsetting the 2021 results.

Baffert challenged his original two-year suspension in court but lost a year ago. Last August, the track announced extending the suspension until 2024. It said there were “continued concerns regarding the threat to the safety and integrity of racing he poses.”

Churchill Downs Inc., the track’s publicly traded parent corporation with shareholders to satisfy, has spent $500 million on renovations and modernizations during the last decade. Its newest attraction is the $200 million paddock, where visitors willing to spend up to $12,000 may dine and watch the horses being saddled before the races.

kentucky derby

AP – VOR News Image

The Kentucky Derby Is Turning 150 Years Old. It’s Survived World Wars And Controversies Of All Kinds

In its 150th year, the Kentucky Derby purse has been increased to a record $5 million, with the winning owner receiving $3.1 million.

Despite modifications to the race and the track over the years and the incorporation of current events, the first Saturday in May remains.

“The one thing that hasn’t changed is that you have 20 of the best 3-year-olds from all over the world,” said trainer Doug O’Neill, who has won the Kentucky Derby twice.

Pletcher continued, “It seems like the one mainstay that we can really rely on.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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Conor McGregor Vows to Appeal Civil Rape Case

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McGregor said he would appeal the judgement and thanked "all his support worldwide".

Conor McGregor, an Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, has announced that he will appeal a £206,000 judgment after a woman accusing him of rape won a legal action against him for damages.

McGregor had already faced a criminal inquiry in his home nation of Ireland concerning the claims, but he was not charged.

In a post on X on Friday evening, McGregor said he would appeal against the verdict and thanked “all my support worldwide”.

“I am with my family now, focused on my future,” he added.

Speaking outside the court on Friday, Nikita Hand expressed her hope that the verdict will encourage victims of sexual assault to “speak up.”

The jury at the High Court in Dublin deliberated for a day before concluding that McGregor assaulted Ms Hand.

She also filed a complaint against James Lawrence, 35, of Rafter’s Road, Drimnagh, Dublin. She said he abused her by having sex with her without her consent at the Beacon Hotel.

Both men refuted the 35-year-old hair colorist’s charges, saying they had consensual intercourse with Ms Hand at the hotel nearly six years ago.

After eight days of testimony and three days of listening to closing arguments and the judge’s comments, the jury of eight women and four men deliberated for six hours and ten minutes before concluding.

Conor McGregor shook his head as the jury announced that Ms Hand had won her case against him.

His partner, Dee Devlin, his parents, his sister, and his brother-in-law were all with him. He sat in the rear row of the court, between his girlfriend and his mother, Margaret.

Conor McGregor, who also testified during the two-week trial, repeatedly denied the charges of assault.

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The Utah Hockey Club’s Net Scores The Opening Goal.

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(VOR News) – The Utah Hockey Club did not begin the season in the manner that they had planned to, despite the fact that they were playing their first game of the preseason on the ice.

The first goal that they scored at the beginning of the season was not the way that they had anticipated the season to begin.

Des Moines, Iowa, which is located in the state of Iowa, was the location of the first game played by the organisation that was once known as the Arizona Coyotes.

Specifically, the game will take place in the state of Iowa. Specifically, the game was developed in the state of Iowa, which was also the location where it was manufactured. The St. Louis Blues, who were the team that was competing for the championship.

We represented Utah in this particular game.

The penalty call was delayed, which resulted in Utah being required to remove their custodian in order to make room for an additional attacker. This was done in order to provide space for the additional attacker.

It was necessary to do this step in order to clear space for the attacker to move about a bit. Because of this, St. Louis was able to take the lead in the game with a score of 1-0 at the beginning of the second quarter.

This allowed them to gain control of the game. As the puck made its way down the ice and into the empty net of the opposition, the winger for Utah, Dylan Guenther, was unable to gain hold of it at the point, and he was also unable to catch up to it in time while it was falling. The disaster took place at this particular instant in time, which was the ideal time for it to take place that it did.

A defenseman with the Blues named Anton Malmstrom was given official credit for scoring the goal, and St. Louis “congratulated” Utah on scoring its first goal in the history of the team.

Malmstrom was given credit for Utah Scoring the goal.

The individual who was identified as the player who scored the goal was Malmstrom. It has been determined that Malmstrom is the individual who was responsible for scoring the goal. At the conclusion of the official investigation, it was determined that Malmstrom was the individual who was responsible for scoring the goal.

