This was the first Derby ever for Paul Duryea and so I told him early on what to expect. When we first got there the whole area was still wet and muddy from the overnight rains, the track was one sloppy mess. Our location is right on the fence and then there is about 10 feet of grass and then the track, so we are well aware of the condition of the track throughout the day. When those horses roar around that bend and head on full speed ahead for that finish line they could well say, "Here's mud in your eye". "Not to worry," I told Paul. It was only about noon and I assured him that in a few races and a few draggings of the track by the draggin machines,all would be well and when the horses came around that bend they'd be kicking up dust. It was quite grey and gloomy also but there again I told him that just before the Derby when he could hear the first strains of "My Old Kentucky Home" the sun would burst through the clouds and shine bright on our Old Ky. Home. He was very amused at my senario, he did't believe me! He muttered, "Yeah, right"! The track became dryer and dryer and looked more and more loamy as we watched from race 1 through 9 but the skies were still cloudy and gray till, Hark! just as the strains of MOKH began what to our wondering eyes should appear but the beautiful sun bursting through the clouds and we all knew that the DERBY was near. I explained to Paul that we would all be expected to sing and when we get to the part where we sing, "Weep no more ,my Lady, weep no more today, we will sing one song for my OLD KENTUCKY HOME" (the obligatory tear should be rolling down your cheek) " for My Old Kentucky Home far away." He protested loudly at that. " No way," he jeered, "no way". He claimed that he did not know the words so he could not sing." HA" my turn to jeer. "I'll teach you the words. Just watch my lips." I sang as loud as I could and lead the onlookers behind us to join in and as advertised, right on cue, Karen burst into tears! This totally, absolutely, wiped Paul out. He shouted, "I can't believe this!" I saw what I thought was a tear in his eye but he insisted it was a drop of beer that had splashed into his eye! Aw, come on.! I told the crowd, "He just doesn't get it. He JUST doesn't get it." Paul,you've got one year to learn the words, when you come next year we will expect you to join us. Stephen Foster will be honored. Bring extra kleenex for the onslaught of tears!
We had such a perfect day. Alex and his young cousin Thomas were delightful. They wanted to see everything and wanted everything explained. Furlongs, tri-fectas, boxed bets,out riders, etc. they went home with an extended vocabulary. All of Pat's friends and family that accompanied him were enthralled. Nathan's ump friend and his girl friend had a great time too. I understand that Scott, (I think that was his name) wanted to ask his girl friend to marry him while they were here but I'm not sure that that happened. Once again I'm very tired and will be in bed soon. Having fun can be tiring. I love having Cynthia come and glad she brought Paul this year, now she'll have to work on other family members. Even Doc asks why Mart doesn't come. Mart, come on down! IRISH BLESSING, May the dust of your carriage wheels blind the eyes of your foes. "Slainthe is saul agat" (Health and life to you!!)
We all thank Brian for giving us the opportunity to have such a magnificent day. I thank him for carting me around in the Gator. Queen Eliz. couldn't be treated any better than I am. Linda held down the fort and provided my glass or two of wine and Karen provided the wine glasses and sang a duet with me to keep me centered. "What's round on the ends and hi in the middle?" (Reminds us of our roots). Gregg, too, he provided the tarp, the gazebo and the smoked turkey that once again was so delicious. Let's hear it for my family! See the pictures on the Web Site.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Hollywood Ending of another Derby
No blog for Saturday because I was too busy having another great day, another trip to the track, another day of fun and laughs. I started off Derby day by going to see Doc at Klondike and by the time I got home from there, Cynthis and Paul Duryea were already at our house. They were out in back being entertained by our watch dog extrodinair, Fergus.I finished packing up the food that I had spent part of Sat. purchasing and we waited a few minutes for Gregg to get there. Linda had gone out early (7AM) to watch our established space and protect it from any late coming squatters. We claim the front row site right in front of the media building that houses the betting windoes and the rest rooms,there is also a pool table in there but so far we've never felt the urge to shoot pool during the races.
Our tarp was down our gazebo up, our chairs lined up and the coolers situated and with racing forms, and programs in hand, we were ready for some heavy duty thinking. At first I was slightly miffed by the fact that there were so many tents and gazebos but once we were in our spot I forgot about the other people and settled in for the fun.
Alex Dolwick was the youngest member and I was the oldest. Everyone else was in between. Alex, Pat,(dad of Alex,) and the before mentioned entourage of Pat's, Thomas and his mon and dad, his mom being Pat's sister-in-law, Pat's father in-law,Chuck, Pat's neighbor and his wife,and Pat's fellow worker,and his wife drove up from North Carolina on Thursday. Some of them along with Paul Dolwick attended the Oaks race in the Infield and were very soggy by the end of the day. It rained most of the day.
