Kentucky Derby

[ABikerSailor]

You know what would be an interesting race to watch? A Tour de France winner and the winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Winners of the Kentucky Derby generally average 30 mph, and the fastest Tour de France stage was done at an average of 52 kmph.

Would be interesting to see who would win, man or horse.

that would depend on the length of the track, an whether the bike rider was allowed to build up a head of steam.

I doubt from a standing start, the horse would lose if it were to be Derby length or shorter

Actually, I think that if it were a Derby length, the human would win. A good cyclist can get up to speed within 100 yards or so.

And...............don't forget..............the horse has to accelerate from a standing start as well.

 

[Claudette]

Always Dreaming won...

Yup. Good race.

He's sired by Bodemeister and has an impressive pedigree with some great horses in it.

He sure liked the mud. Don't think he was a favorite but then neither was AP.

 

[blastoff]

How 'bout make the race be between a guy on a bicycle and a cheetah. If the guy on the bike wins, he lives. If the cheetah wins, he gets a meal.

A cheetah has great speed but only for a short distance, after which it sprawls prone on the ground exhausted, breathing heavily until its able to recover. Game, set, match to the biker.

 

[JoeMoma]

How 'bout make the race be between a guy on a bicycle and a cheetah. If the guy on the bike wins, he lives. If the cheetah wins, he gets a meal.

A cheetah has great speed but only for a short distance, after which it sprawls prone on the ground exhausted, breathing heavily until its able to recover. Game, set, match to the biker.

Well, that depends. If they have the same starting line, the cheetah will be eating well. The cheetah don't care about getting to the finish line.

 

[my2¢]

Is it my imagination or has horse racing faded considerably due to all the other gambling opportunities out there? Never been to a thoroughbred race myself, but when I lived back in Ohio I enjoyed plenty of nights at Toledo's Raceway Park and Columbus' Scioto Downs, both were harness racing tracks.

 

[blastoff]

Grew up near a thoroughbred track. Used to be traffic jams on the highway leading to it pre and post races during the season, but then attendance dropped off to the point that the race season was shortened quite a bit. However I was told a few years ago from friends who still live in the area that there'd been renewed interest and the seasons had been extended, but no idea if they're back to where they were in its heyday.

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know, for a while here in Amarillo we had a life off track betting parlor. They had a lease for 2 years, but in order to keep their license they had to build a track within 2 years.

Well, they never built the track, and the off track betting place went away.

I kinda miss it. Nice place to hang out on a Saturday afternoon. Made enough money betting to buy my beer and a meal.