Today's Opinions

Here are your typical preparations during Derby Week: Complete your wardrobe for the day, study the listings of horses that are in the newspaper, identify which one Calvin Borel is riding (that would be Revolutionary) or which one Todd Pletcher is training (that would be 25 percent of the projected field), wait until Saturday to see which horse looks nicest in the paddock or has the most emotional storyline, place your wager.

We get ourselves worked up about topics of important public debate, but when reality reaches out and slaps our cheek with the sting of the fragility of our very core, we can’t help but feel a big tear rolling down our public face.

That’s because today we can almost see through downtown Shelbyville, its center, decimated in March by the tragic and awful fire that consumed three buildings, again struck by a fire that on Sunday beheaded the beautiful and marvelous old Chatham House on the 600 block of Washington Street.

We are so pleased that Shelby County again will have a face in the Kentucky Derby.

Jockey Jon Court is back for his second ride in three years – after decades of having been left off the backs of the 20 3-year-olds entered each year – and we think that’s a sure bet for everyone.

It’s not so much like in football or basketball or even golf, when the athlete’s hometown gets a mention on national TV, but it’s just such a magnet for additional community pride.