Can yesterday’s experience be topped? We didn’t go to sleep until 3:00 a.m. and I knew were were in for another long day. These horse people get up really early.
The most exciting two minutes in sports.... "The Kentucky Derby, whatever it is --- a race, an emotion, a turbulence, an explosion -- is one of the most beautiful and violent and satisfying things I have ever experienced." John Steinbeck
The most exciting two minutes in sports.... "The Kentucky Derby, whatever it is --- a race, an emotion, a turbulence, an explosion -- is one of the most beautiful and violent and satisfying things I have ever experienced." John Steinbeck
My little hat was ready to go to Derby. Today I learned the value, the use, and the security of a hat pin....
We collected Silver again and scooted on over to Churchill Downs. More people were flocking the streets walking to the track than yesterday. They were carrying fold up chairs (one of the best inventions ever for festival goers and parades) and most of the women, of course, had on hats -- fancy ones and not so fancy ones -- and lots of the men did too. And they had parked blocks and blocks from the track.
Today we started a different location that yesterday. We stopped by to see Silver’s son first (he had a treat for Angel and I). The backside, which we didn’t get to see on this trip, already had the parties started.
I see a theme here with the backside vehicles....
Made our way around to our reserved parking area and the hustlers were out in force. Thankfully we didn’t need the golf carts but I was impressed with those, why can’t they have those for events at home (hum, an idea is percolating).
Yesterday was the day the locals were out, today was the day for everyone else. We walked around the whole track area. Why go in and sit down when the show was actually out here? The parade of hats and characters were indescribable -- and the photos don’t do justice.
Cinco de Mayo spirit was out in force
a Southern Gentleman's summer uniform
This man was a hoot. I saw him a few times.
This is a professional cowboy but I couldn't remember his name.
Do you think he was looking for attention?
Your hat has to match your shoes, right?
She is working that hat.
This is the classic Derby picture -- and ladies must make sure they have a pedicure.
I am a people watcher and this place is a gold mine for that. I apologize now for all the photos I am posting -- this is just a selection of the best (I took lots more and would have taken more if my hat had not hindered by photo taking ability).
One of the best things about Churchill was seeing all of the different areas and seeing how they worked together as cogs to make the show go on. This is big business and it’s also an entertainment spectacle. It’s the Super Bowl of horse racing.
The paddock area is where the trainers and owners prep the horses. They get them saddled and the jockeys mounted. It’s the pre-show show.
Angel and I found our outside seats today, luckily again we were on the second row but this time a tad bit closer to the finish line. These were also bench seats like yesterday. Our neighbors this time -- a Nashville school teacher and her retired railroad worker husband. They had come in on Wednesday too.
Our seats allowed us a perfect view of the “home stretch” and the old part of the stands too. I am an amateur architecture buff and Churchill Downs is impressive -- the Twin Spires are so distinctive and to see them beside the new viewing areas is striking design. If I was going to pay high dollar for seats I would want to be in the old stands not the new seating. But then again sometimes it’s better to be in “bad” seats and have a pretty view of the place. If you are sitting in the “good” seats you can’t see them. One thing I forgot - sunscreen - I knew I would be feeling this tomorrow, if not sooner.
My little hat had such a good time :)
Note to self, one of those handheld fans would be a plus too, if we were staying outside the whole time. But as we really didn’t just sit around the whole time it wasn’t needed this time. Most of the folks who were not wandering around like us, were drinking mint juleps -- you could buy the breakable souvenir glasses with the drink from the vendors just as if you were at a baseball game buying beer in a plastic cup. One downside of this was the drunks would break the glasses which was hazardous to all those stylish ladies who had switched to the needed flipflops. (This is one of the few events and venues where I have seen flipflops for sale at every shop -- I wore comfortable low heeled shoes but brought my silver flipflops too just in case.)
We got to see a race start -- the starting gate and horses coming out. Loading up the starting gate and bam, out they went. Then a very short time later they were back around picking up speed for the finish line.
NEW MEANING TO BIRDS' EYE VIEW FOR THESE LADIES
We went inside for a little while and had a great group today for our tablemates -- a family from Utah -- Vic, Mindy, Andrew and Tom.
Vic was in marketing and at the Derby for a company party. He and Lucky discussed focus groups and the economy. Mindy was a former teacher and she was a hoot. Their sons were both in college and one had lived for a year in Australia and the other in South Africa. This family loved to travel like mine did, except mine did not leave the country.
The parents had been to the Derby before but it was the sons’ first time. The boys had gangster like hats, and I think they had a great time.
Other scenes from the Track:
Baby's first Derby -- 3 months old :)
For the sixth race, we had a super treat, friends had given us a pass to be in the “inner” circle for just a few moments. A true "Moment in Time". The paddock is reserved for owners, trainers, Churchill staff and their friends. It’s good to know people. It was fascinating to see the spectacle from this vantage point.
As I don’t like to be the one in the limelight (yes, friends, I don’t like this and am quite shy), being inside the paddock was putting you right in the thick of it, and I was very self conscious. There were newspeople there and the crowds were watching this stage.
The Churchill staff had tour groups coming in too with the Churchill Derby Experience -- didn’t know what was up with that. The owners came out and were waiting on their investments, I mean horses. Then the horses were led in with their trainers and I am guessing they gave the horses their pep talks. You could tell the grooms were the ones who were the horses buddies. Some of the owners reacted differently to their horses. This is a big money business and to some just an investment and to others these were their babies.
Everyone was taking pictures and posing, while the jockeys came out. For you not in the “know” jockeys have agents who pair them with the horses. So a jockey doesn’t start off riding one horse for all of the horses career per se, but it could end up that way.
