JuicyLesson 217: Patriotes Day: A Brief History … Preakness and California Chrome Keeps Dreams Alive …

The annual U.S. Horse Racing Triple Crown is composed of the winner/s of following three races for thoroughbreds: The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, the latter to go off in two weeks in New York.

So far, we are going forward with a double-winner, horse’s tag is California Chrome, and this horse surprised some oddsmakers by first winning the Derby relatively handily, followed by a much narrower victory by about 3/4 of a length last Saturday at Pimlico in the Preakness.

It was on that Saturday that “California Chrome” became the latest threat to win the Triple Crown. No horse has actually won all three jewels of the Triple Crown since Affirmed accomplished the feat, and that was 35 years ago in 1978. Before Affirmed, it may have been another memorable name for a two-year-old thoroughbred – which of us of a certain age doesn’t recall the name, “Secretariat”?

But California Chrome, now with two legs under his belt (don’t know if those two puns were intended or not who knows?) still has a chance to complETE the fEAT; California Chrome is the name of this dominant horse which surprised many people two weeks ago at the Derby in Louisville, stunning them once more by coming away with the so-called second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, late this past Saturday afternoon.

I wish you all plenty of Jour-nay des Patriotes barbecues and a cornucopia of fun and other treats.

Patriotes Day in Quebec; it’s actually Victoria Day in the Rest of Canada, the latter commemorating the longest-reigning British Monarch in history who presided over the U.K for most of the nineteenth century – Victoria b. 24th May 1809, d. 19 January, 1901. She enjoyed a productive relationship with her husband, Prince Albert. The ROC commemorates Her birthday, annually, on the second or third Monday, in May, today in the case of 2014.

Journee des Patriotes on the other hand, memorialises a slaughter during the uprisings in Upper (Ontario) and Lower (Quebec) in 1837/1838. Both of these rebellions failed in the short term to bring democratic and responsible government to Britain’s North American colonies at that time. (Remember that the 13 Colonies, once part of the British Empire, became the independent United States of America as a result of their successful revolution (1776-1783).)

British soldiers, Protestant, for the most part, set a Catholic church – in which Chenier and some other Patriotes had taken sanctuary against British enemy fire – alight. In the end, all of 18 or so Patriotes were murdered in cold blood as they were unceremoniously shot to death, during their flights from the above-mentioned, burning church, right into the waiting British arms (pun intended], one murder after another. Chenier himself was killed while trying to effect an escape from the burning church through a window.

Peace and love are definitely required as is a Habs’ win vs. New York. Go!