Booze you can use to prep for Kentucky Derby

IN AN ATTEMPT to serve our readers, the staff at High & Inside is passing on the recipe for a mint julep, the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby. You're on your own for the flamboyant hat.

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

Sprigs of fresh mint

Crushed ice

Bourbon (Jim Beam is fine; Maker's Mark for those who can afford it)

1. AllRecipes.com says to mix the sugar, water and mint in a small saucepan and boil over high heat until the sugar is dissolved. We suggest not opening the whiskey until this step is complete.

2. Allow the resulting syrup to cool for about an hour, then strain it to remove the mint leaves. Again, even though you have an hour, hands off the firewater.

3. In a frozen goblet (because we all have goblets in our cabinets), mix 4 ounces of bourbon and a quarter cup of the syrup, pouring over crushed ice; top with a straw and a mint sprig (it's in the cabinet next to the goblet).

4. After having one of these, get a beer and ask yourself whether you really want to spend Kentucky Derby day boiling sugar and water.

More Derby stuff

Although Churchill Downs has conducted night races since 2009, there are no plans to move the Derby to prime time.

"We'll never say never, but we've got a pretty good thing going right now with the way the day unfolds," track president Kevin Flanery told the Associated Press.

Whew. The post time for Saturday's Derby is, as usual, 6:24 p.m. The draw is on Page 50.

"I don't think it behooves the sport to run it under the lights," said Jerry Hollendorfer, trainer of Derby contender Rousing Sermon. "That's a personal opinion, and I've run as many races at night as ansyone in California. I don't really like it."

Why sports rules

The Celtics played without suspended star Rajon Rondo and won.

The Bulls have to move on without injured star Derrick Rose and got thumped.

The Devils replace injured leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk with a rookie seventh defenseman, who scores a crucial goal during a surprising win.

The only predictable thing about sports is the unpredictability. n

Contact Ed Barkowitz at barkowe@phillynews.com.