Derby Day!

Will was out of town and I was trying to decide what I was going to do on derby day. With some encouragement from my family, I decided baby Will and I should be able to say that we have been to the Derby. We live here so we needed to go see what it was all about. It was quite an experience. I payed $40 to get into the infield. I didn't stay for long in the field though. It was literally a huge frat party, and seeing as how I was sober married pregnant girl by her self in the mist of drunk college guys, Baby Will and I decided to walk around and find the paddock to see some horses. The Paddock wasn't a frat party but it was a party. An easy way to explain the difference is: In field = 21 year olds drunk on beer and Paddock= young perofessionals drunk on mint julips. I did however meet a few nice people who weren't too tipsy while I was standing in the crowds. Shamefully, I wasn't wearing a hat, I have some gorgeous hats in Dallas but of course I wasn't thinking ahead quite that far. Once I found the paddock I worked my way as close to the front as possible. I camped out there the rest of the time. Excuse the pictures, Will had the camera on his Maison trip, so I used my camera phone. Most of the pictures are of the crowd though I may have caught a glimpse of a horse here or there. Anyway I wanted to give everyone at home my view of the Kentucky Derby.

When I first walked into the in field, I saw a huge mob that seemed to be the wagering windows. I walked right up and got in line. It took about 45 min to an hour for me to get to the window. I place two $2 bets. Both way off. I felt silly because you had to buy the programs to see what horses where where and in what race, not to mention the odds and research. I was going off of what Will told me over the phone. The guy at the window was cool though, I think it was his first time to take bets anyway. I bet that might be a lucrative little weekend job on Derby day.

While standing in line I notice a little aristocratic patronizing. The horse owners' boxes were set up in the in field. Each had a box a balcony that over looked the in field/ wagering windows. The well dressed would stand out on the balcony and throw down things to the in fielders. Cigs were the most popular.

On my way to the paddock I passed the stadium's wagering windows. It was just as crowded.

The crowd as I was searching for the Paddock. In the foreground of the second pic, you can see people standing in line for mint julips.

While standing around waiting in between races, Chelsea Clinton came walking by. Okay...

So that was my picture.

and this was Josie's picture... Josie was a girl standing in front of me, whose last name is BEVERS, by the way. She was there with her friends. She was so excited about this shot, she kept talking about it. It kinda became a joke. I asked her to email me pictures from today. (Meaning the horses) I think she misunderstood because she only sent me this one.

Nice hat Chels!

The Twin Spires

This was the nice man in front of me. To give you an Idea as to how close we were all standing. And this was before the mob started to get packed right before the big race. He had a big 10 gallon hat on and was very nice but he did light up like 4 Cigarettes in a row. Baby Will and I held our breath.
The paddock before the BIG RACE...

and right before the BIG RACE. Some nice hats too.

The host horse waiting for the runners to get ready.

Heading out onto the track.

People everywhere!

After the race, this lady in the pink jacket would check each horse's bit as they went back to the stables.


Interviews with the jockey. This isn't the winner but at least was a clear shot.

All in all I had a great time. I was really tired when Baby Will and I got home. It took us forever to get back out of the infield. We were all herded out one tunnel. It was crazy. I wish I would have had a video camera for that. I had only parked about 3-4 blocks away in the front lawn of a church. I am glad that Baby Will and I can say that we have gone to the Derby because I may never get another chance to go.