Run for the Roses - the Kentucky Derby

History will be made for the 132nd time this coming Saturday, 6 May 2006, at 6 PM Eastern Standard Time. Since May 17, 1875, when Aristides, mounted by Oliver Lewis, crossed the finish line ahead of 14 others, no other horse race in history has garnered as much attention or acclaim as the Kentucky Derby. The race is run on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky; the same track built in 1874 by Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr.

The Derby is the first race in the Triple Crown of horse racing, followed by the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. The field of 20 three-year olds will challenge themselves and each other for 1 ¼ miles in what has been dubbed as, "the most exciting 2-minutes in sports." Well over 100,000 spectators at the track and millions around the world, via television and radio, will bear witness to the results. When it is over, only one horse will wear the coveted "Blanket of Roses" across its lathered shoulders, only one name will be added to "Wall of Winners."

But the Derby is much more than a horse race. For Kentuckians it is a sacred tradition. It is the one chance a year we get to shine in front of the rest of the world. It affords us the opportunity to show our hospitality to visitors from all over the world. Kings and queens, princes and paupers, people from all walks of life make the pilgrimage every year for the Derby.

The race itself is the culmination of several weeks of activities leading up to it. Two weeks before the race the Derby Festival is kicked off with "Thunder Over Louisville", an all-day air show honoring our military. Thunder ends with a fireworks show, the largest in North America, over the Ohio River and above the city's skyline. There are marathon races, street fests, a riverboat race, a hot-air balloon glow and race and all kinds of other things going on. Then, of course, there is always the nightlife. Food, drink and music enough for anyone to get their fill.

I have been to the Derby several times and it's something I will always remember. I have never seen anything like it. I never did get in the grandstands and most assuredly not on Millionaire's Row. I always went into the infield. Given the choice, that is where I would go today, if I were going to attend the Derby.

The infield is kind of like a cross between Mardi Gras and Woodstock. About 20,000+ people gathered in an area the size of maybe 4 or 5 football fields. You can see about one of every kind there is, too. Blankets and lawn chairs everywhere, coolers full of food and drinks, beer and liquor start to flow at daybreak and the party is on!

As you walk through the crowd, looking for a place to set up camp, you pick up on the smell of fried chicken and cigar smoke. The more people that enter and the more liquor consumed, the louder it gets. By the time the first race is run, around noon, things are in full swing. About every 40 minutes another race is run as things get louder and wilder by the minute. Someone runs through your place with two or three of Louisville's finest in hot pursuit.

Over at the restroom buildings, someone has coaxed several intoxicated females onto the roof and the crowd is waving money in the air and shouting for an inappropriate display of their anatomy. Those that comply have $20.00 and $50.00 bills thrown at them to the cheers of the on-lookers.

Then it happens. And it is an awesome thing to behold:

The day has passed by one race at a time. You may not have even seen a horse yet, through the crowd all around you. You hear the announcer come over the loud speakers saying it is time for the Kentucky Derby, would everyone please stand. After a few moments, the first bars of "My Old Kentucky Home" can be heard being played by the University of Louisville band. Then the singer steps to the microphone and begins in a strong tenor voice, "Oh, the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home….". You are suddenly aware that the whole place is deathly quiet. Over 100,000 people standing, almost at attention, some with their hands over their hearts, as the singer continues through the song. Almost like a giant whisper, you can hear the gentle voices of some in the crowd join in. I can't speak for anyone else, especially those not from Kentucky, but I can't see how on earth you could keep that lump out of your throat and your eyes from misting over. When it finishes, a deafening roar rises from the crowd as the horses are called to the post by trumpet. As soon as the last gate is shut behind the last horse, the front gates open and you hear the excited announcer bark "And they're off!"

Two minutes later, history has once again been made. If any of you have never been to the Derby, I would like to suggest to you that it might be somewhere you want to be, at least once in your life.