`COCKROACH KENTUCKY DERBY' SET FOR THIS WEEKEND

`COCKROACH KENTUCKY DERBY' SET FOR THIS WEEKEND

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Wireless Flash) -- The Kentucky Derby won't be held until May 1 but you can still get your racing fix this weekend -- thanks to a few cockroaches. Purdue University will hold its 9th Annual Bug Bowl this weekend, and one of the highlights will be a "roach race" between Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which are about three inches long. The winning roach is the bug that completes the nearly 5- foot-long track in the shortest time. Bug Bowl spokesman Tom Turpin says some of the racing roaches are repeat visitors from last year that have been lovingly cared for by their owners. The cockroaches live up to three years and many owners spend all year training them for the contest. Although the Bug Bowl may sound batty, Turpin says the event is meant to make folks less bugged by insects.

CONTACT: Tom Turpin, ***1/2; West Lafayette, IN; (765) 494-4568