Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is this weekend. What I don't understand is why people are so interested in it. I mean, I understand why people like to go to the track--booze and gambling (two out of three ain't half bad). But horseracing without the gambling? And are people drinking when they watch the race on tv, in the middle of the afternoon?

I'm a big P.G. Wodehouse fan, and Bertie Wooster (and Jeeves, of course) loved the horses. But he usually had something riding on the ponies. That can't explain the media's interest in the Kentucky Derby, can it? I also think it's funny how, on tv, you can talk about the odds, but only so long as you never mention that those numbers have anything to do with gambling.