Kentucky Derby Memory
It was 1991, but I remember everything like it was yesterday. My first visit to a mecca of horse racing, Churchill Downs … and the Kentucky Derby. Deb was 5 months pregnant with our son, Michael. But, that didn’t slow her down one bit. Up every morning at the crack of dawn, and we were off … Off to the breeding farms, off to the race track, off to creating some of my fondest horse racing memories.
Neal and Seattle Slew
Every day was filled with sunshine and temperatures in the 70’s. I don’t recall one drop of rain falling the entire week we were there. Our first stop was Three Chimneys Farm, where we were allowed to have our picture taken with two stallions. My choice was simple, Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew and Slew O’ Gold (one of my personal favorites).
Our arrival at Three Chimneys Farm happened to coincide with a mating session between the sire Rahy and an unknown mare. This was unexpected and just a bit uncomfortable for Deb, especially being five months pregnant. But, we made it through, and in the process learned about the horse with the worst possible job on the farm. He’s referred to as The Teaser.
This article sponsored by Amigo’s Cantina, (One of the author’s favorite restaurants in the Saratoga, NY area)
The Teaser is a stallion given the job of “preparing” the mare for mating. He’s a good natured sort, who can be trusted to make the mare feel comfortable, so to speak. This is all done to protect the high-priced stallions, and I guess not to waste their valuable time. Well, after The Teaser has made the mare warm and cozy, he is given the hook … and Mr. Stallion comes in to finish the task at hand. The Teaser is then led back to his stall, and awaits his next courtship. Tough job.
During our travels to and from the breeding farms, we were able to see some great views of Momma horses and their foals in the fields.
The foals tend to stick pretty close to their mothers, but I was really taken by this one foal to the right who seemed destined to be in the winner’s circle some day. If you click on the image you’ll see that some of the other horses were also looking at him like he’s something special.
We visited the Kentucky Derby Museum, which has one of the best video presentations I’ve ever seen. It was presented on a circular screen, and filled with glorious sights and sounds of Derbies past. I went back a couple of years ago to the museum, and an updated version of the film is still the highlight of the visit.
As far as my on-track experiences go, it was more successful than I could have ever imagined. I turned a profit each and every day we went to Churchill Downs, and overall for the week I earned enough money to pay for the entire trip.
But the highlight of the trip was definitely the experience of witnessing the Kentucky Derby live. I managed to get several pictures of contenders in the paddock, including the eventual winner, Strike The Gold.
My selection in the Derby was a California horse named Best Pal, ridden by Gary Stevens. My main play was going to be a solid Win-Place bet on him, and then a few exotic bets keying him with some other horses. About 5 minutes before post time, a fellow I’d been conversing with during the day said to me, “Hey, check out the Show pool on your horse. I think he’ll pay nearly as much to Show as Place.” So at the last minute, I made a Show bet equal to my Win-Place wagers.
I’ve included a link to the video of the race below:
Best Pal
From where I was sitting, I could see that Best Pal was caught in behind some horses entering the stretch. I kept waiting for him to get an opening. When he finally came through on the rail, my heart was pounding harder than it ever has in my life. I was screaming “Go Best Pal. Go!” But, Strike The Gold had clear sailing down the center of the track and beat him home. I’ve never been so excited about anything in my life as I was during the stretch run of that race. I still get tears in my eyes recalling the moment.
And to finish the story, Best Pal paid $6.40 to Place and $5.40 to Show. The next morning I went back to the track, just so I could feel it all one more time … and say “Go Best Pal. Go!”
