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Bodemeister held on better than I thought.

Hell of a finish

This guy sounds weird.

Winner.

Then dad says "a hot tub in southern california? My kid is a dumb ass."

After those initial fractions, that was nothing short of miraculous. I expected all the lead horses to fade on the turn, well BEFORE the stretch. Not that it matters, but that effort with that lead wins the Preakness.

Watching it on TV, my son intones, "horse racing been bery-bery good to me..." about then.

This was my first trip to the Derby. The race is the 11th of the day at Churchill Downs, so you get plenty of time in the stands to watch other races.

Between one of the earlier races, I noticed someone spill their drink (soda pop) about 4 rows in front of us. I was a very thin old man (mid-70's at least), and more than a bit unkempt. He was looking for a way to clean up the mess and someone handed him some napkins. As he wiped the bench, he was visibly shaking from Parkinson's. About 5 minutes later, I could see him sitting there in the 85+ degrees completely drenched in sweat. He seemed half-in/half-out of it.

An hour or so passed, and we were getting ready for the Derby. I decided to scan who was behind me to apologize up front to who was there in case I blocked their view as I stood on the bleacher seat (everyone does, and it's your only chance to see anything). Low-and-behold, the old gentleman had taken residence behind me to get out of the sun (we were right on the border of being covered).

My plans quickly changed. I started a conversation with him and asked whether this was his first Derby. He told me that it was his 38th. He apparently has spent a good deal of time at the track: said a prayer for the jockey's at some race-course chapel; saw Secretariat on numerous occasions; etc. etc. He went on to say that he was originally from Jonesville Michigan. He had come down to Kentucky years ago, and was now requiring the services of a home due to his Parkinson's.

I told him that I didn't want to stand (literally) in the way of seeing his 38th Derby. I offered to let him stand on my seat and guaranteed that I would not let him fall. He originally declined, but I pressed, and he eventually took up my offer. He tried it out, and as I stood in front of him, he grabbed my shoulders (his hands were like mini-jack-hammers). Once he had confidence, he retired back to his seat a moment.

He returned standing on my seat when they played the national anthem and "My Old Kentucky Home". He sung the song very well, and afterward, had to let go of my shoulders in order to draw out his handkerchief and wipe the tears from his eyes ("It gets me every time", he said.)

To make a "cool story bro" short(er), he watched the Derby, and I was happy. But, this was the cool part. I was bitching to me wife about the "rise" between rows of seats. It was so slight that, combined with the angle to the track, you are pretty much blocked from seeing anything but the video board. Before the Derby, I had swung my hand down with a camera to get a shot of this rise in concrete to sort of document my point. Today, when I was going through our pictures, I came across this one.

And my memory of my first Kentucky Derby is sealed.

I hit the tri!! Nice little payout....

somebody wore a basketball jersey to the derby?

I thought you're supposed to dress decent when you go there?

Not in the infield. Some chicks dont even bother putting a top on.

Very nice story. Being at about a dozen myself, I can tell you you don't see much of the Derby itself unless you're in a front row somewhere. We were able to get box seats at the finish line a couple of years ago, it was great. And we did see eight bells break her legs by the finish line before that. My wife wanted to donate the money she won on her to PETA, I usually let her go when she does that, and a ton of people around us were crying when the ambulance came down the track, including my wife, but we talked her into keeping some because it happened to be sizable that day.

The locals hate the derby and love the oaks. They can't stand when we go up to the betting both and not know what the hell we're doing. Getting back to your story, that guy sounds like a seasoned vet, and for you to give up your view for him, was more than cool. And it was a "cool story bro" The pay off is that you did it.

Bump.

Any experts have any advice for today? I'm thinking of doing some tri boxes.