First Week in May

The first week in May has lots of folks scrambling to get the best deal on petunias, choosing tomato plants.  Will it be Early Girl or Beef Steak? How about skipping the zucchini and go with cucumbers?  So many choices.

Well, not so much for me.  The first week in May has me looking over the line up for the KENTUCKY DERBY.  Ya’ know....  The most exciting 2 minutes in sports which takes place on the first Saturday in May.  Except for in 2020 when Covid messed it up.  It was postponed until September that year.  

There is so much to consider before placing a bet or bets.  Read on..........

1.Track conditions.  Which horses can run in the mud if it happens to be a muddy track?  In May a muddy track is always a likely possibility.

2. Jockey.  One must consider his or her experience or lack thereof along with their win/loss record.

3. Trainer, owner, stable in which the horse was trained.

4. Family Tree.  In this year’s Derby 8 horses are descendants of Secretariat.  5. Horse’s Record. You want to select horses with the best winning record. Maybe.  The best odds are on horses with less than stellar records and oftimes they come out on top.

6. Color.  The color of the jockey’s silk, not necessisarily the color of the horse, but ya’ll can consider that too.  This year’s lineup has a pretty gray roan.  It’s nice if it matches the red roses they drape over the winner.  After all it is the “Run for the Roses”.  

When making my selections I consider a couple of other things.  The name of the horse goes to the top of the list.  A few years back the winner’s name was I’ll Have Another.  I liked the name thinking it might be another beer or piece of pizza.  Turns out the owner would always have another cookie.  Even better. 

Some final thoughts for picking a winner:

a.) Dart Board.  Arrange all the names of the contenders on a cork board and throw 3 darts for the first 3 positions.  

         b.) Hat.  Instead of placing the aforementioned names on a dart board you can place them in a hat.  You can draw three of them out yourself or have an uninterested party draw them out for you. Lucky for me I have a 3 year old grandson.  I’m sure he’ll be up for the challenge.

I’ll add another pearl of wisdom.  One zucchini plant will feed a small village.  Much more than that and you’ll have to sneak them onto your neighbors’ porches and into unlocked cars under the cover of darkness.  I think I'll plant another rose or two.