Hey Olbermann, Even Though It's Against The Rules...

...I'm calling you out.

You and every other poster that uses tired and stale horse racing terminology and clichés, or worse, the names of legendary turf stars, to describe the presidential primaries and candidates. It makes me crazy!

A little background below the fold.

The earliest organized racing in this country goes back to 1665, when then Governor Richard Nicolls laid out what is generally conceded to be America's first formal race course, quite close to where Aqueduct Racecourse now stands, in Nassau County, NY. (George Washington was a racing official at the Alexandria, VA meeting during the colonial period).

So it's only natural that expressions from a sport that pre-dates this country's independence, have permeated, and become part of it's lexicon.

We've all heard them: dark horse, long shot, odds on. Out of the gate, into the stretch, running neck and neck, by a nose. It's coming down to the wire, jockeying for position.

A few popular race callers and their catch phrases:

Phil Georgeff - "here they come spinning out of the turn"
Dave Johnson -"... and down the stretch they come!"
Trevor Denman- "And ___ is moving like a winner!"

A few horses with whom people like to compare themselves or candidates:

Man O' War, Seabiscuit, Secretariat.

Walter Shapiro wrote, "If horse racing didn't exist, political reporters would probably have to invent the sport. It is so easy to depict the primaries and caucuses as a mad dash with stalwart steeds jockeying for position on the rail."

Haven't we had enough of this? I know I have.

In the spirit of Super Bowl weekend, I am throwing down the gauntlet, I challenge all you sports fans to come up with new and improved sports analogies for the primaries and general election. I know you can do it.

Here's what I believe to be the single greatest performance in all of sports history:

The record still stands.

On a personal note, I was involved in thoroughbred racing for years. There is nothing I love more than being on the back of my "pony" at dawn, with just the quiet of the horses galloping around the oval.