Horsies To Get New Pre-Whipping Ditty At Belmont Stakes

While the vast majority of the general public only tunes in to watch the Belmont Stakes if there’s a chance that they might see the winning of the Triple Crown, it is still a race beloved by traditionalists, compulsive gamblers, and fetishists who find themselves aroused by tiny men beating a horse with a stick around a mile-and-a-half oval. Whatever the reasons they watch the race, viewers will notice something different this year: the horses are going to ride the jockeys. Kidding! They’re changing some song or something.

In his massive hit “Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z raps that he’s “the new Sinatra.” And it turns out he wasn’t joking.

During Saturday’s 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes, “Empire” will be played as the horses are brought out onto the race track, replacing Sinatra’s classic “New York, New York,” according to a spokesperson for the New York Racing Association.

“[It’s] the quintessential 21st century theme song for New York City,” an NYRA official told The Associated Press.

The song, with its commonly misunderstood lyrics, is indeed this new generation’s “New York, New York,” pre-packaged cliches and all. I hope it doesn’t scare the old people who still go to horse races.