THIS WEEK

HORSE RACING May 7, 2011  Animal Kingdom, drawing 21/1 odds at post time, wins the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby, clearing the finish line in 2:02:04. With John Velazquez aboard, the chestnut-colored thoroughbred was in 10th position going into the final turn when he broke out to move 4 wide, advanced to 5th place at the mile pole, and completed the race 2¾ lengths ahead of second place, Nehro. Two weeks later, Animal Kingdom came in second at the Preakness, but was out of the money at Belmont.

SOCCER May 23, 2001  Bayern Munich defeat Valencia in penalties at the UEFA Champions League Final. With a 1-1 score at the end of official time, the match went into penalty kicks where the Germans prevailed 5-4. It was the 4th overall victory for Bayern and first in a quarter-century at the annual Champions League tournament. For Valencia, it was their second consecutive trip to the Final, having lost to Real Madrid a year earlier. German goalie Oliver Kahn received the ‘Man of the Match’ award.

BASKETBALL May 20, 1991  Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls is named the NBA’s MVP. It was the second of what would be 5 total league MVP designations for the hoops superstar. A 14x NBA All-Star, Jordan’s numerous accolades include 6 NBA Championships and 5 NBA Finals MVP awards. Playing the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls from 1984-1993 and 1995-1998, the basketball prodigy posted career statistics of: 30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 5.3 apg.

TENNIS May 1, 1981  Billy Jean King becomes the first prominent sportswoman to come out with her sexuality, acknowledging a lesbian relationship with Marilyn Barnett. Winner of 12 grand slam singles titles, King is regarded as one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. Throughout her career, the California native fought for gender equality and was a founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and Women’s Sports Foundation. In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in NYC was renamed after her.