Kentucky Derby 2005
By Bob W.
Road Trip: Kentucky Derby 2005 Louisville, Kentucky USA
It may sound stupid but ever since I was in middle school I wanted to attend the Kentucky Derby. Sure the dream may have started out with me in the winners circle but as I got older I lowered the bar to the point of just wanting to witness the event. I can easily say it is everything I had hoped it to be. There were times when I was tired and down on my luck, and for a majority of the day I couldn’t tell if I was in the infield at the Preakness or the Kentucky Derby. But there was also time when you stood there looking at the twin spires and the names of all the past winners and you realized this was something special.
I was lucky enough to experience the pinnacle of the 2005 horse racing season thanks to a gracious invitation from my friends Dan and Lindsay. A few months back they offered us a chance to go to Kentucky and Kristin and I jumped on it. The trip also would not have gone off so smooth without the help of Lindsay’s brother Eric and his wife Shannon. Their local knowledge, Derby knowledge, and Kentucky hospitality made this a weekend I won’t soon forget.
Friday Morning:
Kristin and I left for the airport around 10:00 am. We were supposed to meet Dan’s brother George at BWI to take a flight out but things backfired from the get go. While Kristin and I made it with time to spare, George chose to play cards in Northern Virginia Thursday night instead of prepping for the Derby. Though he was up in time, he realized he had left his license 100 miles away in Delaware and only had 2 hours before the flight left. He hustled up I-95 to meet his mother who was hustling southbound at the same time with license in hand. George did make it to the airport in time but he didn’t make it to the gate and the Southwest flight to Louisville left with an empty seat. This could have been taken as a bad omen, but I was not worried. After all, I was on the plane and we already experienced one miracle on the day which was my wife fitting all her clothes into one carry-on suitcase.
Friday Afternoon:
We landed smoothly in Louisville after circling over the Ohio River and Indiana, it was then that we got our first glimpse of the city. I was impressed by the size of Louisville, I don’t know exactly what I was expecting but I didn’t realize how big of a city Louisville actually was.
Upon our touching down we were already completely surrounded by reminders of what this weekend was all about. Every woman on the plane older than 40 had a hat box as their carry-on item. As we headed toward the baggage claim two young girls dressed in frontier dresses were handing out bourbon balls as a blue grass band played. It was Derby eve and you could even feel it in the recycled airport air.
We were met outside the baggage claim area by Shannon who we had never seen before. All we were told to do is look for a white blazer with a University of Kentucky front License plate. It was good they told us about the white blazer because UK plates aren’t exactly a distinguishable feature on cars in Louisville, even with the proximity of U L. After a short ride to our hostess’ house we were reunited with the rest of the party who had arrived from Nashville just moments before. While waiting to hear the status on George we sat around talking Derby, shooting baskets, and watching “The Oaks” on tv. (The Oaks is a really prestigious race that is run the day before the Derby). For dinner we had Pork BBQ, green beans, potato salad, and wings and as we ate it under a sky as blue as one of Tubby Smith’s ties I couldn’t help but wonder if people played basketball and watched horse racing everyday in Kentucky. For dessert we had Derby pie which was awesome, not sure what was in it, but I know I tasted chocolate and nuts and bourbon (I think every thing in Kentucky has bourbon in it somewhere).
Friday Night:
After dinner we went to downtown Louisville to the “Chow Wagon”. For those who don’t know what the “Chow Wagon” is, and I am guessing no one does, picture the Cecil County Fair with alcohol and a 70’s cover band and you get the idea. Of course all of this was set up against the back drop of the Ohio River and southern Indiana, and an occasional riverboat crossing. After hanging out and watching the band and plenty of drunk people for a few hours we headed back home to rest up for the main event.
On our way home we stopped off at the local Kroger to see the blanket of roses that the winner gets to wear. You would think the roses would be flown in from the fanciest flower shop in all the land, but in actuality they come from the grocery store. I guess everyone has a budget. Hopefully they got a price break with their bonus card.
Saturday Morning:
The alarm went off extra early on Saturday. Gates to the Derby open at 8 and if you want to actually see the horses you had better be in the infield by 8:05. We were lucky enough to fit all 9 of us in the Blazer and double lucky enough to have Eric drop us off at the gate. Though people were lined up, fortunately the crowd moved quickly and we were in the infield in what seemed like only a matter of minutes.
Now the one problem I did have with the Derby, and what makes you appreciate the Preakness a little more is that the Derby won’t let you bring in your own alcohol. In hindsight this is probably a great policy, but to me the common man who wants to drink all day like he is back in school, this is brutal. They are nice enough to supply it on the inside for $6 a cup, but you are looking at a minimum of 80$ if you are planning to drink all day, and that is a lot of gambling cash right there.
