Column: Fitting that coronation, Kentucky Derby are on the same day
May 6—Today's a big day.
Before a lot of us wake up this morning, proceedings to crown King Charles III will be well underway in London.
And, around dinner time here, the most exciting two minutes in sports will crown a new Kentucky Derby champion.
I think there's a neat parallel between the two events today. Horse racing has been dubbed the "sport of kings." Britain's royal family has participated in equestrian sports for centuries.
In fact, when he was "just" a prince and heir to the throne, Charles was an avid polo player. With Aiken's deep polo history, it's no surprise there is a local connection. Aiken's Tommy Biddle Jr. was a teammate with the future king in 1990 when he went to England to play during the summer season there.
"He just came up, grabbed my hand and said 'Hi, Tommy,'" Biddle told the Aiken Standard of his meeting with Charles. "I didn't believe he would have remembered my name."
Biddle is now polo royalty; he was inducted into the sport's hall of fame in 2021.
The venues for today's big events are also important. Both have great history and are synonymous with the events.
Westminster Abbey is the scene for the king's coronation in London. Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., is the home of the Derby.
I've been to both places but didn't see any royalty or a Run for the Roses.
In the summer of 2000, as Tiger Woods assaulted golf's record books, I went to Louisville to cover the PGA Championship. A reception was held early in the week at Churchill Downs to honor Jack Nicklaus, who was retiring from competing in the PGA.
It was great fun that week as Nicklaus, the game's greatest player, exited from that major championship and Woods put his stamp on being his generation's best player. Woods won his third consecutive major in a row that week, and a few months later he capped the "Tiger Slam" with a victory at the Masters.
Golf took me to Westminster Abbey, in a roundabout way, in 2015. My wife and I and a couple of friends went to the British Open at St. Andrews. Before we landed in Scotland, we visited London.
As I remember it, one afternoon we wound up near Westminster Abbey. As luck would have it, we were in time to attend a service. It was a neat experience to be in a place that has been the site of every coronation since 1066. (That one was for William the Conqueror.)
It's also been the site of 16 royal weddings, not to mention numerous funerals and other "royal occasions," according to its website.
Pretty much every corner of London is oozing with history. My favorite places during our visit were the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge and the Churchill War Rooms. Westminster Abbey wasn't far behind.
I've always wanted to cover the Kentucky Derby, but so far it hasn't been in the cards. When I was at the track more than two decades ago, I knew I was at one of the country's sacred sports sites. Nearly all of the great thoroughbreds have won the Derby. I don't remember much about Secretariat's Triple Crown run 50 years ago; I became aware of horse racing a few years later when Seattle Slew won the three big races in 1977. A year later Affirmed out dueled Alydar to claim all three.
Like crowning monarchs in England, the Triple Crown is a rare occasion. It's only happened 13 times. After Affirmed's Triple Crown, it was 37 years before American Pharoah turned the trick in 2015. Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018, but no horse has done it since.
The coronation and the Derby are a continent and a few time zones apart. Both will be filled with pageantry, and both will be under great scrutiny. Soak it all in if you can; it's likely to be a while before both fall on the same day again.
Thanks for reading.
