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Dear Derby Diary,<\/b><\/p>\n
The Bluegrass Derby and Oaks is much more than horses, hats and mint juleps. It’s an institution in Sim culture, dubbed “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” for good reason. After all, where else do celebrities, heads of state and collegiate debauchery mingle at a single event? So what makes the Bluegrass Derby and Oaks so special? Let us count the ways, from A to Z. <\/p>\n
A<\/b><\/font>ttendance for the Bluegrass Derby has skyrocketed in the past decade, and the event’s popularity is stronger than ever. The infield portion of the course is busier than ever. If you have to wonder why Lenny is always there instead of an owners box, you just don\u2019t get it! <\/p>\n B<\/b><\/font>ourbon is Kentucky’s second-finest export next to the Thoroughbred, though you may find some who argue the order to be reversed. And, rest assured, it flows Derby Week — 80,000 mint juleps will be served Derby Day. If I remember correctly, I shared a few Bourbons with Trotter way back on Monday!<\/p>\n C<\/b><\/font>hilcoat will now have another year to add to his Derby Memories series. \u201cDo you remember back in \u2018ought seven when ATAUN won the Bluegrass Derby?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n D<\/b><\/font>B and remembering to have him help me name my next horse so I don\u2019t get on the wrong side of the naming Gods. <\/p>\n E<\/b><\/font>very single one of you that this week thought just one time\u2026\u201dBoy, I wish I had an entry in the Bluegrass Derby\u201d! I know I did. <\/p>\n F<\/b><\/font>avorites don’t win the Derby often. Since 1999, only ANTICOSTI and TOWER STORM have rewarded the backing of the masses with a winning move. There is lots of great competition. <\/p>\n G<\/b><\/font>lasses with the Derby logo have been a traditional souvenir since the Derby\u2019s inception. While their lifespan housing a mint julep lasts only minutes, some of these time-honored glasses have become rather valuable on the collectibles market. The 1999 Bluegrass Derby beauty currently is on Ebay at a Buy It Now! price of $13,500. Think I’ll just have another julep. <\/p>\n H<\/b><\/font>orses. It’s all about the horses. Thousands of newly born Thoroughbreds were registered in 2005 in the Sim. Two years later, only ATAUN will be remembered for all-time for his win in the Derby. <\/p>\n I<\/b><\/font>nfield revelry makes the Derby experience part-Animal House and part-Woodstock for many attendees. Sneaking in bottles of booze in hollowed out loaves of French bread once was considered creative. That’s sooooo ’70s now. Ask Lenny!<\/p>\n J<\/b><\/font>ockeys in the race gather for a ‘team photo’ of sorts before the running of the race. Afterwards, they go back to fist-fighting and stealing each other’s upcoming mounts. But it is a cool, Kumbaya-kind-of-moment recorded in picture. <\/p>\n K<\/b><\/font>entucky’s third-largest city is Churchill Downs on Bluegrass Derby Day, trailing only behind Louisville (550,000-plus) and Lexington (268,000-plus). In fact, there will be more people at the Derby than in the state’s next three largest cities — Owensboro, Bowling Green and Covington — combined. <\/p>\n L<\/b><\/font>ouisville bear-hugs the Derby like no other city in America embraces an event. Even churches get involved. I recall seeing a sign outside a church several years ago that read, ‘Win the race of life. Worship with us.’ That echoes even deeper after dropping a few hundred of the hard-earned. <\/p>\n M<\/b><\/font>y Old Kentucky Home bellows from the University of Louisville Marching Band as the horses parade onto the track before the big race. If you don’t get goosebumps EVERY time, you’re not human. No lie — just got ’em here typing that line. Call me a wuss. <\/p>\n N<\/b><\/font>ext door to Churchill Downs is the Bluegrass Derby Museum. Though it’s closed on Derby Days for sensible, crowd-related reasons, do yourselves a favor and check it out earlier in the week. The 360-degree movie at the end of the tour – priceless. <\/p>\n O<\/b><\/font>aks Race, held immediately prior to the Derby, has become almost as big as the Derby itself. Let\u2019s face it, you not only get the notoriety of winning this race but you get to keep the breeding rights to the filly forever! Congrats to Toplight and LOVE NEVER DIE.<\/p>\n P<\/b><\/font>urse money now totals $2 million for the Derby, which, more than any other race in America in the Sim, rewards its winner. A Derby champ moves right to the top of the earnings with this race.<\/p>\n Q<\/b><\/font>ueen Elizabeth II was seen gracing this year’s Bluegrass Derby, though there’s absolutely no truth to the rumor that she was outside huckstering tipsheets and barking, ‘Hear, ye! Hear, ye! Buy my sheet and hit the pick three.’ <\/p>\n R<\/b><\/font>oses make up the traditional blanket that adorns each year’s Bluegrass Derby winner, and in a little known fact,they’re woven together at the Louisville Pizza Parlor during the Sim Get Together. Hence the lack of symetry! <\/p>\n S<\/b><\/font>pires, Twins in fact, cascade up from the old grandstand and are now book-ended by luxury suites from a sprawling, impressive reconstruction effort. If you ever get the chance, watch the sunrise over the Spires when they’re lit. It’s one of the purest joys of Derby Week. <\/p>\n T<\/b><\/font>riple Jewel? Is it possible that we will have only the second horse ever to reach that height? Stay Tuned!<\/p>\n U<\/b><\/font>nsung heroes are the folks at the Bugler. Many thanks to Snowchief and Roys and their ability to constantly keep it going and keep it fresh. Where else would we come up with the crazy info that they keep churning out?<\/p>\n V<\/b><\/font>irtual tour. That is what you got this week in the “Derby Week Diaries”<\/b><\/i>. I have only been to Louisville and Churchill Downs one time in my life and that was years ago and not during Derby Week. It is amazing what you can do through the internet! <\/p>\n W<\/b><\/font>agering on this year’s Bluegrass Derby racing action should exceed $160 million. That’s a lot of $2500 or less souvenir tickets for Aunt Edna. <\/p>\n X<\/b><\/font>-rated would be many folks label on the infield scene. That’s a little harsh by today’s cultural standards. But if you think the Derby infield is a little salty, wait two weeks and brave the Middle Jewel infield. Whoa, daddy. <\/p>\n Y<\/b><\/font>our best bet at making a mint on the Bluegrass Derby was to play the trirfecta. While it’s not easy to pick the top three winners in order, the 2007 ‘Tri’ paid $14,675.60\u2014A $681 bet would have maxed out your Sim account at $5 mil! <\/p>\n Z<\/b><\/font>zz … Rest up, folks. It\u2019s only 357 days until the next Bluegrass Derby Week. I hope I am ready again by then! Thanks for a great week! <\/p>\n Good luck to all runners!<\/p>\n
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