LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The show always goes on in horse racing. Sometimes callously, sometimes with a degree of tone deafness, sometimes with an avert-your-gaze denial of the sport’s tragic truths.
It went on at Churchill Downs again Saturday. The day began with the scratch of Kentucky Derby favorite Forte due to state veterinary concerns, the fifth Derby scratch of the week, most since 1936. Then there were two more horses euthanized after being injured in undercard races, bringing the number of equine deaths at the track to seven since April 27. But the Derby stops for no one and nothing, and so they sprung open the starting gate just past 7 p.m. and ran this race for the 149th time, and once again it produced the scenes and emotions that make the event so beguiling.
In the end, after lightly raced Mage completed a long comeback by thundering down the stretch to win the Derby at 15-1 odds, the show was so compelling that it was almost—almost—as if nothing bad had happened.
