Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational This Weekend at Cardinal Park -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

TRACK AND FIELD GETS UNDERWAY TODAY

Louisville track and field hosts seven schools this weekend as they spend their second weekend in a row at the friendly confines of Cardinal Park and the throws field in the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational. Xavier, Cincy, EKU, IUPUI, NKU, WKU and Valpo are the visitors expected to contend for the events. 

There may be a few of you asking...and just who are Lenny Lyles and Clark Wood?

LENNY LYLES arrived on the Louisville campus in 1954. He was one of the first African-Americans to play sports at Louisville and was a very successful halfback for the Cardinal football team which he parlayed into an NFL career with the Baltimore Colts as a defensive back. Nicknamed "the fastest man in football", he was also an accomplished sprinter on the Louisville track and field team. He went on to become a successful businessman in Louisville and developed the Lyles Mall on West Broadway. 

CLARK WOOD was a teacher and coach at the University of Louisville from the 40's to the 60's...working in football and track. Louisville recognizes an athlete each season with the Clark Wood Award...to a junior male athlete who has displayed leadership and commitment on and off the field. Wood coached track and field for 25 years at Louisville and also volunteer later in life for football coaches Howard Schnellenberger and John L. Smith. 

The hammer event is the featured activity today at the throws field. Did you know the throwing events (hammer, shot put, weight, discus and javelin) took place at a separate facility on campus? Located off Floyd Street behind the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium and the YUM! practice facility, you actually drive under Eastern Parkway to get there. The tossing begins at 4 p.m. for the women...the men throw the hammer at 2:30.

These aren't actual hammers that you might see a disgruntled construction worker toss across a room after banging his thumb. A 16 lb. metal weight attached to a wire and flexible handle is thrown across a field with similar motions and movements that are used in the shot put or discus.  

Caitlin Gilmore, Cyerra Cassell, Rachel Serafin, Dolly Nyemah and Megan Brooks have been Louisville's top performers in the event this season...Gilmore providing the top toss for the season with a 59.29m/194.06 toss for a fourth place finish in the Florida Relays. 

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SO...YOU WANT A DERBY WINNER?


This time of year I start getting inquiries and engage in dialogue about who will win the annual running of the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. (May 7th. this year). These discussions range from seasoned and nationally known handicappers and journalists to friends who can't differentiate handicapping stats from handicapped stalls. 

The research, in my case, starts right after the Breeders Cup Juvenile race that is run in the fall. I watch the Derby prep races, look at jockey/trainer combinations and compare running styles, results and breeding. 

I've narrowed it down to five horses. Exaggerator, Nyquist and Brody's Cause are my top three.  More discussion and evaluation is available at my personal website: 

PAULIE VIEWS

A couple of things here...I rarely just bet one horse to win, place or show...preferring to try exactas, trifectas, Pk. 3 and Pk. 4 wagers that invole multiple horses. This is in direct violation of my late father's edict that you "pick a horse and stay with him. Why be wrong on 4 or 5 horses instead of just one?"  

I've been known to change wagers minutes before a race. That happened on Saturday when I got respected advice on a horse that I had tossed out of a Pk. 4. That horse won...so u-turns and sudden directional changes are possible road hazards on Paulie's Highway to Horses. 

And, my favorite number is 4. 

YES...IT'S A CROC CARRYING A CROC.  SORRY. 

Would adding crocodiles to the homestretch at Churchill Downs make it a more difficult challenge to win races there? I've submitted the idea to the NTRA. 

Good luck and wager responsibly.   





paulie
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