NO TRIPLE CROWN WINNER THIS YEAR; COSTAS RELATES TO JOCKEYS BY HEIGHT

Horse Racing, aka “the sport of kings”, was on center stage on Saturday with the second leg of the famed Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, being run at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore.


Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver just didn’t have it, while the Derby favorite two weeks ago, Lookin’ At Lucky, rebounded at the Belmont to win by two heads. The most significant note coming out of this race is the fact that for the 33rd straight year there will not be a Triple Crown winner. For those of us old enough to remember (yes, I do), the last super horse to sweep all three races was Affirmed in 1978.

Aside from the exciting, highly competitive horse race which was run in ideal conditions in Baltimore, another note became apparent to me. It was during the lead up to post-time, when NBC was running several different feature stories and interviews. In the area near the jockeys’ quarters NBC’s Bob Costas was interviewing jockey Kent Desormeaux. Jockeys are not big people. In fact, they are rather diminutive. I really like Bob Costas and have always enjoyed his work. I also know that he isn’t a man of large physical stature. But, unless jockey Desormeaux was wearing lifts in his riding boots, or 1970’s disco platform-style shoes, he and Costas were looking at each other eye to eye. You could have balanced a 2 x 4 level across their heads. I couldn’t believe it!

All 12 Belmont Stakes jockeys weighed in around 126 pounds. Not that Costas is heavy, by any means, and even though he may have jockey height, he doesn’t appear to tip the scales as low as 126. So, Bob will have to stick to announcing, which he does exceptionally well, and for which he is very well-compensated. But, he doesn't get to wear those cool, colorful silky jockey uniforms.