On the only day part of the world cares about horse racing, the Kentucky Derby did what many other sports are doing: It sold its soul to video review.
Billed as the “greatest two minutes in sports,” the race became the “most excruciating 22 minutes in sports” while Churchill Downs stewards tediously reviewed video before deciding the winner, Maximum Security, would be disqualified. Without on-course officials, horse racing has used video for decades to assess in-race infractions, but never have there been so many repercussions.
Whether the decision was right or wrong, it destroyed the euphoria of a live event and sparked wide-ranging discussions about video review, debating if it could have changed an NFL playoff game for the New Orleans Saints, how Major League Baseball is getting bogged down with needless reviews, and how the NHL playoffs are wasting endless, boring and indecisive minutes poring over replays.
This is all proving only one pitiful thing — video review has become far more important than the events themselves.