Chip Woolley, Michele Ferrari, and "if you can race it, I'll eventually watch it"

Chip Woolley is the trainer of Mine that Bird, who was the surprise 50-1 odds winner of the Kentucky Derby a few weeks back, in case you were wondering.

Michele Ferrari is the guy who warns us of the perils of orange juice.

Now, I'm not an historical horse racing fan, but after I read an intriguing article in the print edition of ESPN magazine while chowing down on a bowl organic pumpkin seed granola mixed in with some honey nut cheerios (how's that for a weird combination of earthy-ness and mainstream-ness), I DVR'd the coverage of the Preakness this weekend as I was heading out the door on a Home Depot supply run.

Yeah, I think it sucks when some dubious trainers and doctors do what they do in the horse racing world and also in the bike racing world. The difference in my mind, though, is that the dipstick bike racers have a choice in whom they trust, and what they choose to stick in their bodies. The horses don't have that choice. They just run. And, as the espn article above reveals, sometimes the horses do stuff beyond what they're really capable of withstanding from a darwinian perspective.

The consequences of an illicit approach to winning are also real in the bike racing world. Just ask the families of those cyclists that gave their lives in the late 1980's.

For whatever reason, though, I found myself drawn to the story of Mine that Bird. And as I watched the DVR'd coverage of Calvin Borel (the jockey piloting Mine that Bird during the derby) making extremely risky moves in and out of the field and ultimately making a mind bending move up against the rail just after the final turn of the derby (mine that bird's ribs actually grind up against the rail just like those drivers and their cars do in NASCAR when they earn their first "Darlington Stripe"):



my thoughts immediately drew the parallel to the crazed antics of Djamolodin Abdoujaporov:



I don't know what it is, but whether it's horse or bike racing (and all of their drug troubles), NASCAR, or belt sanders...



...if you can race it, I'm probably going to eventually watch it. I guess what keeps me coming back is hope. Hope, that within the bad apples, there will be a story I can believe in. A story I can latch onto that is believable, pure, and genuine. I think there are some stories like that that exist in the peloton today.

One day, I'll find more of those kinds of stories within the bike racing world, and fewer stories like the one that came out of germany last week.

In my quest, I'll keep the DVR warmed up and my trigger finger ready, 'cuz if you can race it, I'll eventually watch it. :-)