Ingested Articles

Essential Quality is expected to be the first gray horse favored to win the Kentucky Derby in 25 years. A gray horse hasn't won the Derby since Giacomo in 2005, and only eight grays have won it since 1930. According to historians and experts, there are just fewer gray horses in the thoroughbred population compared to more traditional chestnut, bay,  brown and black horses. But with almost light gray Tapit siring Essential Quality and others, horses of that color could be making a comeback at the elite level of racing.

The 147th Kentucky Derby will be run for the first time this weekend without horses using the anti-bleeding drug Lasix as part of the sport’s plodding attempt to move toward the elimination of race-day medication. Lasix has long been the third-rail in North American racing, with people on both sides of the issue disagreeing about its use. Lasix is given as a $20 injection about four hours before a race to prevent or reduce the severity of exercise-induced bleeding in the lungs. 

Essential Quality is the 2-1 morning line favorite and will start from the No. 14 post for the 147th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The $3 million, 1-1/4 mile race for 3-year-old colts is back on the first Saturday of May after being delayed to Labor Day weekend last year because of the pandemic. Rock Your World is the 5-1 second choice from the No. 15 slot, with Known Agenda third at 6-1 despite drawing the rail in the 20-horse field. Hot Rod Charlie drew 8-1 odds as the fourth choice from the No. 9 post.

NEW YORK (AP) — It may be little consolation for the movie academy, but a more complete count by the Nielsen company pushed the Academy Awards audience to 10.4 million viewers on Tuesday. A day earlier, Nielsen's preliminary estimate had…

Early projections for the 2020 census didn’t line up with the actual population count for the booming Sun Belt. Now demographers, community groups and politicians are struggling to find out what was behind the lower-than-expected figures released on Monday. They point to poor investment in outreach in Republican-led states and the possibility of lukewarm participation by Latinos wary of giving their information to the Trump administration. Demographers caution it’s too early to conclude that the nation’s once-a-decade count missed any significant numbers. That won't be known until data at smaller geographical levels are released and the Census Bureau has finished an accuracy survey. 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Legislature on Tuesday approved $7.8 million to help cover the extra security costs that the state racked up ahead of last week's guilty verdicts in Derek Chauvin's murder trial over the killing of…

Sentencing for former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd’s death has been pushed back to June 25, according to online court records. Chauvin’s June 16 hearing was reset by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill due to a scheduling conflict. Chauvin was convicted April 20 of all three counts against him: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Under Minnesota statutes he’ll only be sentenced on the most serious one — second-degree murder. While that count carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, experts say he won’t get that much.

This year's NFL draft will be unlike any other. After last year's event in Las Vegas was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league went all virtual. It's back on the road — this time in Cleveland -- with a three-day event that signals a step back toward normalcy in American sports. The draft will be the first major outdoor event since the virus altered lives in 2020. Commissioner Roger Goodell will once again welcome draft picks with hearty hugs and he'll hear some boos from masked fans in front of a large stage erected by the league near FirstEnergy Stadium and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Senate on Tuesday began an inquiry into the government’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, a probe that analysts say could potentially jeopardize the reelection of President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro has been one of the world’s…

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Crowds gathered in cities across the Netherlands on Tuesday despite authorities urging people to stick to coronavirus social distancing regulations as the country marked the King's Day national holiday. This year, the celebrations for King Willem-Alexander's birthday…

The NFL has embraced sports betting so fully that you almost expect Roger Goodell to open the NFL draft by placing an over/under bet on the number of cornerbacks drafted by the, yes, Las Vegas Raiders. Luckily, the commissioner is paid so handsomely he doesn’t need his ticket to cash. If betting a typical NFL game is hard _ and it is _ imagine trying to make a few bucks off a draft that experts have spent every waking hour analyzing for the last few months.

An Israeli soccer referee has come out as transgender and is living — and enforcing the rules of the game — as a woman. Sapir Berman announced Tuesday that she has received the support of her family, the local referees’ union and Israeli and international soccer officials. She said even players and fans have begun to address her as a woman, even if they don’t always like her calls. Israeli society has a reputation for being gay friendly. Tel Aviv is host to one of the world’s largest gay pride parades each year. But some of Israel’s soccer powerhouses are located in communities where attitudes are more conservative.

The State Department has ordered a significant number of its remaining staff at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to leave Afghanistan as the military steps up the pullout of American troops from the country. The department announced on Tuesday that it had instructed all personnel to depart the country unless their jobs require them to be physically located in Afghanistan. The order was not specific as to the number of people affected, but it went well beyond the usual curtailment of staffers for security and safety reasons. Such orders normally apply only to non-essential personnel. 

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s left-wing Socialist Party has secured its third consecutive mandate in a parliamentary election, winning nearly one in two votes and enough seats in parliament to govern alone, electoral authorities said on Tuesday. The Central Election…