Complete Coverage -- Newsday.com

May 6, 2008

Ed McNamara: Death is part of horse racing

Just as the wild celebration for a potential Triple Crown winner began, the scene Saturday at Churchill Downs got weird and sad. Eight Belles was down after galloping around the clubhouse turn, her front ankles shattered. She had finished second, ahead of 18 colts, while trying to become only the fourth filly to win the Kentucky Derby. There was nothing that could be done, so she was euthanized immediately. As the Derby anthem goes: "Weep no more, my lady. My old Kentucky home, good night."

May 2, 2008

Big Brown's team confident of Kentucky Derby win

How do you win the Kentucky Derby from post 20, which hasn't been done since 1929? How do you win the world's biggest thoroughbred race in only your fourth career start, which hasn't happened since 1915? That's what the undefeated Big Brown will try to do Saturday at Churchill Downs, and his co-owners, jockey and trainer are confident that he will.

May 2, 2008

LI community has major stake in Derby

As happy hour was getting under way Friday afternoon, Kevin Coumatous stood behind the bar at B.K. Sweeney's Parkside Tavern in Bethpage, gripping the tap and pouring beer into the mugs of regulars, who were awash with excitement over the prospect that a horse co-owned by a local guy was favored to win the first jewel of the Triple Crown.

May 2, 2008

Ed McNamara: Kentucky Derby Day picks

First post Saturday at Churchill Downs is 11 a.m., seven hours and four minutes before the gates are scheduled to open for the 134th Kentucky Derby field. There are nine races before the Run for the Roses, including five consecutive stakes immediately preceding it. I'll concentrate my other betting action on the four races before the Derby and see if I can hand out any winners.

May 1, 2008

Ed McNamara: Kentucky Oaks Day picks

For the locals in Derby City, Kentucky Oaks Day is a rite of spring at Churchill Downs, where the crowd has exceeded 100,000 in nine of the past 10 years. On the day it didn't, only 98,445 showed up. They like this sport a little bit down here. For serious horseplayers around the country, Oaks Day is a day to take off for personal reasons: for betting.

April 30, 2008

Ed McNamara: Kentucky Derby Q & A

It's the one race that interests people who don't care about horse racing. It's a sport about which you either know a great deal or next to nothing, so here are some factoids that might impress your friends at Saturday's Kentucky Derby party.

April 29, 2008

Ed McNamara: Synthetic-track horses signal new era for handicapping

The Daily Racing Form's past performances show a tiny "A" inside a diamond. "A'' stands for artificial, indicating a race was run on a synthetic surface. To many horseplayers, the "A'' is a scarlet letter, casting doubts on the validity of the form.

April 28, 2008

Ed McNamara: Kentucky Derby is one-of-a-kind event

Its signature song, "My Old Kentucky Home," makes cynical gamblers misty-eyed. It's the race everyone wants most, and the hardest to win. It's a deranged rite of spring, climaxed by an explosion of emotion late in the afternoon on the first Saturday in May. It's the Kentucky Derby, and millions of people who don't care about horse racing check it out. It's some show.