Tuesday, March 20, 2007

$2 to Win on Shamu

This past weekend bestowed to the Horse Racing Universe a variety of wonderful Kentucky Derby prep races, none of which I saw.

I recently suffered a minor setback commonly referred to as Spring Break. My children deemed it necessary to take a little time off from the daily rigors of fingerpainting and multiplication tables; they wanted to do something. I tried to persuade them that it would be fun just to stay home and clean their rooms, and maybe watch the highly anticipated Tampa Bay Derby with the return of Street Sense battling the likes of the talented Any Given Saturday. The kids determined that that was not something.

Instead we went to San Antonio.

While Curlin was running away with the Rebel Stakes, I was at SeaWorld. And it was shortly after Shamu's performance that I pondered the possibilities: (1) Is there a relationship between horse racing and Shamu? and (2) Does the gift shop sell towels?

The second question was easily answered (Yes, and dry t-shirts are available, too, at reasonable prices) but the first hypothesis required scientific observation and exhaustive research. The results are listed on the table below:

Killer Whale and Thoroughbred: A Comparitive Study

Shamu

Street Sense

Classification

mammal

mammal

Habitat

SeaWorld

racetrack

Weight

9000 lbs

1200 lbs

Diet

180 lbs of herring, capelin, salmon, mackerel per day

hay, oats, horse feed

Speed (mph)

28

35

Beyer Speed Figure

13

101

Rider

Marine Animal Trainer, Sherri

Jockey Calvin Borel

Rider Occupational Requirements

academic coursework in zoology, marine biology, or animal behavior; strong swimming skills

lightweight; familiar with horses

Odds of Winning the Kentucky Derby

972-1

8-1

Soak Index

5+
capable of dousing 3217 gallons of 55 degree salt water over spectators in the first 18 rows at Shamu Stadium

4+
capable of agitating bettors with $50 win tickets on Any Given Saturday for the Tampa Bay Derby



Therefore, one can conclude from the findings, that it is usually not necessary to bring a towel to a racetrack. And furthermore, Shamu is a longshot to win the Kentucky Derby.

1 comment:

Patrick J Patten said...

I heard they are moving up Shamu's speed figure to an 18 after realizing the track was extremely wet that day.