My new friend Cindy took me on a tour around the track. First we went to the paddock. Just an hour before I had leaned against the fence straining to get a good view of the horses. Cindy flashed her badge at the guard and he opened the gate to Heaven. We walked down the four stairs and I was within mere feet of the horses – I could reach out and touch one when they walked by if I had dared.
Highly conditioned horses glided around me as jockeys received their leg ups and the bettors studied each horse from the outside of the fence. Eventually the horses made the right turn out of the paddock towards the track and Cindy and I followed suit. We walked through the tunnel chatting with the jockeys who weren’t up that race. The horses reached the end of the tunnel and danced onto the track in anticipation of what was to come. While they warmed up we explored the winners circle, and I weighed in on the exact same scale the winning jockey weighs in on after the race. Finally the bell rang and the horses exploded from the gate. I snapped picture after picture as they approached and quickly passed on their race that would take them a mile and an eighth around the gigantic dirt track. We watched them careen down the backstretch on the big screen and seconds later I saw the front running horse appear around the final turn. The entire field came around the turn and kicked in their last gear with their eye on the finish pole. The crowd screamed for their picks as the horses battled it out in the final stretch of the race. The race ended and we lingered around the winner’s circle to catch a close-up view of the victor. To my surprise when the 1st place horse horse stood for his official win picture we were invited to be a part of the celebration photo. Could this day get any better?
The crowd dispersed as the horses made their way back to the barn and everyone started the preparations for the big race of the day – the Stephen Foster with a purse of $831,000. We continued our tour, and Cindy took me up to the jockey room. We stood by the door at the top of the stairs, and when one of the jockeys walked up she handed him my program and asked him to have the guys sign it. Every jockey for the Stephen Foster race that day autographed my program. These were some of the best races in the entire country. Within a couple minutes it was returned and we left the jockeys alone to prepare for the race. I have the autographs of Jerry Bailey and Pat Day just to name a few. It seemed like I had already been everywhere of significance on the track, but Cindy had one last stop in mind. I followed her up the escalators through doors marked only for employees and before I knew it we were in a room full of sound equipment overlooking the entire Churchill Downs race track. Cindy introduced me to a very important guy – the one who calls the races play by play over the loudspeaker. We had a great conversation about the racetrack and what it was like to call the Kentucky Derby.
We made our way back to the box my parents were sitting in and I was gushing with excitement – telling them all about the day and the people I met. With everything that had happened we still had the big race left. Cindy and I made our way back to the paddock to watch the horses get saddled for the race. Bob Baffert stood 4 feet from me as he watched his horse walk around the paddock and I took close up pictures of the bettors’ favorites, as well as my favorites (the ones who walked with a proud, flowing gait). This time the horses left the paddock and we went out on the rail right to watch.
The race ended with the favorite getting beat. My dad won over $300 at the track, paying for most of our trip. Our day at Churchill Downs was a success in every way possible. I couldn’t wait to find the perfect college where this would become a normal day for me.
Lesson for the day: Enjoy the day! Embrace the small things.
Soli deo gloria,
Sarah
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