The Kentucky Derby is Saturday on NBC, and the field includes horses like Curlin (7-2 odds), Street Sense (4-1), Nobiz Like Shobiz (8-1), Circular Quay (8-1) and my favorite Imawildandcrazyguy (50-1).
But this thing is still going to be all about Barbaro. The horse that wins on Saturday is going to have sing “My Old Kentucky Home” or cure cancer to get out of Barbaro’s shadow. ESPN’s E-Ticket has an interesting article on BarbaroMania for both good and ill. For as much freaky equine worship as the Fans of Barbaro (FOBs) are doing, they’re also raising a lot of money for equine research projects and helping prevent the slaughter of horses. The NTRA is selling blue wristbands for the Barbaro Memorial Fund, so you can always Ride With Barbaro.
The Barbaro: A Nation’s Horse documentary was supposed to air Sunday on NBC, but was preempted because the NHL playoff game ran long. The show will now air Friday night on CNBC. The NHL should offer a sacrifice of oats to Barbaro, so as to be spared his terrible vengeance from above.