One of the three days we all care about horse racing.
The Kentucky Derby is Saturday, one of the three days every year (the Preakness is in two weeks and the Belmont Stakes three weeks after that) during which we pretend to care/know something about horse racing.
There's something decidedly strange about this; I can think of only a few other sports (sled-dog racing, cycling, sailing, Canadian Football and, potentially, international soccer) that enjoy such a limited lifespan in our collective American consciousness. When it comes to horse racing, I am no different than the collective.
But I want to be. I want horse racing to consist of more than placing a bet, then watching to see if no athlete in the field has to be euthanized. The sport's quintessential problem was summed up at the '06 Preakness, when Barbaro took his fateful tumble. One prominent Web site determined that, before the horse's accident, the vast majority of its Barbaro readership came from men; post-accident, the majority was women. Translation: The sport itself isn't appealing across genders on a daily basis; it takes the intervention of dramatic spectacle.
So why not spice the show up? Bring in some cheerleaders, some pre-race jockey introductions with lights, dress up the horses in costumes - or at least sponsor's logos, like NASCAR.
Shoot, let Mark Cuban take over the USTA. I wager I'll watch that show more than thrice a year.