Mayday, Mayday

"As we come into the fourth turn, Cabbage is ahead, Bubble Gum still sticking to the rail. Baby Diaper is starting to look pooped. Apartment House is rockin', but here comes Spandex in the stretch..." ~modified version of horse race routine by W.S. Weaver

When I was a kid I must have spent hours making variations of this horse race routine, not knowing it originated somewhere in pop culture. Winston Sheffield "Doodles" Weaver, brother to NBC exec Pat Weaver and uncle to the high profile Weaver we know from our own era, Sigourney, had popularized it through radio or television before my time.

The routine came to mind as I noted that today will be the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby. It's been a wet week down there in the Bluegrass State, which means the race will favors mudders... that is, horses who are accustomed to running well on a gooey surface.

I've always loved naming things, whether it be paintings, stories or whatever. So I find the names of Kentucky Derby hopefuls always fascinating. The field today runs like this:

1 Lookin at Lucky
2 Ice Box
3 Noble's Promise
4 Super Saver
5 Line of David
6 Stately Victory
7 American Lion
8 Dean's Kitten
9 Make Music for Me
10 Paddy O'Prado
11 Devil May Care
12 Conveyance
13 Jackson Bend
14 Mission Impazible
15 Discreetly Mine
16 Awesome Act
17 Dublin
18 Backtalk
19 Homeboykris
20 Sidney's Candy

Today's favorites, if you're throwing down some cha-ching, are Lookin' at Lucky and Sidney's Candy. Going strictly by the names, I like Lookin' at Lucky because that was the name of our dog when I was growing up, a Springer Spaniel/Beagle mix who had just the right amount of energy for four growing boys. Line of David has appeal for me as well... a name that conveys much more than just a horse race.

Last year's winner, Mine That Bird won against 50-1 odds, so anything can happen. But for the most exceptional horses, the fame is but a momentary blip and Mine That Bird is now all but forgotten by most of us. Not every horse can be a Secretariat. Nevertheless, getting a crown brings the owners of a horse like that a small fortune and no small measure of prestige.


And so it goes... It's the Running of the Roses. "And they're out of the gate... looks like Cabbage is ahead."