the-kentucky-derby Page index.xml - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Anthony Davis’ extension isn’t a risk, it’s standard operating procedure
The Los Angeles Lakers continued their tradition of taking care of stars Friday, signing Anthony Davis to a three-year, $186 million max extension. The Brow will now be in purple and gold through 2028, and in the process was rewarded with the richest annual extension in NBA history at $62 million pe...
Horse racing needs a stoppage, not a change of scenery
One of the rebuttals to Churchill Downs’ suspension of horse racing after this weekend was that officials couldn’t find proof of the venue’s role in the dozen horses who’ve died there this year. While that logic comes off like an amusement park owner saying “Nothing to see here” as kids get launched...
A fix for horse racing that’s more than an ‘emergency meeting’
Horse racing regulatory and safety officials, along with representatives from Churchill Downs, are holding an emergency meeting today in response to two more horse deaths at the famed track in Louisville, Ky. this spring. The reason I’m writing this before the actual meet-and-greet is that nothing i...
Kentucky Derby winner Mage doesn’t disrespect horse racing by saying yea not 'neigh' to Preakness
Last year, Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 odds, like a kamikaze to horse racing. Not honoring the tradition of the sport was the team behind the emeritus Kentucky Derby champion, who decided to sit the winner out of the second leg of the sport’s Triple Crown. The biggest prize in the spo...
Which sport has a clear-cut GOAT?
It’s a conversation that’ll lead to a fight over drinks and is a common one among sports fans. Who is the greatest of all time in their given sport? But which sport has the easiest GOAT to figure out isn’t discussed nearly as much. As far as I’m concerned, there are two options: Hockey and horse rac...
Quick, what hat says, ‘I’m fun but also grieving 7 dead horses’?
Here at Deadspin, we take a wait-and-see approach to covering horse racing. Every year, someone will pitch a Kentucky Derby preview and either get laughed out of the writer’s room or ignored. The only reason we wrote about the 2022 iteration was because long shot Rich Strike won at 80-1, and his tra...
If the NBA had a Dunk of the Year award, Ja Morant would be the winner
As we enter the final weekend of the NBA season, there are only a few regular season awards yet to be wrapped up. The most notable is the MVP race, but you’re delusional if you think I’m going to write about that. What I’m here to talk about today is the Dunk of the Year. It’s not an official award ...
The NBA has a ratings problem — Exhibit A: The All-Star Game
There was a time during the midst of 2020 in which Adam Silver and the NBA owned the world. The combination of an amazing All-Star Game in Chicago with a new dramatic ending, the sad and tragic death of Kobe Bryant, and the league’s decision to shut things down — becoming the first warning that this...
The 10 most proficient cheaters in the history of sports
There are many forms of cheaters in sports, and often the dumbest of them get the press because they’re as close to dumb criminals as one gets — and everybody loves a dumb criminal. The 2000 Spanish Paralympic basketball team that won gold despite only two of the 12 players actually having a mental ...
So Derby winner Rich Strike was a heart-warming story for less than a week
I wish Vegas would’ve given the public odds on how long Rich Strike’s feel-good story remained feel-good. While it didn’t take a turn to Cancel Town in the first 15 minutes after the race, it did get there during trainer Eric Reed’s 15 minutes of fame, so my unders bet would’ve hit....
80-1 shot Rich Strike wins Kentucky Derby
Rich Strike wasn’t in the Kentucky Derby field when head trainer Eric Reid woke up Friday morning. After a late scratch to Ethereal Road, a spot opened up for a 21st horse in the 20-thoroughbred field. And one of the longest shots in the field at 80-1 at post time just won the 148th Kentucky Derby....
Your AEW Revolution Preview
It seems like every time we gather to preview an AEW PPV, we marvel at how it’s the biggest card they’ve put together. I’ve said “Jiminiy Jillikers!” so much the words have lost all meaning! But we can’t help it, as this card is probably as stacked, maybe more so, than September’s “All Out.” I guess...
Aaron Rodgers' ‘mental health’ work this offseason has been admirable
Aaron Rodgers is perfectly content doing Aaron Rodgers things, whether you like it or not. The NFL MVP from the 2020 season, who has been embroiled in a tense standoff with the Green Bay Packers front office this offseason, seems to have thoroughly enjoyed how he has put his offseason to use. Accord...
Bob Baffert inexplicably blames ‘cancel culture’ for horse-doping controversy
Trainer Bob Baffert’s horse, Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby on May 1, tested positive for a banned substance. Apparently, according to Baffert, this happened because one of the groomers decided to take a piss on the hay in the horse’s stall after taking cough medicine, and the horse consu...
What happens if Medina Spirit is disqualified?
Only one horse has been disqualified for a drug test after winning the Kentucky Derby. That happened in 1968, when Dancer’s Image was DQ’d for testing positive for a banned anti-inflammatory. But Forward Pass, who finished in second was not declared the official winner until 1972....
Desperate for a Jeopardy gig, Turd Ferguson makes an appearance at the Kentucky Derby
Maybe Aaron Rodgers just doesn’t want to be Aaron Rodgers right now. And who could blame him?...
A definitely-winning guide to betting the 2021 Kentucky Derby using only horse names and how badass they look
First of all, I have indeed been to the Kentucky Derby (which is, like, a WHOLE other story, and I’ll never write it as well as Hunter S. Thompson, so just read his). ...
Undefeated favorite Essential Quality has everyone asking: Wait — how many gray horses have won the Kentucky Derby?
There’s this phrase in thoroughbred racing, it goes one of two ways: “always bet the grays” or “never bet the grays.” [Ed. note: My uncles were firmly in the “never” category — R.O.]...
Demolition Derby
Head on over the SB Nation's Longform page and check out this profile on Gary Stevens by Joe DePaolo:...
Hunter S. Thompson's Kentucky Derby Classic Makes An Awesome Poster
The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday, so it's about time for an annual re-read of Hunter S. Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved." And to go with it, this wonderful print, portraying characters, locations, and even nebulous concepts, all as jockey silks. Do want....