Saddle up for the next strange ride of 2020

Someone, somewhere — probably in Hollywood Hills — is recording every day of this year.

There will be a movie, or maybe a documentary.

It could be titled, “2020: The Craziest Year of All Time.”

Forget politics and a race that is as unpredictable as tomorrow’s virus case numbers.

This is the year that will forever be known for the cancellation of the NCAA Basketball Tournament — the NCAA’s major fundraiser — and all of spring sports.

The year the NBA and Major League Baseball took their orders from the coronavirus.

When two major football conferences postponed their seasons until the spring, and now there’s talk about starting at Thanksgiving.

Just one dalliance into politics: Even President Trump, who has an overflowing plate, took time to try and talk the Big Ten into playing this fall.

The Pac-12, which also canceled its season, is getting almost no attention. Unless something has changed, California still has 55 electoral votes.

The Southland Conference canceled football, but the University of Central Arkansas drew up its own ninegame schedule that includes North Dakota State.

The Bison will play one game this season, and that’s Oct. 3 when the Bears travel to Fargo, N.D.

There are 76 FBS teams playing this fall, and there are currently 74 spots available for bowls.

But nothing seems crazier about this year than the Kentucky Derby being run on the first Saturday in September. The greatest horse race in the world has run 145 times, but it has been since World War II that the race wasn’t run on the first Saturday in May.

The whole world watches the biggest jewel in the Triple Crown, and about 150,000 cram their way inside Churchill Downs for a day of drinking and two minutes of the biggest race.

The race this Saturday will have millions of viewers, but all on TV. The track is not open to fans.

Talk about taking a financial hit.

The cheapest ticket to the Derby this year was supposed to run $65, and a two-day pass that included tomorrow’s Kentucky Oaks was $100. That was for just admission and the right to stand all day.

The Mansion, formerly known as the press box, goes for more than $21,000.

If the average ticket price was $120, that’s $18 million lost. That doesn’t include the multimillions lost in concessions, which can only be bought inside the track, although there is a long tradition of folks trying to sneak booze in.

The track used to allow infielders to bring in food but not booze. Several years ago, a bunch of young guys arrived with a barrel. The attendant opened the lid and the smell of rotten oysters hit him in the face.

He slammed the lid closed and waved them in. When they got to the infield, they removed the layer of rotten oysters and pulled out a keg of beer. It was a hearty party. Now, only food can be brought inside the facility.

The Derby is something that is on every sports reporter’s bucket list to cover, although it has changed from the days of having a press box with indoor seats and outdoor viewing. Now, media members are stashed in the off-track betting facility that is a half block from the track.

The Derby, despite the virus, will be run with a field of 18, and more on that tomorrow. On Saturday, the first leg of the Triple Crown goes off as the second leg.

It has been six months of adjusting, including wearing a face mask, social distancing and watching Chuck “Pigskin Preacher” Monan on the computer every Sunday.

And it isn’t over. Not until there is a vaccine, which scientists all over the world are working on.