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4.14 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 4 3 www.jefersoncountyclerk.org 51 TIP 53 TIP 52 TIP YOU CAN ALWAYS WATCH THE RACE AT HOME WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD. Horse racing is dying, right? Nobody cares. Nobody watches. Wrong and wronger. Last year's Nielsen television ratings of the most- watched sports events showed … insert drum roll … well, it showed that the NFL rules. But beyond the 500-pound gorilla with the concussion, the numbers also proved that a whole bunch of folks watch the Kentucky Derby. As in 16.2 million viewers who tuned into NBC a year ago. As in more than the Masters (14.7 million viewers) and the World Series (an average of 14.9 million couch potatoes) and about the same as the Sugar Bowl (16.3 million). The Derby even beat Oprah's interview with Lance Armstrong. Not bad for a dying sport, huh? Now, if only NBC could convince Peyton Manning to start training horses…. Don't be conned by sportswriters who think they've got it fgured out. Don't second-guess your frst instinct. Always second-guess your frst instinct. Bet on the black horse, if there is one, because you watched Zorro as a kid. Bet on the white horse, if there is one, because he's close to God. Smoke a cigar. Tradition, you only live once, feels decadent, etc. But don't buy one at the track! Those things'll cost you a lung. (See what we did there?) Like everything else inside the Churchill metropolis, cigars aren't cheap. Except for those litle ladies who roll their own and sell them for $10 each. They usually set up just west of the paddock. See you there. 26-43.indd 43 3/19/14 5:20 PM