Well, it was another boring Kentucky Derby — fifth straight year the favorite has won — but another fabulous Derby Week in my hometown.
I got to Louisville Tuesday night and had several days to visit friends and relatives, and even got in a golf game with a friend at her new country club.
Most hotels in the metro area require a three-day stay (or at least charge a three-day minimum) for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and many hotels charge several thousand dollars for that privilege.
Last year, thanks to Patty’s business — manufacturing robes and other garments primarily for women ministers — I came across an excellent alternative to the hotel shakedown. Then and this year I stayed at a lodge on the grounds of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, conveniently located between downtown and a bustling area called St. Matthews.
The lodge has a few dozen rooms and is open year round. But the seminary doesn’t advertise it, and a lot of people just don’t know about it. I had a nice room (I was on my own) with two twin beds, a non-high-def TV and, of course, my own bathroom. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the lodge had a complimentary buffet breakfast, Derby themed, with “Start” and “Finish” lines.
Last year, it seemed like 10 to 12 rooms were occupied on the Big Three days; this year only six to eight were in use. For Tuesday and Wednesday, the rate was $90, including tax. For Thursday, Friday and Saturday the rate was $277, including tax…Plus, there is no three-night minimum charge.
The only distraction the entire week was the weather, which was plenty foul. The rain chased me across Missouri and arrived in Louisville on Thursday. It rained most of that day and most of the night, then it rained all day Friday, significantly knocking down attendance at Churchill Downs for Friday’s Kentucky Oaks, the big race for 3-year-old fillies.
I had intended to go to the track Friday after a brunch with friends, but when I left the brunch about 1:30 p.m., it was raining steadily and the gauge in my car showed the outside temperature as 49 degrees. Not a fit day for man nor beast, I determined. So, I headed back to “Laws Lodge” and then went over to the home of one of my cousins for pizza, iced tea and conversation. It was my best bet of the week.
Of course, nothing short of a snowstorm was going to keep me from the track on Derby Day, and once again I got lucky outside the track, getting a First Floor Clubhouse seat for $150, about $50 less than face value.
Despite three rounds of afternoon rain — one of which lasted about 30 minutes — the crowd was upbeat. In fact, many people are downright giddy, so happy are they to be at such a historic and storied event. I started going back for the Derby in 1981 and have attended the vast majority of Derby Days since then. During that time, I’ve gotten over the giddiness but still whoop and holler when the first horse steps onto the track before the Derby and the University of Louisville Marching Band strikes up “My Old Kentucky Home.”
When the horses stepped onto the track about 6:15 p.m. Louisville time Saturday, the sun was, indeed, shining bright in my old Kentucky home. Like I said above, it was a boring race — to me, anyway — with the 9-2 favorite, Always Dreaming, running up front, or close to the front, all the way around the track and not being challenged down the stretch. I bet a horse called McCraken — named after a small town in Kansas — and he finished eighth.
There were two particularly interesting in-race developments, neither of which I was aware of until the race was over. (From the first and second floors of Churchill Downs it’s difficult to see much of anything taking place on the track, although there is a big TV screen.) The horse running from the No. 2 post position, Thunder Snow, began bucking a couple of strides out of the gate and refused to run. Maybe he didn’t like the sloppy track, but it was strange. He didn’t finish.
The second unusual thing was that Lookin at Lee, the horse coming from the No. 1 post position — usually a killer because the outside horses often angle inside and squeeze the inside horses — skimmed the rail all the way around the track and finished a game second to Always Dreaming. Lookin at Lee went off at 33 to 1 and paid $26.60 on a $2 place (second place) bet.
…I know you’ve been waiting for the photos. Here they are.
Approaching Queen Avenue for a block-long walk to the track
The Queen Avenue residents have their own party. Car parking is big business.
Just inside the racetrack gate off Queen.
Ah, that track and those Twin Spires.
A few nice hats, a killer suit and a baby boy undoubtedly taking in his first Derby
The horses entering the first turn in a turf (grass) race two races before the Derby
It was hard for me to tell which was more beautiful, the hat or the woman.
In the betting line, I happened across a guy — Tom from Indiana — with a hat identical to mine — blue straw, from Goorin Bros.
Now, there’s a cat in a hat.
Never too rainy for a beer, at least on Derby Day
Waiting out the rain…grimly
A cigar helped make the rain go by more quickly for this guy.
Mint juleps eased the pain, too.
The brick walkways aren’t a bit enchanting after a downpour.
I was in a six-person box with the Richardson family, whom I got to know when I arrived with the ticket I’d bought outside the track. This is Stephanie, who was totally prepared for the rain.
The jet setters populate the fourth, fifth and sixth floors. The fourth and fifth floors each have a “millionaires row” section. The fifth floor houses the “Finish Line Suites.”
Churchill has long employed a color-coded armband system to route people to their respective seating areas — and keep them there. The rule is you can always go lower, such as from millionaires row to the grandstand or clubhouse, but you can’t go higher. People like me — and this woman — with red arm bands could go no higher than the First Floor Clubhouse.
