Stench of death hangs over the Kentucky Derby

FILE - Jockey Flavien Prat, aboard Country House, center, looks on as jockey Luis Saez, right, aboard Maximum Security, crosses the finish line during the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., May 4, 2019. Country House’s stunning elevation from Kentucky Derby runner-up to winner stood out initially because of the unprecedented circumstance in which stewards disqualified Maximum Security for interference after he crossed the line first. Then came the eye-popping payout of $132.40 as a 59-1 long shot. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

They’ll come by the tens of thousands for the party of the year, adorned in the gaudiest of hats and sipping on mint juleps, witnesses to the most thrilling two minutes in sports.