After we established a base camp on the back stretch we had time to kill until the first race. We spent that time taking in the sights. For the first half of the day the infield was mostly open and easy to walk about. I took some time to wander and take some pictures. At the Derby there is a tunnel from the infield to the grandstand area. Though your access on the other side is limited, I was able to pick my way to the paddock. It was there that I really felt like I was part of something big.
They had a huge sign for the 131 running of the Kentucky Derby and on the bottom was the defending champ “Smarty Jones”. All the walls were covered with names of the 130 winners, some obscure, some which I will never forget. It was also in this area where the “classes mingle”. You can see a guy in cut off jeans and a program standing next two a man in a freshly pressed suit and his wife with a sun dress and derby hat. It was also here that they had “Alex’s Lemonade Stand” where you could buy a glass of lemonade with the proceeds going to cancer research; of course the stand also had a homemade sign saying “Go Alex Go”. Hard to not pull for a horse who was supporting such a noble cause. As the morning wore on, the betting windows began opening, and I knew it was time to get to my side of the track and start preparing for what would undoubtedly be a profitable day.
The Undercards:
I don’t know what I did to upset the gambling god’s but boy were they pissed at me for most of the day. I got shut out in the first race which I had bet aggressively. Then the second one saw me make my first profit of the day, but it wasn’t much. And then it went down hill. Kristin did get lucky on a horse in the third race. It was #7 and it was going off at 7-1. She flirted with betting 7$ across the board on it, but I talked her out of it. She didn’t much appreciate my caution when he crossed the line and she missed out on an extra 75$. But that was the kind of day it was. By the 6th race I was so tired of walking back and forth and getting my ass handed to me that we decided to do a group pick 3 and a group pick 4. It was at this time I decided to make my Derby bets and then sit down and relax for a while.
The Pick 3 and Pick 4
For those unfamiliar with horse racing (and therefore more happy and rich than me) a pick 3 is simply picking the winning horse 3 races in a row. We went and selected every horse in the 6th race, every horse in the 7th race, and then Madcap Escapade in the 8th.
Madcap was the “Lock of the Day”. Its morning odds were 1-2 and he carried on his back legendary jockey Jerry Bailey (the rider of Cigar, the Maryland Bred who won a record 16 straight starts back in the 90’s). We were so sure of this horse that we also included him, and only him, in our Pick 4 as well.
The odds weren’t great on him, but all we needed was a long shot in the 6th and 7th to come through for us, and then maybe Madcap to fall to 1-1 or 2-1 before the start of the 8th. We were a confident bunch, but things started out poorly. The heavy favorite won the 6th race which cost us a ton of potential money. A decent horse won the 7th and if our “Lock of the Day” came through in the 8th we would still show some profit. As the 8th race started our boy jumped to an early lead and never looked back. By the time he passed us on the back stretch he was making a mockery of the race. The fans were going wild, but something just didn’t seem right. We watched as our horse was the only horse on the jumbotron for the final turn, but then as he headed down the home stretch we started to see some noses poke into the screen...then eyes...then ears...then jockeys, followed by the front half of our horse...then neck...then nose until his screen time officially ended with a 7th place finish. It was if Jerry Bailey thought the race was 5 furlongs instead of 7. The race killed both our Pick 3 and Pick 4, and I felt about as low as I could feel at the race track. But the gambling gods were not yet done mocking me.
The Kentucky Derby
While at the Derby a big part of me was thinking to myself, I can’t wait to get home and find out what happened today. Though you are a part of this great event, you only see a glimpse and with no audio in the infield you aren’t really even sure of what you are looking at. I never did hear “My Old Kentucky Home” or the trumpet proclaiming the horses were on the track. I never got to hear each horses unique story, or it’s history as it paraded around the track in preparation. But no one had to tell you when the race began.
There were people everywhere for the Derby, on top of port-a-pots, on roof tops, and even on a crane. Even the drunks spontaneously took a break from drinking to take in the greatest 2 minutes in sports. Our 6:45 am wake up call was finally paying off as 100,000 people crammed in behind us to witness this event, and a great roar went up as the gates opened. I honestly was so taken-in by the event that I didn’t even look for my horses I bet on when they flew past. I did note that they weren’t among the front but that was about it. The whole crowd held its breath as the horses came down the stretch and it appeared that half the field still had a legitimate chance to win as they closed to the wire. It was at this point when a horse from what seemed out of nowhere made its dash on the outside and took the lead right before crossing the line. No one was sure who won, but there was no celebrating in the infield. There was a couple “Who was that?”, and some “I can’t believe it” but not until they showed the close up on the screen did any of us have any idea Derby history had been made. When they showed the 10 on the horse I remembered thinking to myself, why isn’t that number familiar? I mean I had studied the race all day, I knew every horse and every silk and cap combination, but I didn’t recognize that one. So I glanced at the odds still posted on the jumbotron and saw that the horse that just won the Kentucky Derby went off at 50-1. My next instinct was to look into my program for a name, what I saw was Giacomo (which I must admit at the time I didn’t even know how to correctly pronounce). The most exciting moment in horse racing had left 100,000 people dazed and confused. It was the quietest it had been all day.