On the flip side, it would appear that yet another case of trolling was directed at the Blues. After the actual opening goal for Utah, which was scored by Michael Carcone a little more than six minutes later, Kevin Connauton added another goal later in the quarter to bring the score to a draw.

This brought the score to a tie. As a consequence of this, the score stayed tied. As a consequence of this turn of events, the score ended up being something like 2-2.

Guenther also made atonement for his prior transgressions by scoring a power-play marker that put Utah in the lead by a score of 3-2. This was a significant accomplishment for Guenther. As a consequence for his earlier misdeeds, Guenther was given this sentence.

Due to the fact that this achievement was achieved, Utah is currently in the position of being in the lead. It was on Friday that a signing took place, which ultimately led to the extension of Guenther’s contract for an additional eight years into the future. We have completed this extension.

Carcone scored his second goal of the game into an empty net, this time into the Blues’ net, during the final minute of the game. This would be his second goal of the game. Ultimately, this goal was the deciding factor in Utah’s victory, which was officially recorded as a 5-3 score.

It was generally agreed that Carcone’s goal was the one that clinched the victory. The final goal of the contest was scored by Carcone, who scored the game’s decisive goal. Utah was able to win the game and take home the victory as a result of Carcone’s goal, which was the goal that ultimately decided the outcome of the game.

However, despite the fact that the situation had already beyond the point of no return, the social administrator for the Blues was still able to successfully extract the last laugh from it. His efforts were successful.

SOURCE: SN

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No Panic for Patrick Mahomes and The Chiefs After Another Quiet Travis Kelce game.

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No Panic for Patrick Mahomes and The Chiefs After Another Quiet Travis Kelce game.

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Chiefs

(VOR News) – Nine times in the passing game was Travis Kelce, a tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs, targeted when he debuted in the 2023 season.

He did, however, only finish with four receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown overall. He responded the next week with seven receptions for 69 yards, the Chiefs adding another score to his record and thus allaying some of the worries of some who were on the sidelines looking in.

Kelce’s third consecutive week of poor performance marked the end of his third game of the 2024–25 season.

Two days before the year ended, this Chiefs event occurred.

Although his four receptions and thirty yards are all season highs, if they had been attained concurrently they would have been among his worst efforts from the previous season.

Once more on Sunday’s triumph over the Atlanta Falcons, a sluggish effort from the offense was evident; Kelce was not an exception to this rule. While this is the case, quarterback for Chiefs Patrick Mahomes thinks the most important symbol of respect is Kelce’s receiving less than a month away from his 35th birthday.

“I mean it’s crazy since teams are still… the respect factor Travis has is just unreal,” Mahomes said to reporters. “It is well-deserved, but we are calling a lot of plays for Travis, and it seems like just two or three people are going to him,” the spokesman added. He understands this clearly.

His desire to win at the end of the day is, in my view, the most admirable trait about him; he is not simply interested in having an impact on the game. I shall give it top attention in the future to keep giving him the ball whenever he is there and on the pitch.

At the conclusion of Week 3, Kelce ranked second only to Rashee Rice in terms of targets, receptions, and yards by the pass among all Chiefs pass catchers. This shows Kelce has made notable advancements on the right path. The other man merely had 12 receptions and 14 targets; Rice had 14 targets and 12 receptions for 110 yards.

Their differences were quite considerable. As of right now this season, three games have been played; Kelce has not yet found the end zone. He had two outstanding catches in the second half.

One was a third-quarter 17-yard gain that put the Chiefs in red zone.

The head coach and Mahomes both expressed hope that Kelce would finally reach his big-time goals after the weekend’s victory. Although this is the new normal for one of the league’s best tight ends, nobody seemed to be worried about it.

This is still the case after a week; yet, the longer Chiefs games pass without a vintage Kelce effort – or anything that even loosely resembles one – the more attention will be paid to his specific stats.

Though he has lost a lot of agility compared to his prime, Kelce is still able to get open. Besides, his head is still clear, hence he is obviously capable of writing correctly.

For a different set of factors, he is not getting targets or catches inside the rhythm of the offensive, though. Maybe we could have opened that window if our sample size had been larger.

Mahomes believes that everything else will take care of itself if other guys start (or, in Rice’s case, keep going) and Kelce keeps on going.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes stated, “The more plays Rashee makes, the more effectively we can run the football, which allows us to involve (Xavier) Worthy, thereby increasing Travis’s opportunities to be open.” “Individuals are genuinely concerned about attempting to remove him, which is facilitating opportunities for other players.”

SOUREC: SI

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