6. The Kentucky Derby

On this week’s episode, the Collective tackles the cultural legacy and social context of the Kentucky Derby, originally slated for this past weekend in it’s traditional first Saturday of May slot but postponed to the fall in the wake of COVID-19. In lieu of picks for the race, we instead pick some very serious nits with regard to the event’s deeply troubled history with issues of race and class, and the immorality in both the gambling culture that envelops the race, and in the abject objectification of the contest’s participants. We open with Ed’s assessment of the career and legacy of Don Mattingly, Zak’s thoughts on the continued rejection of equal pay for women by the USSF and complicity of the federal court system in doing so, and Andrew’s view of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons teams and their foothold in basketball’s modern history.