On Derby day, Latinos rule the race

Edition: US - Today's top story: The Kentucky Derby has a secret Latino history [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 4 May 2019 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Editor's note Did you know more than 60% of Kentucky Derby jockeys are Latino? Two top horses in today’s big race also have Latin American bloodlines: Game Winner, a 2019 Derby favorite, and his half-brother Vekoma are the offspring of a prized Argentine thoroughbred. Sports historian Gabrielle Kuenzli from the University of South Carolina uncovers Latin America’s [long and winning tradition at the Kentucky Derby](. On Sunday, many people will celebrate Cinco de Mayo – and nurse their Kentucky Derby hangovers – with margaritas and nachos. But only 10% of Americans know the holiday’s origins. University of Southern California, Dornsife anthropologist Kirby Farah hopes to change that. She tells the story of the [famous David versus Goliath battle]( that led Mexico’s first indigenous president to declare a national holiday. And will you visit a psychic this weekend? Tune in to a political pundit? Check on your finances with a money manager? Cognitive anthropologist Manvir Singh asserts that the social and psychological pressures that [have always given rise to shamans]( over the ages also produce these modern versions in the contemporary, industrialized West. Catesby Holmes Global Affairs Editor Top stories Derby frontrunner Game Winner comes from a bloodline of Latin American racehorse excellence. Gonzalo Anteliz Jr. [The Kentucky Derby has a secret Latino history]( E. Gabrielle Kuenzli, University of South Carolina Many immigrants come to the United States chasing the 'American dream.' So do immigrant racehorses, who literally carry the hopes of their trainers and riders on their backs. Mexicans representing indigenous soldiers and the French army, re-enact the battle of Puebla during Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Mexico City. AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo [Americans might love Cinco de Mayo, but few know what they’re celebrating]( Kirby Farah, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The holiday honors a 19th-century battle between the French and the Mexican armies that, strangely enough, may have influenced the outcome of the US Civil War. Examining chicken intestines, reading the tea leaves, watching the markets – people turn to experts for insight into the mysteries that surround them. Manvir Singh [Modern shamans: Financial managers, political pundits and others who help tame life’s uncertainty]( Manvir Singh, Harvard University Hidden forces are always at work in the world, and people always want to control them, a cognitive anthropologist explains. Enter the human universal of shamanism. 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