The horses were saddled and started around the circle (in the middle were flower bed horseshoes) with their jockeys mounting up. They were led out by pony horses to the walkway under the grandstand seating. We followed them with the procession and went under the grandstand too. The walkway was padded. We got to stand on the railing and were very close to the finish line with the “staff and owners”. This was a turf race (the inside track on the grass).
this is the track gate the horses go out
I loved the idea of the service people "guarding" the track.
After the race, the staff and owners were super excited and proceeded to the Winner’s Circle (the “normal winnner’s circle” is near the grandstand, but the big races winner’s circle is the formal one in the middle of the track). The losing horses’ "family" were led back under the grandstand and into the seating area.
Angel joined in on the hat contest again. I did also. I ended up going before her; and unlike yesterday, we had to talk and charm the judges. I did not expect to have to talk in front of all these folks and wasn't too keen on the idea. I muddled my way through it and messed it up royally. As I am not a fan of college basketball, I only have a periphery knowledge of it. How was I supposed to know that UK had just won a national championship? In New Orleans? On the weekend I was down there buying my hat while at a friend's crawfish boil?
Charming as she is, Angel knows how to blow smoke too -- She told them that her body might live in Louisiana but her heart was always in Kentucky. Needless to say, that comment along with her jockey silks dress, magnificent hat and winning smile clenched her win for a second day in a row.
I was so proud of her and she told me if I told anyone where she gets her hats, I am never allowed to do the Derby again. :) I took her to Paris and she took me to the Derby.
Near time for the Derby race, we went toward our outside seating. Of course I had to hit the post office again to mail more postcards (this time with the Derby cancel stamp postmark) and to buy the Derby day envelope. The same ladies were there and they were as gracious as they were the day before. I saw a commercial recently about the Post Office and it said -- “A refrigerator has never been hacked, an online virus have never attacked a corkboard”. I love electronic mail and the immediacy of it, but I adore getting a handwritten card or letter in the mail and keep most of them.
At our seats, the sun was still beating down, so Silver let me borrow his jacket so I could protect my untanned skin. I burn very easily and didn’t bring any Solarcaine for after. On the ground at our feet were many broken mint julep glasses.
Our view was great; and the staff was getting the track ready for the big race. I had made my bets earlier in the day for myself, my parents and my secretary -- I had a winning ticket no matter what -- I bet the tote across the board to win -- you just never know when a long shot might come in. I had bet on Optimizer as he was the prettiest at the Dawn at the Derby. *** I want to preface this -- I normally pick horses by their names. In my office on Tuesday of this week, I had picked a horse by his name. I looked him up and everything looked good except I didn’t like what the owner had done for a living -- he owned credit companies. And in my profession, I have issues with that. ***
The band came out (you know they were sweltering in those uniforms) and got prepared to play “My Old Kentucky Home”. The photographers were out in force with massive cameras.
The grounds crew were out (I guess they helped in areas after the people were walking on the track after the tractors had already passed).
You could feel the crowds energy level -- anticipation after having been there all day the first race started at around 10 and it was close to 5 now. Horses came out and started toward the gate. Daddy Long Legs is from Europe and has an Irish trainer -- he didn’t have a pony horse to accompany him out.
The sponsors came out and showed off the money and toasted the crowd.
Mary J. Blige sang the national anthem flawlessly. The band started up and you got chills as everyone started singing (they put the words on a screen).
The trumpet sounded and it was game on -- 21 horses released from the starting gate. They passed by the first time; and then shortly thereafter here they came again. Bodemeister, the favorite, stayed in the lead and close to it most of the time. Calvin Borel’s horse came in almost last, due to his later statement that he could feel something wrong with the horse when they rounded the last turn. It turned out the horse had a bone chip in his left front ankle -- that’s amazing how a jockey could feel it.
The front of the pack
The rest of the pack
Let me go back a few paragraphs before --- dumb me, even after hearing how the horse got his name -- about chocolate chip cookies--- I didn’t bet specifically on I’ll Have Another. And with my luck guess which horse came in with Mario Gutierrez for his jockey debut at the Derby on Cinco de Mayo --yep Number 19. That will teach me to judge a horse by his owner's profession. And it turns out the guy is very nice.
We saw the horse and the young jockey with all the remnants of the race head to the winner’s circle and receive his rose blanket. Awesome!
There was a throng of people in the betting lines when I went to collect mine and Angel’s winning tickets (we were both still “down” in our betting -- this was the only race I bet on today). She went to collect a couple of photographs and I got the money.
you know her feet were hurting
parting shot of the Derby...
sights from the outskirts of the Downs
After a little confusion with the vehicle, we braved traffic to get to Captain’s Quarters. It’s a restaurant on the Ohio River -- and the view :)
boiled shrimp
After dropping Lucky off and changing out of our fancy clothes, where do two Southern Belles end up shopping -- Walmart of course. You could find many Derby souvenirs here (why didn’t we start here first?) and some pies to take home to family -- and Solarcaine.
I will go ahead and insert in here our ride home -- 13 hours in a vehicle with folks can be hard, but we had a pleasant but now a little broker group. They rehashed the races and rehashed the races and all the hot tips.
Luckily everything fit in the backend:
After surviving the Nashville traffic - we did stop at Loretta Lynn’s again and had a very delicious and fresh Sunday buffet lunch. We got pictures with the Buffalo this time too. My grandmothers would have loved this place.
We drove by her house (not really drove by -- had to drive out to it and through a beautiful valley). Would be a very picturesque place to live.
The 26 hour drive was worth it. Happy Derby ya’ll -- and until next year :) ... I am on the hunt for a hat and a dress and comfortable stylish shoes for next year. Maybe we will get lucky and be at a table with Vic and Mindy and the boys again.
