Racing ready for another reality show

Thoroughbred racing has gone down the reality television road on two notable occasions, first with Game Show Network's "American Dream Derby" and then with Animal Planet’s "Jockeys."

The former lasted one season while the latter managed two, but neither attracted legions of fans to the Sport of Kings, though "Jockeys" did turn my wife into a Joe Talamo fan, so Sidney’s Candy will have more than a few DeRosa bucks on his nose because of who’s on his back.


The story there isn’t that "Jockeys" got my wife to watch racing. She was already doing that thanks to other favorite horsemen such as Nick Zito and Calvin Borel (some people do gravitate toward personality more than athleticism); "Jockeys" just introduced her to another personality to follow. No, the story is that she actually bet on racing, something she hadn't done before "Jockeys" came along.


So the ratings weren't great, but at least those who engaged the program took the next step and engaged with the sport. That means it's time for another reality TV-Thoroughbred racing hybrid to jumpstart an ailing segment of the industry: Turf writing. 

As secretary-treasurer of the National Turf Writers Association, I’ve seen our membership drop in recent years. Perhaps capturing the glitz, glamor, and drama of covering America’s most famous race would encourage others not only to follow racing but also to write about it.

"Writers Up" is my idea for a reality TV show involving the staffs of THOROUGHBRED TIMES, Daily Racing Form, Blood Horse plus a wildcard staff of independent bloggers cranking out stories in the two weeks preceding the Kentucky Derby (G1). 

The contest would begin two weeks before the Derby with four writers from each team moving into a Louisville mansion with a room for each team plus a “luxury space” that would include private quarters and a high-tech office (sponsorship opportunities!) for the winning team after each three-day period.

So the schedule for this year would be April 17-19, April 20-22, April 23-25, and April 26-28 with April 29-May 1 being the “finals” encompassing Derby previews, the Kentucky Oaks (G1), and of course, the Derby itself. 

The team with the most interest in its writers’ stories would be the winner and be “safe” at the end of each three-day period. That team would get to live in the luxury portion of the house and use the high-tech office during the next three-day period. The three losing teams would each fire a Turf writer.

After April 28 there’d only be four writers left, and they would all move into the luxury portion of the house to cover the final days leading up to the Derby and the Derby itself with the winner bringing untold fame and glory to his or her publication. 

This set up would have been perfect this year because a big story broke this morning about Ahmed Zayat’s possible plans to likely sell his Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) winner and likely Derby favorite Eskendereya. 

The amount of adverbs in that sentence should indicate the stability of that news, which is why it would have been a fascinating story to see unfold through the eyes of trade writers and bloggers alike. An early morning alert declared, “Zayat likely to sell Eskendereya,” which indicates to me that a sale is pending, but afternoon headlines were more clear that the plan is that the Giant’s Causeway colt would be sold sometime this year—not necessarily before the Derby or imminent. 

Rumor mongering surrounding the favorite is as much a Derby tradition as mint juleps and "My Old Kentucky Home." My first Derby as a Turf writer was the 2003 edition starring Empire Maker and his bruised foot, which by the end of Derby week had turned into cancer. He finished second as clearly the second best in a good field. 

With his owner bankrupt and front bandages on for the first time in his last start, Eskenderya will certainly give Turf writers covering the Kentucky Derby plenty to write about, and "Writers Up" could make it interesting TV too.