The rest of our group, Nathan and his former umpire friend, Scott and Scott's fiance, from Denver, Cynthia Sullivan, and Paul Duryea, my niece and grand nephew, from Cincinnati, Karen,Linda and I plus Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip from London,Eng. were all there. (Q Liz didn't sit with us.)(Her loss)
To be continued tomorrow because I am still tired from the outing and I'm going to bed. As they say in Jolly Old Eng. Tata.
Our tarp was down our gazebo up, our chairs lined up and the coolers situated and with racing forms, and programs in hand, we were ready for some heavy duty thinking. At first I was slightly miffed by the fact that there were so many tents and gazebos but once we were in our spot I forgot about the other people and settled in for the fun.
Alex Dolwick was the youngest member and I was the oldest. Everyone else was in between. Alex, Pat,(dad of Alex,) and the before mentioned entourage of Pat's, Thomas and his mon and dad, his mom being Pat's sister-in-law, Pat's father in-law,Chuck, Pat's neighbor and his wife,and Pat's fellow worker,and his wife drove up from North Carolina on Thursday. Some of them along with Paul Dolwick attended the Oaks race in the Infield and were very soggy by the end of the day. It rained most of the day.
The rest of our group, Nathan and his former umpire friend, Scott and Scott's fiance, from Denver, Cynthia Sullivan, and Paul Duryea, my niece and grand nephew, from Cincinnati, Karen,Linda and I plus Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip from London,Eng. were all there. (Q Liz didn't sit with us.)(Her loss)
To be continued tomorrow because I am still tired from the outing and I'm going to bed. As they say in Jolly Old Eng. Tata.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Getting Closer
According to the countdown clock on the home page, we are 15hours and 30 minutes away from Derby Day. I haven't checked with the Dolwicks to see if all arrived safe and sound. I'm assuming that they did. Brian was out for a minute last evening and he said he is working the first race (DerbyDay) and will be working the Derby race itself for one of Pletcher's horses. He is not sure which one yet.
For today's Oaks race, if I get an opportunity to send some bets out, I think I would bet on High Heels,Cotton Blossum and I forget the other one I was thinking about.
The events leading up to the Derby have been spectacular. Thunder over Louisville was attending by an estimated 800,000 people, the Balloon Glow was good, the Mini Marathon was huge and the weather perfect for running, the Steam Boat race was again won by Louisville under a cloud of doubt (they cheated) They said they were cut off by the River Queen, Yeah, right! The Pegasus Parade went off without a hitch. Doc and I watched it on TV, He loves a Parade! We saw Kristin with the Girl Scouts. Very exciting.
It's early in the day, no school so i'm off to get ready for the races. More later.
For today's Oaks race, if I get an opportunity to send some bets out, I think I would bet on High Heels,Cotton Blossum and I forget the other one I was thinking about.
The events leading up to the Derby have been spectacular. Thunder over Louisville was attending by an estimated 800,000 people, the Balloon Glow was good, the Mini Marathon was huge and the weather perfect for running, the Steam Boat race was again won by Louisville under a cloud of doubt (they cheated) They said they were cut off by the River Queen, Yeah, right! The Pegasus Parade went off without a hitch. Doc and I watched it on TV, He loves a Parade! We saw Kristin with the Girl Scouts. Very exciting.
It's early in the day, no school so i'm off to get ready for the races. More later.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Countdown continues
Thursday evening and we are expecting Patrick and his entourage to be coming in from North Carolina soon. They have had a few delays on the road and thanks to cell phoneage Paul and Karen have been apprized of their status. Cynthia will be coming down from Cincinnati but she won't be here till Saturday morning. Gregg purchased the fresh turkey from Kingsleys yesterday and will be smoking it in his Big Green Egg, I think that is what it is called, I will be shopping tomorrow for the bread and dressings for the sandwiches and the side dishes. The tarp, a few chairs, and a cooler filled with beverages are sitting on the back porch waiting for Brian to take them to the track. Things are moving right along. Nathan and a few of his buds and Linda and Larry will be joining us also.
Tomorrow,(Friday) is Oaks Day and some of the Dolwick faction will be attending that event and be located in the Infield. Good luck, Y'all!
Countdown continues and I will write more tomorrow.Irish Proverb.. You must crack the nuts before you can eat the kernel
Tomorrow,(Friday) is Oaks Day and some of the Dolwick faction will be attending that event and be located in the Infield. Good luck, Y'all!