A moment of quietude inside the clubhouse
Great tie, but the shirt??? C’mon, man!
Here’s Stephanie again (second from right) with her father Rick; sisters Ryan (left) and Ashley (middle); and Ryan’s husband Jordan. The Richardsons are originally from the Cincinnati area, but only Rick lives there now. Stephanie lives in Louisville; Ashley in Columbus, Ohio; and Ryan and Jordan in Atlanta. (Thanks, Richardsons, for a fun afternoon and welcoming me to your box!)
The Derby Post Parade
The Derby horses head into the first turn.
Just like that, it’s over and people are in the parking lot, waiting for family members, friends and fares.
And it’s back down Queen Avenue to the cars.
It could take a long time for that block to get back to normal this year.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Enjoyed your Derby post, Jim, and your photos of all those funny jackets and hats. That is Kentucky! Interesting deal on the lodgings. Sounds great. Glad you had a fun, if very rainy, Derby weekend.
Love,
Josie
Thanks, cousin. Welcome to the Comments Dept.
Your pictures, as always, are great fun, Jim.
Love your twin hats.
Many thanks for all your work on a holiday.
Last year, I took a year off as “official KC photographer of the Derby” for the very reason you cite, Laura: It’s a lot of work. Between the photos and the rain, I had no time to do any handicapping — studying the past performances of the horses before the various races. Other than my Derby bets — which I’d pretty well decided on in advance — I bet on only two races and just bet on the jockey. I won $31 on one of those bets and lost $30 on the other. (I lost $170 on the Derby.)
The location of the track always strikes me as odd — looks like it’s smack dab in the middle of a rather modest residential neighborhood. Which was there first?
P.S. I was rooting for the one-eyed horse. :-)
Patch went off at odds of 14 to 1 and finished….14th.
That’s a good question, Gayle…There may have been a few houses in the area around the track when it opened in 1875 but not many. Wikipedia says: “Churchill Downs filled a void in Louisville left by the closing of Oakland and Woodlawn, two earlier race courses. The then-rural location was along Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks, allowing for easy transport of horses.”
It’s in a very modest neighborhood in south Louisville, 3.7 miles due south of downtown. “Old Louisville,” with many large, stately, historic homes, is a mile or so away.
Looks like a great day! I’m sure you were close to my friend Rosie. It was great seeing you!
Your Oaks Day brunch has become a new, treasured tradition, Marcie. You are a tremendous hostess and great friend. (And a great putter, too!)
Good post, Jimbo. Carolyn and I also were in Louisville visiting friends during Derby week, but we got to the track only on Wednesday. There’s no place in the world quite like It. The weather later on was, indeed, foul.
You sure picked the right day to go to the track, Mark…That was the day I played golf — the only day you could play golf without getting wet.
Great pics, Jim! You captured the spirit of the Derby beautifully. One of these days, you’re going to have to teach me how to handicap a horse. I’ve lived here all my life and have never learned how. It’s always great to see you, and I’m so glad you came by to visit instead of going to Oaks. Thanks for the pizza!
Like I said, Sharron, opting to go back to your house Friday was my best bet of the week.
…It’s been so long since I’ve done any serious handicapping — poring over the past performances in the Daily Racing — that I don’t think I could do it very well any more. And even when I was doing that, I was losing!
Fitz….
Sorry I missed you…I was there, my first Derby, though hard to spot under my dark parka….Had a ball, even with the deluge. Stayed all day Friday and won that last Oaks race, then rolled it over to Saturday and lost it all on McCraken. We were sitting in a new area on the right side of the grandstand. one floor up from the starting gate for the big race (and easy to see how one of the jockeys intentionally bumped McCraken and blew him out of the field)…It was an all-access area, and came with a free brunch, free beer and wine, and half-price juleps and bourbon shots.
Yes the rain was awful Friday. The Courier-Journal aptly dubbed it the Kentucky Soaks. But still historic, despite the cold and wind and rain. Saturday was a great adventure too, plenty of sun and with all those free drinks, good clean family fun.
We also toured a couple of stud farms around Lexington and the Buffalo Trace distillery (complimentary shots at the end)…Dined at Miss Claudia’s in Shelbyville and did a night cap at the Brown Hotel downtown.
And I agree with you about the extortionate room rates. I found a Marriott courtyard 20 minutes NE of downtown. Normally $120 a night… But this wknd it was $670 a night with that 3-night minimum you mentioned. Luckily I had enough Marriott points to burn, and got the whole thing gratis.
Loved your old city, Fitz. They oughta build a statue in your honor under the Twin Spires, as often as you’ve gone to the Derby…Mount you up there with a cigar in hand, and big fat white shoes. That would be sure to scare the pigeons away.
Sounds like you got to do it right, Rick, including visiting the Brown Hotel and Miss Claudia’s (which I’ve never been to).
No statues in my honor, though; there are plenty of people who have been to the Derby more often and more regularly than I. They just don’t have the blog to present it to millions of people (do you hear me, Mr. President?) in all its glory.