WASHINGTON - Churchill Downs's stewards Monday exonerated jockey Jose Santos after allegations that he carried an illegal electrical device in the Kentucky Derby. But no one can exonerate the stewards. They bear much of the responsibility for the frenzied media reports that a scandal had tarnished America's most famous horse race.
BALTIMORE - There is rarely a dull moment along the Triple Crown trail, and just when the 128th Preakness appeared becalmed, it was rescued from the grip of serenity by some photographs.
Recent history has underscored the importance of investigating all charges. Having done so, and with no evidence to support allegations that a joint was employed in the the stretch run of the Kentucky Derby, it is time to move on to the next substantive issues.
NEW YORK - By the time you read this, perhaps Bobby Frankel will have changed his mind a third time and decide to send Empire Maker to the Preakness after all. Maybe Dynever was a late scratch from the Lone Star Derby and is on his way to Baltimore. It's not impossible the "Seabiscuit" producers decided their movie needs some more promotion and Atswhatimtalknbout will be contesting the second leg of the Triple Crown.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As the field paraded to the post for last Saturday's 129th Kentucky Derby, John Hendrickson, seated in a third-floor box on the finish line with his wife, Marylou Whitney, heard the familiar ring of his cellular telephone. It was the farm in Lexington, Ky., reporting the birth of a colt by Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm out of Dear Birdie.
TUCSON, Ariz. - I asked the United States Supreme Court to handicap the Derby last week, expecting a 5-4 decision for Empire Maker, but they declined to accept the case. Following Funny Cide's win, I doubt they will take the Preakness or Belmont, either.
They did accept a case involving racing, however, an interesting development for that august body. The case concerns Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona, Iowa, and Iowa's two other racetracks.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Racing fans annually hope that the Triple Crown series will produce an exciting new star, a horse who can stimulate public interest in the sport. Such dreams have not often materialized in recent years, and the outcome of the 129th Kentucky Derby quashed them again.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As this is being written, it has been 24 hours now since Funny Cide won the 129th running of the Kentucky Derby. A cautious peek through the tightly drawn curtains of a motel near the airport revealed no river of blood running down Phillips Lane, no plague of toads raining down upon Standiford Field, no beasts running loose in the streets, commiting unnatural acts. Louisville had not been consumed by fire.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - From the outset, the Kentucky Derby has been great theater. H.P. McGrath's Chesapeake was considered the one to beat in that first Derby on May 17, 1875, but broke poorly and never gained position. Fortunately for McGrath and the backers of his stable, McGrath had a pacemaker in the race. Aristides broke alertly, went to the front, and remained there most of the way to win by two lengths. The Little Red Horse was the toast of the turf.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The playing of "My Old Kentucky Home," the mournful Stephen Foster ballad that brings mist to many an eye when the horses step onto the Churchill Downs track for the Kentucky Derby each year, has an added resonance this year. The old Kentucky home of the Derby, like the antebellum South recalled in the song, will never be quite the same.