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It's been a whirlwind 48 hours attending the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby horse races in Louisville – both unforgettable American spectacles celebrating their 135th year. There's nothing quite like carousing with 153,000 festive people dressed in either their most elaborate finery ... or the craziest thing they could find. Sure, it’s all about the hats, parties and the Mint Juleps but most of all, it’s about the horses. And, let's face it, who doesn't love a long shot win?
(Trying to wrap up the experience in one post is futile so today's post will be about the race itself. Tuesday – the hats, fashion and traditions. Wednesday, the celebs, parties and whatever else I forgot. I am posting numerous photo highlights on my Flickr stream - will be adding more throughout the day.)
The first Kentucky Derby was held in 1874 which makes horse racing is the oldest sport in America. POTUS #2, Andrew Jackson, had stables added to the White House for this reason.) It is known as the “most exciting two minutes in sports” and having witnessed it, I concur. Even during World War II, when so many recreational events were put on hold, the Oaks and the Derby continued. Another fun factoid: A horse can run the Derby only once, no more. Jockeys do not have such rules.
As a Derby virgin, I met numerous fellow first-timers and they all said the same thing: “I don’t think I can ever watch the Derby on TV ever again.” When you finally grasp the expanse of the event and realize it stretches far beyond what you'd imagined, it is seemingly hard to settle for a distant view ever again - which is why so many people return year after year.
Watching Calvin Borel (nicknamed “Bo-rail” for his penchant for riding the rail) take the 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird across the finish line on Saturday, my horse racing experience peaked right then and there. (It was only the second biggest long shot win in Derby history.) This horse was in last place for much of the race before Borel spotted a hole in the thumping herd and quickly filled it. We were witnessing Mind That Bird's Susan Boyle-moment and it was electrifying.
While folks were busy screaming and mentally spending the winnings that seemed within grasp, Borel put the stirrups to the mud and he and his equine partner spent the last 20 seconds of the race breezing past the other riders as if they were standing still. The horse had a rough start having been squeezed back from his No. 8 post to a full six lengths behind everyone else for the first quarter mile. When Borel maneuvered up to the rail to get his shot, it was a done deal and he cruised to victory 6 3/4 lengths ahead of second place, Pioneerof the Nile. As Borel told the Courier-Journal post-race: "You got a hole, you got a shot ...I had enough room, he's a small horse."
To intensify matters, there was the gradual realization that Calvin had ridden the favored filly, Rachel Alexandra, to victory in the Oaks just 24 hours earlier, making him only the seventh jockey to win both the Kentucky Oaks and the Derby in the same year. It was day for history-making.
Being amongst the crowd and watching the bizarre finish was surreal. I expected a lot of cheers and whoops of financial success but after Borel crossed the line with his whip in the air (to honor his late parents), everyone turned to one another. “Who is that? Which horse was that? What happened? Who was that? WHAT’S GOING ON???”
Watching the Derby veterans in their confusion, I realized things were especially surprising this year. The crowd went from speechless to incredulous to genuinely annoyed at themselves for not betting the longshot. I met one Denver-based couple, William and Deborah Paini, who had changed their strategy at the last minute based on the advice of an old-timer and ended up winners; it was their first Derby too and they were as shocked as anyone.
Turns out, the owners of Mine That Bird had only decided a month ago, on a whim, to put up the $25,000 and enter him in the Derby. He'd never even run on a muddy track and,
