John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Horse Racing Capital of the World

Pardon this brief political and commercial announcement about the importance of supporting our local industries.

Let’s make sure we don’t ever let another state become the Horse Racing Capital of the World.

Sure the jobs and economy are… important.

But imagine what we could end up with instead the first Saturday each May (see below). There’s not a lot to choose from if we lose this proud and well deserved title. Do we really want to become, say, the “Car Touching Capital of the World?” That could be our only option. Think about it. Florida will never concede Dog Racing Capital of the World.

Could we even take that title from Shanghai?

I’m not sure we could. At a minimum we probably couldn’t get Toyota to be the sponsor after last week’s announcement. It’s just a lousy fallback position to have.

It’s just important we think about the consequences of taking our key Kentucky industries for granted. Taking something for granted is usually the last thing you do before feeling really dumb about whatever you are taking for granted.

Car touching, admittedly, has some superficial appeal. But I don’t think it has the potential to have the long proud history comparable to being The Horse Racing Capital of the World.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a few years in the future that post time is about to be announced. For car touching. Billboards featuring car touching images would dot our highways. But it just wouldn’t be the same picking out a special hat or tie for this new annual event.

You get the idea. I’m not sure I’d open my eyes either.

You can open your eyes now, though. And enjoy the grandeur of yet another Kentucky Derby.

Let’s make sure we keep it that way.