A Spotswood, Virginia, listener came across the phrase “steppin’ and fetchin'” used in a positive way to describe a speedy race run by the great horse Secretariat. But the phrase has an ugly past. To step and fetch is how many people once described...
The word julep, from Persian terms meaning “rose water,” usually refers to a mint-and-bourbon alcoholic beverage with a kick as strong as a Kentucky Derby winner. But one family from North Carolina has a sauce they call julep: a half-empty bottle of...
Someone should write a love letter to a new book called Letters of Note. It’s a splendid collection of all kinds of correspondence through the ages: Elvis Presley fans writing to the president, children making suggestions to famous cartoonists, a...
pill pull n.— «The drawing for post positions will be held on Wednesday, May 13th, at 5 PM Eastern Standard Time and the process for selecting the starting spots for the Preakness is done using a method called a “pill pull.” Similar to the process...
new shooter n.— «In Preakness parlance, they are the “new shooters”—horses who miss the Kentucky Derby but show up two weeks later at Pimlico, hoping to spoil a Triple Crown bid. » —“Spoilers Aren’t Just in Rearview” by Bill Christine in...
takeout n.— «In the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, for example, Churchill Downs will return to bettors at the track about 82 cents of every dollar wagered in the form of winnings. The remaining 18 cents, known as the takeout, will be used to pay for...