Countdown continues and I will write more tomorrow.Irish Proverb.. You must crack the nuts before you can eat the kernel
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Derby Countdown
We are all reving up for our trek to the track. Gregg even put a countdown "clock" on our home page. Louisville, at Derby time is alive with excitement. It is the most beautiful time of the year here, too. All of the azalias, dogwood trees,redbud trees, tulip trees and tulips, daffodils, pansys and numerous other flowers are in full bloom. The trees have their new leaves and they are such a fresh, clean green. Louisville's Operation Brightside has been out on the streets cleaning up the highways and by-ways getting ready for the big day. We are spiffing up for the more than 100,000 visitors that will come to admire our city, see our horse race, drink our mint juleps and boost our economy. Only in Louisville is there a horse race like the Kentucky Derby, run. Known all over the world.
The Fitzgerald family are reving up also. It is so much fun to plan and discuss and recall last year and the years before that. Looking back,thirty three years ago, our friends the Wilsons , Micky and Warner and their two kids, came to join us and Keith and Brian in the Infield for the hundreth derby. Karen and Paul and members of Paul's family from Akron came to join in the crazyness. We spent the whole day there and saw some unbelievable sights, ate Ky Fried Chicken, laughed at some of the "goings On" and were duly shocked at some of the "goings on", bet money on our favorites, drank a julep or two, sang "My Old Kentucky Home", (got teary eyed) welcomed the call to the post, went home at the end of the day, tired, dusty, hungry, happy and a wee bit dissapointed that we had not seen a horse!We still talk about our Day at the Races.
Since then, we've been to many more. The mystique is still there. We still love it, talk about it and look forward to it. One year, Linda, Larry and I sat in fantastic seats next to the winners circle,right under the twin spires and got to see Brian and Wayne Lucas greet their horse that had just run, and got to be upclose and personal with all of the other horses that won that day. We went to the paddock and watched the horses get their saddles on. Actually, the jockeys saddled them up. We saw a few of the rich and famous and whats more they got to see us!
Both those experiences were great but pale in comparison to what we have done in recent years. Brian works for Wayne Lucas and each year we have the privlege of setting up our space on the back side of the track and have the most fun of all.
We bring our food, chairs, tarps, coolers, and have our annual derby picnic. We see every horse in every race. They run right in front of us, we can hear the thunder of their hooves and feel the rumble of the ground when those thousands of pounds of horses race about ten feet in front of us with just the fence and some yards of grass between them and us. We can look over and see the 100,000 plus people in the boxes, grand stands, sky terrace, millionairs row and the thousands of people in the infield and know that there is no way that they can buy a ticket to the spot we are in.
To be continued.Two more days and counting! Rain, rain go away! I hope the weather men are as far off on the rain as they were on the snow all winner. However, we spent one day in torrents of rain at the track and had a great time. It dampened our clothes, tarp etc, but not our spirits.
The Fitzgerald family are reving up also. It is so much fun to plan and discuss and recall last year and the years before that. Looking back,thirty three years ago, our friends the Wilsons , Micky and Warner and their two kids, came to join us and Keith and Brian in the Infield for the hundreth derby. Karen and Paul and members of Paul's family from Akron came to join in the crazyness. We spent the whole day there and saw some unbelievable sights, ate Ky Fried Chicken, laughed at some of the "goings On" and were duly shocked at some of the "goings on", bet money on our favorites, drank a julep or two, sang "My Old Kentucky Home", (got teary eyed) welcomed the call to the post, went home at the end of the day, tired, dusty, hungry, happy and a wee bit dissapointed that we had not seen a horse!We still talk about our Day at the Races.
Since then, we've been to many more. The mystique is still there. We still love it, talk about it and look forward to it. One year, Linda, Larry and I sat in fantastic seats next to the winners circle,right under the twin spires and got to see Brian and Wayne Lucas greet their horse that had just run, and got to be upclose and personal with all of the other horses that won that day. We went to the paddock and watched the horses get their saddles on. Actually, the jockeys saddled them up. We saw a few of the rich and famous and whats more they got to see us!
Both those experiences were great but pale in comparison to what we have done in recent years. Brian works for Wayne Lucas and each year we have the privlege of setting up our space on the back side of the track and have the most fun of all.
We bring our food, chairs, tarps, coolers, and have our annual derby picnic. We see every horse in every race. They run right in front of us, we can hear the thunder of their hooves and feel the rumble of the ground when those thousands of pounds of horses race about ten feet in front of us with just the fence and some yards of grass between them and us. We can look over and see the 100,000 plus people in the boxes, grand stands, sky terrace, millionairs row and the thousands of people in the infield and know that there is no way that they can buy a ticket to the spot we are in.
To be continued.Two more days and counting! Rain, rain go away! I hope the weather men are as far off on the rain as they were on the snow all winner. However, we spent one day in torrents of rain at the track and had a great time. It dampened our clothes, tarp etc, but not our spirits.
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