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Jerry Summers: Plug Horse Derby Monday, May 17, 2021 - by Jerry Summers
Jerry Summers
Although our local area has never been able to develop the thoroughbred racehorse reputation of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky a local humorous horse event has benefitted charity.
The Sertoma Civic Club of Chattanooga in the 1950s-1960s put on a fundraising event titled the “Plug Horse Derby” that closely followed the non-parallel fundraising paths of the Cotton and Kudzu Balls in the history of the Chattanooga community. Both achieved the goals of raising money for good purposes through different routes.
The Chattanooga event was part of the Sertoma Club’s nationwide charity programs with a similar occurrence taking place in Hamilton County, Ohio, which had started in 1949.
Arlington Park opened what may be its last season Friday, after owner Churchill Downs said it was shutting down the iconic horse racing track because it wouldn't make as much money as casinos.
Super Agent Anderson Has Rosario In Position To Rock & Roll Sponsored by:
Jockey agent Ron Anderson hard at work outside the racing office at Del Mar in 2017
The first Saturday in May belongs to the soldiers from Lilliput.
They spend the rest of the year strong-arming 1,000-pound thoroughbreds into disappearing holes. They starve themselves. They don t make shortstop money. When they get hurt, ambulances are called. They are there in front of you at least four times a week, risking themselves at least eight times a day, in a game that only pays three finishers. At the end they catch hell from the drive-by bettors.