The Sport Of Kings Is Dethroned

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By Norman Chad

Monday, May 4, 2009

I am sitting in front of my desktop computer -- damn the technology! -- staring at a blank screen. I work for a dying industry and today I am struggling to write about a dying industry.

I speak, of course, of newspapers and horse racing.

Perhaps some of you watched the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, where 153,563 fans -- the single largest gathering of rich white people outside of Easter Sunday dinner at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport -- watched the unthinkable Mine That Bird win ridden by the implausible Calvin Borel, who then gave a joyous interview to NBC's sublime Donna Brothers before taking a delirious victory lap around Churchill Downs.

That ends the feel-good portion of this column.

Two days before the Kentucky Derby, Hollywood Park -- one of the biggest racetracks in the nation, a three-time host of the Breeders' Cup -- canceled its card because it didn't have enough horses. This would be akin to Moonlite Bunny Ranch closing its doors because it didn't have enough hookers.

Ah, the news is not good on any racing front of late:

-- Hollywood Park was purchased by land developers; the track likely will close in favor of a real estate project.

-- Santa Anita, the host of this year's Breeders' Cup, is owned by Magna Entertainment, which has filed for bankruptcy.

-- Pimlico, longtime home of the Preakness and also owned by Magna, has been teetering.

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