The Most Advertised Two Minutes In Sports

I'll admit upfront that I don't know much about horse racing or the Kentucky Derby.  I've been to Saratoga and Belmont a couple times each and once took a trip out to Santa Anita, always placing no more than a couple bucks on random horses and usually coming out about even.  I like the idea of horse racing more than I enjoy the "sport" itself - more than anything, a day at the track can be a good excuse to get outside for a few hours and do something different.  Accordingly, I don't really understand the appeal of watching a horse race on TV.  Without the fresh air and the roaring sound of the horses sprinting around the track, what's there to see?

The answer, based on Saturday's Kentucky Derby, is a whole lot of ads plastered absolutely everywhere.  Most people associate the Derby with high society and class - women in their oversized hats and men in searsucker suits drinking mint juleps and talking politics.  Having never been to Churchill Downs, I can't say if this is what the Kentucky Derby is really like in person, but I can tell you that the TV coverage was almost the exact opposite of what I would have expected it to be.

Yum! Brands (the publicly-traded holding company that owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) had ads everywhere, from logos painted on the starting gate to commercial spots at nearly every break in the coverage (and, given that the race lasts two minutes but the TV coverage lasts hours, there were a lot of them).  Dodge had a giant logo painted on the roof of the main building at Churchill Downs, and all of the horse handlers wore green jackets bearing the Dodge Ram logo.  The jockeys sold space on their pants to a variety of different advertisers, just like NASCAR drivers sell space on their cars and suits.  Not only were there ads everywhere, but they weren't even for luxury brands.  At least Wimbeldon is sponsored by Rolex, Ralph Lauren and Evian . . .

Just like at Citi Field, the advertisements were all I could help but notice while watching the TV coverage of the Kentucky Derby.  The event's website claims that "the Kentucky Derby is America's original, extravagant springtime sports party. While a horse race is at the heart of the spectacle, there are many intriguing aspects of the Derby Experience . . ."  Unfortunately for fans tuning in to see something special, the most intriguing aspect of the race was how much signage the event organizers could cram around one 1.25 mile-long track.