End of the World as We Know It

About a week ago, I started referring to it as “the end of the world.” Today — Belmont Day, June 7, 2014 — the End of the World.

As a racing fan and participant, I can’t help but think of today as a kind of fulcrum, and no matter who wins, things will never be the same as they were yesterday. Waking up tomorrow, I will have a hangover, and the world, at least the tiny fraction of it where horse racing resides, will have shifted.

If California Chrome wins today, the world will once again know what it’s like to have a Triple Crown winner. Racing fans will be elated (even those who never bet a dime on Chrome), and all of us who have lived in the dark ages will finally have seen the light.

What’s more, should California Chrome win today, the powers that be in racing need to take a long, hard look at what they’ve been doing over these last 36-odd years. Nobody in 1979 would have believed that a Triple Crown hopeful was a Cal-Bred who started his career on synthetic surfaces and ran sans Lasix in his first 3 starts. Heads will be exploding in Lexington, for sure.

But if he loses, things won’t exactly be the status quo, either. Even now, there are those who would use their power to change the Triple Crown as it stands, add an extra week between the Derby and Preakness, even shorten the Belmont distance. Should he lose today, they will have another arrow in their quiver to strike on a heartbroken fan base.

All of this is just a distraction from the real issues in racing that won’t be solved with a Triple Crown winner. And those who have the keys don’t have the will or the backbone to make actual progress. So instead, they’ll fiddle with the superficial aspects that they do have control over, and smile and stand for photos when they push these changes through. But it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

I’ve been a California Chrome fan all along, even wore purple to the Derby. There is no question I’m rooting for him today. After all, it’s the end of the world as we know it. Whether we wake up at the top of the see-saw or sitting in the dirt is up to California Chrome. But hey, I feel fine.