Preakness Outdraws NHL Playoffs

While I was watching the Cubs-Sox interleague match up on Fox Saturday afternoon, another battle was brewing on NBC. According to the Hollywood Reporter, hockey fans who had tuned in to watch the NHL playoff game between the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators were left high and dry at the end of regulation and the score tied. At that point, NBC switched to its scheduled Preakness Stakes telecast while the overtime period of the hockey game was carried on the sports cable network Versus, which is not carried in all markets. NBC told the entertainment publication that its contract with the Preakness superseded that of the NHL, and NHL officials also knew that there was a risk that this situation could arise. While hockey fans are crying foul, the reality is, the Preakness Stakes is one of the most watched horseracing events next to the Kentucky Derby. NBC’s ratings for pre-race coverage of the Preakness more than doubled the last half hour of the playoff hockey game.

More evidence of just how far hockey has fallen in terms of national coverage and respect. It all reflects poorly on the league and management. The NHL is in disarray, and until it can get its act together, it will remain near the bottom of TV ratings.

Surprise! Derby Horses Tested for Drugs

It's interesting to see how the alleged doping scandals in baseball and track and field are affecting other sports that you wouldn't think would be affected, such as horse racing. For the first time in the 133-year history of the Kentucky Derby, all 20 horses were given surprise pre-race tests for performance-enhancing drugs on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. The decision to test the horses was made to ensure that the state’s medication rules were being followed, not because there was any suspicion of wrongdoing, said Mark York of the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet in the article. Certain blood-doping agents such as EPO (erythropoietin) and darbepoietin are illegal because they increase the number of oxygen-carrying red-blood cells and boost a horse’s endurance. In some cases, these drugs can kill the animals. A positive test could result in disqualification. Test results will not be revealed until after Saturday’s race.

The World Says Good-bye to Barbaro

I was saddened to hear that Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday morning after complications resulting from the injuries he suffered during the Preakness Stakes last May. The horse's right leg was infected with laminitis last July, and doctors have been performing a series of surgeries to save it.

Barbaro had been doing well in December when doctors removed the cast from his foot and the horse's owners were hopeful that Barbaro would be able to return to his home stable in Pennsylvania. But Barbaro suffered a setback over the weekend, and despite two surgeries, vets decided it would be too painful to continue treatments. The folks at Churchill Downs are offering a burial place for him at their site in Kentucky.