What I Liked About Kentucky Derby Day 131
January 9th, 2005by Jude T. Feld
Finding rock star parking for only $40 on Taylor Street.
Women so pretty, their atrocious Tom Petty hats can’t hide their beauty.
The weather – 78 with a gentle breeze and no precipitation.
That first sip of an Early Times mint julep.
Cleavage.
A guy who wouldn’t be caught dead on a dance floor, dancing like John Travolta after his $11,779.50 superfecta price was posted.
Fellows looking like snake oil salesmen in seersucker suits.
Thousands of betting machines that take $100 bills.
Young ladies in their first pair of high heels, walking like newborn foals.
Hitting a $430 super with my son Miles.
The ease of movement at the new Churchill Downs, despite the huge crowd.
America Alive’s last to first charge in the Woodford Reserve Classic (G1) at $37.60.
The last sip of the last Early Times mint julep.
Two boxes of Kentucky-bred girls singing My Old Kentucky Home from start to finish when the public address system failed.
Trainer Ron Ellis running Don’t Get Mad back in a week.
Being right about Closing Argument.
Watching trainer John Shirreffs win the Kentucky Derby after watching him win races on the California fair circuit.
Longtime Thoroughbred owner Jerry Moss, who has put up a ton of money, and never looks to grab the spotlight, winning the Derby with a homebred colt by Holy Bull out of Set Them Free, so aptly-named for Sting’s son, Giacomo.
The Law of Karma handling all the owners who fired their trainers in favor of more famous ones.
Getting home in time to watch a spectacular performance by the Sherriffs-trained Hollywood Story in the Hawthorne (G3) at Hollywood Park via TVG and hear track announcer Vic Stauffer shout, “It’s John Shirreffs’ world…We’re just livin’ in it!”
