The Derby. It's such an elusive event for me. I didn't know how much it rules Kentucky when it takes place. All that work, pomp and circumstance for a two-minute race. Nevertheless, my time in Kentucky just wouldn't be complete...without a trip to the legendary Churchill Downs, the racetrack where the Kentucky Derby is raced!
Churchill Downs is in Louisville, a city only about an hour and a half away yet somehow in a different time zone (?). I went there with a friend from work and we initially wanted to do a tour of the track and see the behind the scenes stuff where the jockeys and horses go...but that was too expensive so we just decided to make up our own tour!
Races take place almost everyday at Churchill Downs and, when they do, the horses come to this pen area to get ready and get psyched up. I saw a couple horses just chilling in the shade and get hosed down. I suppose it's like a "green room" for derby horses. The billboard above it includes the different wagers and how much you could win for each different kind of wager.
I really wanted to bet on a race, just because. I don't know anything about horse-racing, about the different trainers, breeders, owners, and all that jazz...it just felt like something I should do cause I was at one of the most famous racetracks in the world! However, the complexity of the whole thing (picking 1/2/3 in the right order, just picking the top three horses in the race, picking the first two in no particular order, etc.) scared me, which is probably for the best because the horses I predicted would win...didn't.
I watched a couple races while there. The stands obviously weren't as packed as they would be on Derby day, but there were still a fair amount of people there. And some people were even dressed up in Derby-esque attire, think big hats! We got to sit in some pretty nice seats (this guy approached us at the front door and gave us his extra box seats!) in the shade, so my friend and I played guessing games of which horses would win. Once you pick a horse, you feel more invested in the race and some people got really riled up!
I tried doing the whole "know each horses' stats and his trainer and breeder" deal, but that was just too difficult. Too many things to consider like the type of track, past wins on the track, past wins in general, wins under certain trainers or jockeys...no thanks, I'll just go by name. "Under Like Thunder"..."Lokomamma"..."The Unbelievable"...horse naming is an art really. A strong name equates into a strong (and fast) horse! Unfortunately, those names weren't strong enough for those horses to win...oh well, next time?
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