Not Horsing Around

A reader sent a link to this photo, and a quick check shows there's a lot of chatter about it on the usual message boards. It doesn't strike me as out of the ordinary, probably because I've been to several Triple Crown races. I seem to remember military police guarding the area between the infield and the track, especially in the homestretch. And deep in the memory banks is Hunter Thompson's 1970 article, "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent And Depraved":

The mob was thick for many blocks around the track; very slow going in the crowd, very hot. On the way to the press box elevator, just inside the clubhouse, we came on a row of soldiers all carrying long white riot sticks. About two platoons, with helmets...Thousands of teen-agers, group singing “Let the Sun Shine In,” ten soldiers guarding the American flag and a huge fat drunk wearing a blue football jersey (No. 80) reeling around with quart of beer in hand.

If you've never read it, here's the rest. It's pretty funny.