The Gallop Out

Jockey Jesus Velasquez sports the purple and gold silks of owner/trainer Jack Van Berg on Warrens Flyin High before race 7 at Hollywood Park, May 29, 2010.

     Good luck to the Los Angeles Lakers tonight as they face the hated Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals. The game starts at 6 p.m. on ABC. The Lakers - Celtics rivalry is possibly the best rivalry in all of sports, and as a lifelong Lakers fan I would want nothing more than to beat those evil seven-foot leprechauns.

     I couldn't help but take this photo of the Lakers-colored silks when I first saw them. Many fans at the track that day wore Lakers paraphernalia as their team was going to play the Phoenix Suns later on to clinch the Western Division title. Literally across the parking lot from Hollywood Park in Inglewood is The Forum, the former home of the Lakers and such stars as Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Ironically, current Celtics star Paul Pierce grew up as a Lakers fan in the city.