Pictured is Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield
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By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, associate publisher
CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, LOUISVILLE, Kentucky-
The 146th Kentucky Derby, originally scheduled for May 2, 2020 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., the first Saturday in May of this year, has been rescheduled to Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus, and the 146th Longines Kentucky Oaks has been rescheduled from May 1 to Sept. 4.
The tradition is for the coveted horse-race to occur the first Saturday in May of each year, a tradition that caps a two-week long Derby festival and that has for the second time in history been rocked by an international crisis, this time a pandemic that has brought the world to its knees.
“For the second time in the 145 year history of the Kentucky Derby, the first time being at the end of World War II, we will move the date of the Derby,” said Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen during a teleconference with the media and investors.
Carstanjen said that "while we are always respectful of the time-honored traditions of the Kentucky Derby, our company’s true legacy is one of resilience and embracing of change and unshakable resolve."
The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown and tentatively set for May 16, has also been postponed, and by Maryland Gov Larry Hogan, though no subsequent date has been announced.
And according to a statement from the New York Racing Association, Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York, the third leg of the Triple crown, has been postponed from its original June 6 date, also without any confirmed subsequent date.
Maryland, Kentucky and New York have stay-at-home orders issued by their governors, along with 40 other states and Washington, D.C.
New York leads the way relative to the state with the most number of coronavirus confirmed cases and deaths, the hard-hit state reporting 247,215 cases to date, and 18, 298 deaths.
Kentucky ranks 32nd among the 50 states with 2, 707 confirmed cases and 135 deaths, and Maryland ranks 12th nationwide, reporting some 12, 830 cases and 486 deaths.
The deadly flu-type virus for which there is no vaccine has spread to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. and the nation has nearly 755,162 reported cases and some 40,000 people dead, worldwide figures regarding the pandemic showing that there are 2.3 million cases globally and roughly 160,000 deaths.
Last year's Derby race, held on May 4, 2019, was steeped in controversy.
In spite of a muddy track from rain that came down on and off all day and sprinkled at the start of the race, long-shot Country House, with a 65-1 odds, won the 145th Kentucky to bring home the $3 million purse, a win by technicality after Maxim Security, the favorite with 4-1 odds, was disqualified for an improper lane change after crossing the finish line.
The $2 exacta paid out $3,009.60 relative to Country House, the $1 trifecta, $11,475.30, and the $1 superfecta brought $51,400.10, more than double the $1 superfecta payout last year
Among the celebrities there last year were Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Vivica Fox, Steve Harvey, media personality Laila Ali, who is the daughter of the late boxing great Muhammad Ali, a Louisville native, Tom Brady, who is now the former quarterback for the New England Patriots and a six-time Super Bowl winner, and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, also a Heisman Trophy winner.
Mayfield played an official role as an announcer and gave the welcome and the “Riders Up” call to the jockeys prior to the horse race, “Riders Up!” the traditional command for jockeys to mount their horses and head to the starting gate.
Officials said the crowd at Churchill Downs was at roughly 150,000 people in 2019, down from the year before when the attendance was 157,813, the rain a factor in 2018 too where Justify, with 5-2 odds, took first place, followed by Good Magic, which placed second, and Audible, the third place winner that year.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog, both also top in Black digital news in the Midwest.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
