Weeks back, conversation was mounting about the prospect of a horse called Radiohead, trained by household name (to the degenerate gambler dads in said households) Rick Dutrow, running in the Derby. Radiohead fell flat in his recent performance – like if Thom Yorke replaced Flea with the bassist from Spandau Ballet for his performance at Coachella – and he’s out. Instead, Dutrow is going with Homeboykris.

From Vegas Sports Odds:

Homeboykris would be a stunning upset for this year in 2010 Kentucky Derby betting odds as he opened as a 60-1 longshot at online sportsbooks to win this year’s Run for the Roses but has gained more value and is now at 35-1. So far this year as a three year old Homeboykris has two starts with one place and total earnings of $14,000. Last year as a two year old Homeboykris had four starts with two wins and total earnings of $260,000. It is that performance as a two year old that has Homeboykris listed as a bona fide Kentucky Derby contender.

60-1 doesn’t exactly bestow confidence (maybe in the most reckless addicted gambler dads), however, come Derby Day, Homeboykris will have the backing of at least one known winner. Joe Torre owns a stake in the colt and was down in Louisville on Wednesday to watch HBK work six furlongs on the track.

Homeboykris is actually on the bubble for the race at the moment. He’s ranked 20th in the money out of the twenty horses slated to race next Saturday, with the potential that he could be bumped from the list if Devil May Care is entered in the Derby instead of the Kentucky Oaks. Tense.

So, Los Angeles Dodgers fans, when you see Torre in the dugout looking a little addled.

Know that it’s even odds that he’s thinking about Garrett Anderson’s slow start or Homeboykris’ Derby status.

Last year, I did a three-part blog series for Yahoo! Sports chronicling the three trips I made to the sites of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. It was an ultimate sports odyssey, only problem is that the second leg in Pimlico has nothing to do with sports (see my full post on The Preakness on Yahoo!)….

After conquering the Derby, I felt sufficiently conditioned to take on the Preakness. But, now, after taking down the Preakness, I’m wondering if I didn’t inadvertently test out of the first year of SWAT school. Louisville gets wild no doubt, but Preakness has one speed: zero to volatility, in an instant. To its credit, the Kentucky Derby was also impressively reckless. This, however, is Gomorrah…

You think I’m joking? I am not joking. Let’s take a look at some of the more memorable moments of Preakness past…

The Sporting Blog reminded us the other day that the Preakness is attempting to rebrand their image, and are allowing no alcohol be brought into the infield. In years past, you were allowed to bring coolers, but they had a strict cans-only policy. Of course, when you got to the checkpoint, they’d make you open the cooler, and would politely furrow about the top layer of ice. You could pack a severed limb in that ice, and no one would be the wiser. Also, how you disposed of your beer cans (whether you even bothered to slug them down) was entirely optional…

And who could forget the famed Running of the Urinals!





Last year, Pimlico decided to stagger the urinal set-up to discourage this. At least, one young man would not be denied. You can see the full slideshow of fail at Deadspin, but here was the outcome…

It’s been reported that the racetrack at Pimlico is fledgling, facing possible bankruptcy. So it will be interesting to see how these new policies affect attendance. The Smart money says that Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel switching horses to ride Rachel Alexandra, this year’s version of Eight Belles – a philly attempting to outmatch the field of male colts; hopefully, she’ll fair better than EB (R.I.P.) – isn’t going to be enough to bring back the cretins, the debauchers, the debasers, the degenerates and the mooks that served faithfully as The Terrorlawn’s base.

I think what they need is for some guy to hit the sure-to-be six figure superfecta. Maybe some guy with a history of failed attempts at pony gambling glory, whose 25th birthday happens to be on Saturday (wink, wink).