Horse superfan Mirich has yet to be heard from on this, but Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has written an angry letter to Clinton. A portion:

"Horse racing is as indefensible as dog fighting, and Sen. Clinton must step up immediately and condemn it as animal abuse," Newkirk said. "Eight Belles and countless other horses abused in the racing industry suffer horrendously and die just so that people can bet on them as though they were poker hands."

Clinton had made this statement prior to the race:

"I hope that everybody will go to the derby on Saturday and place just a little money on the filly for me," Sen. Clinton told supporters in Jeffersonville, Ind., ABC News reports. "I won't be able to be there this year — my daughter is going to be there and so she has strict instructions to bet on Eight Belles."

Meanwhile, Ms. Mirich is furiously scribbling her latest poem. An excerpt:

Hillary's Presidential ambitions, at the Rainbow Bridge. Mystical. All, All Beautiful Glowing Rainbows Sending To Angel Hillary. I Love You So A Lot So. Superdelegates with Barbaro and Eight Belles now In The Sea Of Tranquility. God brings Calming Waters, gas tax holiday and a Second spot on the Obama ticket. Halos ..... Breaking ties in the Senate. Affirmed. Posted by: Dee Mirich at May 5, 2008 6:17 PM.

PETA Writes To Clinton About Eight Belles [ABC News]
Clinton Backs Girl Horse In Kentucky Derby [ABC News]
There's Something About Mirich [Deadspin]

Daulerio says he has been holding out on heading to the polls because the lines have been too long — we do work him pretty hard here — and that seems like a good sign for, you know, America. Our minds are still spinning after the Obama-Clinton "smack" "down" at the WWE last night; we're not sure if this makes us love our country more, or become that much more terrified of it.

So, in case any of the NBA Playoff games become a blowout tonight, you should all have plenty to watch. (Look! Chris Matthews is making Keith Olbermann want to kill himself again! We love politics!) And yes, Pennsylvanians: Vote, fools.

McCain's bracket was to be unveiled on his Web site today before the tournament tips off at noon. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, when asked about her picks for the Final Four teams, deferred to the most famous graduate of Georgetown University, whose highly ranked Hoyas are playing tomorrow. ``Oh gosh, I don't know,'' she said at a campaign stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on March 18. ``I have to consult with my basketball adviser, my husband.'' Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, said, ``We're going to pass.'' Obama's choice of North Carolina, the tournament favorite, won't hurt him in that state's May 6 primary.

McCain, whom aides said "was still working on his brackets" last night in London (translation: "Zzzzzzzz ...") has his own online NCAA tournament pool, as we mentioned on Tuesday. You can't win actual money, but you can win McCain goodies; including the McCain fleece. But you only get it if you pick Arizona to reach the Final Four.

March Madness: McCain Ponders, Clinton Passes, Obama Picks UNC [Bloomberg.com]
John McCain NCAA Pool

In politics they call them "pundits," whereas in sports we call them "experts," "columnists" or "Bayless." But it's pretty much the same thing; as Hillary Clinton's shocking win in New Hampshire last night proved, nobody knows anything. We've been reading Swampland and Andrew Sullivan and The Page and The Stump like someone poring over their fantasy team for the last few months, and not a single "pundit" saw last night's results coming. If we were in sports, Hillary's speech would have been nothing but her pounding her chest, screaming about "respect."

It was amusing to watch Chris Matthews and Tim Russert echo Chris Berman last night, with their, "that's why they play the games" comments. We jumped into study of this year's presidential race with the notion that we did not understand anything, that the world of political coverage was a far different one, with different rules and maxims, than the world of sports coverage. After last night, we now know: Nope, same shit.