David Papadopoulos

3 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | David Papadopoulos

If you missed the Preakness Stakes, call up the NBC replay. I’ve been watching thoroughbreds run for a long, long time. I’d never seen one do what Journalism did that day. With a quarter mile to go, he squeezed his big frame through an impossibly narrow hole and then, after careening off rivals and losing all momentum, unleashed a sudden, frantic rally to nail the leader in the shadow of the finish line.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | David Papadopoulos |David Hellier |Ira Boudway

This article is for subscribers only. It’s Kentucky Derby weekend. Apparently, it’s the longest continuously held sporting event in America, running since 1875. It’s still a marquee event, but what about the rest of the horse racing industry? We look at how it’s faring, along with a Q&A with the University of Kentucky’s athletic director Mitch Barnhart about the big changes to their sports program.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | David Papadopoulos

Burnham Square gallops at Churchill Downs. (Bloomberg) -- It’s been a long time between drinks around here, as critics of this column are fond of pointing out. Ten years, to be exact, and even that win was a real white knuckler — a knock-down, drag-out stretch duel that only saw American Pharoah, my pick, edge away from his rivals in the final yards of the Kentucky Derby. 0 for 9 since. Brutal. And some of those losses were pretty ugly.

May 3, 2024 | bnnbloomberg.ca | David Papadopoulos

(Bloomberg) -- This year’s Kentucky Derby is pretty simple, really. There’s a superstar in the field by the name of Fierceness, and if he breaks alertly and secures a position near the front of the pack, the only question might be how much he wins by. In his last race down in South Florida, he rolled to a 13 1/2-length victory as his rider, the great John Velazquez, sat chilly in the saddle, a cigarette in one hand and a martini in the other.

May 2, 2024 | bloomberg.com | David Papadopoulos

This year’s Kentucky Derby is pretty simple, really. There’s a superstar in the field by the name of Fierceness, and if he breaks alertly and secures a position near the front of the pack, the only question might be how much he wins by. In his last race down in South Florida, he rolled to a 13 1/2-length victory as his rider, the great John Velazquez, sat chilly in the saddle, a cigarette in one hand and a martini in the other. OK, OK, I made up the cigarette and martini thing but you get the idea.