海角大神

Kentucky Derby: Will mighty white steed ride to rescue of struggling sport?

A white horse has never won the Kentucky Derby, so the entry of nearly pure white Hansen makes for a good story. But it likely won't be enough to bring horse racing back into the mainstream.

Mint聽juleps and聽outrageous flowered hats aside,聽horse racing聽only pops up on the mainstream radar a few times a year. Fans and TV network executives behind Saturday鈥檚 Kentucky Derby are always on the lookout for an angle to draw the聽general viewer back into what has become a niche sport of wealthy owners and聽weekend handicappers.

This year鈥檚 novelty is a doozy, appearing as quite literally the mighty white steed. This guilty pleasure for the casual viewer is Hansen, a nearly pure聽white two-year-old聽whose owner wears a T-shirt聽that says, 鈥淭he Great White Hope.鈥�

A white horse has never won the Kentucky Derby, points out veteran sports commentator Frank Deford聽in his Sports Illustrated column, 鈥渟o Hansen could be the first.鈥�

White horses are rare among聽thoroughbreds,聽accounting for less than 8 percent of foals per year. But what makes Hansen聽even more unique is that he is technically a gray with dark skin as opposed to the pink skin of an albino. Grays often whiten up as聽they mature, but it is聽extremely rare for a horse this young to turn聽more than 90 percent white as Hansen has done.

Fans are clearly hoping that the mystique of the dazzling white competitor will turn more eyes on the sport.

鈥淎nything that gets people more interested in the sport is good for it overall,鈥� says Dan Collins, a Baltimore PR professional whose family trained thoroughbreds聽and who became a lifelong handicapper.

White horses are a very popular cultural reference, he notes. 鈥淎s the media puts out its stories, they鈥檒l keep mentioning Hansen, 鈥榯he white horse,鈥� and all these past references will come flooding into people鈥檚 minds,鈥� he says.

While white horses may be rare on the track, they are common in聽mythology and scripture. From Pegasus, the Greeks鈥� mythical winged horse, to the first horse in聽the Bible鈥檚 Book of Revelation, to the mount of St. James who came riding to the aid of early 海角大神s, and on up to Lady Godiva鈥檚 ride and Shadowfax from the 鈥�Lord of the Rings鈥� trilogy. And of course,聽TV鈥檚 Silver, faithful companion to the Lone Ranger.

Portraits of both George Washington and聽Napoleon聽Bonaparte depict them astride聽white horses. These steeds are often associated with fertility and endowed with magical powers聽and purity, as with the聽unicorn, which can only be captured by a virgin. Herodotus wrote in his book 鈥淭he Persian Wars鈥� that milk-white steeds were considered sacred in the court of Xerxes the Great.

However, it鈥檚 doubtful that聽this impressive cultural聽baggage can carry this particular white horse to triumph, or for that matter give the sagging聽sport a meaningful boost, says聽Tim Joyce, columnist for Real Clear Sports.

Consider that in the 1940's and 1950's thoroughbred racing was one of the most popular spectator sports in the country, he says. 鈥淭horoughbred racing had a presence, be it in movies or advertising,鈥� he adds via email.

Adding to the sport鈥檚 woes today, he says, is the recent negative publicity about the deaths of three horses on the set of HBO鈥檚 now-cancelled 鈥淟uck,鈥� a series about聽horse racing.

Until racing can rid itself of these issues, he says, 鈥渋ncluding jockeys鈥� eating disorders, the sport will continue to fade.鈥澛�

While a white horse will add an interesting visual to the race, he adds, 鈥渋t likely won't add any viewers just on this fact alone.鈥澛