A reprieve
It didn’t take long to note that my hours of reading and research, re-reading and re-evaluating had given me the foresight to pick the 19th place horse out of 20. To compound the folly, the one who I share a bank account with was lucky enough to pick the last place finisher. It was truly my worst day at the track....ever.
But just when “Gamblore” had his neon claws wrapped around our necks, a Kentucky Derby Miracle occurred, something that you would only see in a cheesy movie. I recognized the voice as that of my wife’s, but looking back it sounded more like an Angel’s.
She said: “Uh Bob, do you realize you bet on the 10 horse?”
“What are you talking about? Before the race I didn’t even know who the 10 horse was!!”
“Look right here, you wrote out $4 to win on 10, $2 to place, and $2 to show, you were supposed to bet on Bellamy Road for my mom and you bet on Giacomo instead.”
I don’t remember what I said next but I think it was something like this:
“You have to be F%&^ING KIDDING ME, let me see that. Holy S#$*%!!! Do you realize what this is going to pay?”
Well when the race became official I quickly did some calculations. Giacomo paid 102$ on a $2 win. $45 on a $2 place, and $25 on a $2 show bet. We had 4 to win so that doubles the $102 which means we just won $270 based solely on my incompetence or poor hand writing!! Talk about going from the out house to the penthouse. What was also amazing was that whoever was lucky enough to bet a $2 exacta won $9,000, whoever bet a trifecta won $133,000, and anyone lucky enough to hold the superfecta just became a millionaire! It turns out Giacomo was the longest shot to hit at the Derby in over 90 years. It just also happened to hit on the only time in my life where I have messed up a bet (and there have been plenty of bets to screw up).
Post Post Time:
After cashing the ticket we headed for the exits. Though there were still two
more races to be run we were all tired and ready to go. There is plenty to do
in Louisville after the race, but for us wild and crazy derby goers, we went
home and played cards. It was a long day, but a good one. We were part of
Derby history and no one at Church Hill Downs will ever forget the name Giacomo.
He was the horse that came through at 50-1 to win the Derby, but mostly because
he was the horse everyone saw win in person. As for our money (though we tried
to give it to Kristin’s mother but she wouldn’t take it), I have already spent
it. I spent it on a new shirt.
Sure the colors are ugly and it has no personality, but trust
me, it’s lucky as hell!
Photo Gallery:
It wouldn’t be the run for the roses if there weren’t any roses. The good folks at the local Kruger work overtime getting the blanket ready for the lucky winner.
The Twin Spires! Now you know you are at Churchill Downs.
The Kentucky State flag, much like every other state’s, makes you proud of the Red-White-Black-and Gold.
Kristin and I at the Derby, this picture looks innocent enough but what you can’t see is me lifting some betting cash out of her back pocket.
The immortal Smarty Jones.
The immaculate paddock at Churchill Downs, this was taken at 10:00 am. I am sure you could not get within 300 feet of it around 5:30.
Had to blow this one up to see what it is. This is a list of all past Champs. As you can see Smarty Jones is up there as well as some of my personal favorites such as 1995 Champ Thunder Gulch (what a great name), 1988’s Winning Colors (I remember rooting for him as my sister was going off to the Prom outside, WC wore purple and gold FYI (Go Elks)). Also on there is 1985’s Spend a Buck, no relation to the SS Cost-A-Buck.
Here is Alex’s lemonade stand. They sold lemonade to raise money for cancer research. The hand made “Go Afleet Alex” really makes you want to pull for him. Luckily he redeemed himself in Baltimore.
At the Derby, it’s all about the hats!
By far the most original outfit of the day, the beauty of it is that he hits a button and it deflates so he can stand in line at the betting window. I thought that was pretty creative and courteous.
This is my best action shot of the day. The others are too blurry. Anyway here is Race 4 on the day. #8 in the pink is “On the Acorn”, just behind #9 “Florida Keys”. I don’t remember who I had in this race, but I can assure you he was behind all of these guys.
The crowd is starting to fill in.
People trying to get a free look, notice the crane in the background. There are people in there watching the race.
Getting ready for Post, the crowd for the race kind of reminded me of a European Soccer Match.
The Classic “We're not leaving until my horse finishes the race………..ah screw it, lets go.”