For the first time this year Churchill Downs - whose attendance has been lagging - staged races at night, even after it got dark. This took place in the context of KY Democrats trying to introduce slot machines at race tracks as the state faces massive budget deficits and Kentuckians abandon the state's race tracks and stream across the Ohio River to go to casinos in IN (see "The Money Man" and "Heart"). The first night of night racing was a mess, with way more people than the track was prepared for. By night three - last Thursday night - with just three more days of racing left for the season - things were just right - although there were still a lot of people, a lot of drinks, a lot of well dressed but somewhat racily dressed young women, a lot of trash - and some malfunctioning equipment that added to the excitement. Pictured above and below is the scene from our cart as we get transported from the parking lot (free parking!) to the track just minutes before the first race (6:00 p.m.) long before dark.
My friend Jamie had e-mailed Thursday morning about three free tickets and she dropped them by at lunch. A notice on Facebook turned up our church friend Paul, who had been at the "Belle of Louisville" activity the previous Thursday night and it turns out had been to the track a lot in earlier days and so was pretty familiar with the drill and gave us some tips. Stephanie, you'll recall, had also been to the Downs with her colleagues for a day of racing last June. Paul and Stephanie showed me the "paddock," where - between races - horses prepared for races and promenaded in front of fans and would-be bettors - and MCs interviewed people as broadcast on Churchill Downs TV.
Below I start to take it all in.
And Stephanie looks out with part of the Downs edifice (and a bluer sky) in the background.
Below are published programs - with detailed info - one page per race for the 10 or 11 races - and on each horse. Stephanie pored over these to come up with picks. Paul suggested we pick not always the horse who oddsmakers said would win nor the biggest long shots - but horses somewhere in between. Stephanie went little according to details such as horse's name or birthplace but instead focused on the horse's racing records and odds (all numerical information). Another factor Stephanie occasionally looked at was the identity of the jockey. Kentucky Derby- and Preakness-winning (and local) jockey Calvin Borel rode horses in several of the races (and rode winning horses once or twice).
We missed the first race but soon got a look at the track (and it turns out horses run on both the dirt track and the interior grass lane - and start all over the place depending on the length of each race).
This is a TV screen (below) back at the paddock showing a horse being equpped I think somewhere near by in the paddock.
Paul, Stephanie, and I found our seats in a season-ticket box in the grandstand area. It was much cooler than a week before, when we were suffering in the heat on the "Belle of Louisville," and so Stephanie didn't miss too much the inside air-conditioned area with the lunch buffet.
On our way up to our seat we happened across fellow church member Marcus (or Marc Daniels - his stage name) who was there working as a juggler and entertainer at the track - for the second time during the three-night Downs after Dark series.
Paul only bet a couple of times. Stephanie generally had me do $2 bets fro two, three, of our horses - usually just picking which one would win or which one would be in the top three. Once Stephanie picked the top three all corrrectly. Had she picked them in the right order, she would have made a lot more money, which Paul encouraged her to try. Generally, her strategy allowed her to break even. One time she made some $14, after spending $6. She usually made at least one correct pick.
I eventually bought two hot dogs, a slice of pizza, and popcorn (and lots of water). Below is the Derby dog all the way I got - with chili, cheese, onions, jalapeno peppers, pickles, tomatoes, and otehr things I don't remember or probably didn't recognize.
On one of my walking around betting/food trips I went back towards the paddock and took a picture of an interview simultaneously while it was being beamed up onto the TV screen. Between about the fifth and eighth race it was completely packed down there.
In front of the paddock area was a statue of (and I believe the grave) of Barbaro, the horse who I believe won two years ago and then got injured and was nursed for almost a whole year before succumbing to an injury. As you can see, at this point, it's still pretty light out.
A cover band - with goofy, red, white, and blue outfits - following the pre-July 4 patriotic theme that spilled over into several honors to troops and veterans - played for most of the first half of our night there. What I remember was walking next to the dance floor as the band - which would obviously play anything - segue from the Commodores' disco hit "Brick House" to 80s big rock banc Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar (on Me)." The crowd particularly liked the latter.
Stephanie peered out at the races all the more closely when we had preferences and a couple of dollars were involved.
My friend Jamie, who you'll recall brought me the tickets, had told us in advance she wouldn't get there with her kids until around 8 p.m. Below is Jamie's son, Grant, whose bid to Vincent's old school as a 6th grader I had discussed with her.
Jamie and daughter Grace peered at their program, betting on several of the races.
Belos is the starting gates - mobile - for a start that was unusally right in front of us.
Stephanie and Paul enjoyed talking about racing and other things in the box as the sky darkened.
Below the horses moved towards the start.
Below I've included the start of this race in front of us - even though the picture is blurry - as it's a rare time see the start of a race so close.
There are parts of the race during which you just can't see the horses that great from the stands and you're more likely to be watching on the TV screens. As the horses come around the final turn you can see them directly. But I love the time when the TV goes from the split screen - half a screen showing all the horses and the other half showing just the leaders - to one screen just as they come around that turn. In soem fo the best races, all the horses are bunched together at this point. Watching a great finish - all the more so when your horse is in the middle of things - is great.
Jamie and Grace watched more races even as the night grew later and they contemplated leaving before it was all over. It turns out that Paul was ready to leave when the most acclaimed race - like the Derby, on Derby day - two races from the end. But Stephanie and the kids (and I) wanted to keep going, staying for - and betting on - all the races.
On my last food foray I went into an area inside that I hadn't seen before - where people could bet on horses, self-serve (I always went to a window and dealt with the same real person - usually collecting any winnings and placing a bet on the next horse at the same time - and also could bet, self-serve, on races at other tracks. It's in this room that I could imagine Churchill Downs adding slot machines - if and when the legislature and perhaps voters go for it. So far- like in Ohio - the Republican-controlled Senate - where the KY Baptist Assembly is powerful - have prevented that. Our friend Marian Taylor - the new KY Council of Churches director - will no doubt work with the Baptists and the Cathoblic bishops in opposition to expanded gambling - even though in very tight budget times like these the possibilities for saving cuts in social services or schools through taxes and fees from expanded gambling seem somewhat attractive.
As we left I took a picture of the track awash in lights in the 11:30 P.M. darkness.
One of the cool things about the night - the great weather, the winning races, the company, the Downs after Dark craziness - was the outcome of two races. We learned later in the paper that the Downs photo-finish equipment had broken down. And so there were two races that were so close that we couldn't tell from the replay who won - but that in fact was all the race officials had to go on, since that automated photo-finish equipment was not working. And so - not once - but twice - the officials had to call "dead heat." This excited us fans - on top of the exiciting waiting period before they called the races - partly because it meant that two groups of people - who had picked two different horses - could both say they won and both claim victory winnings. Click on the button on the screen below to watch one of these super close races.
Belos is the starting gates - mobile - for a start that was unusally right in front of us.
Stephanie and Paul enjoyed talking about racing and other things in the box as the sky darkened.
Below the horses moved towards the start.
Below I've included the start of this race in front of us - even though the picture is blurry - as it's a rare time see the start of a race so close.
There are parts of the race during which you just can't see the horses that great from the stands and you're more likely to be watching on the TV screens. As the horses come around the final turn you can see them directly. But I love the time when the TV goes from the split screen - half a screen showing all the horses and the other half showing just the leaders - to one screen just as they come around that turn. In soem fo the best races, all the horses are bunched together at this point. Watching a great finish - all the more so when your horse is in the middle of things - is great.
Jamie and Grace watched more races even as the night grew later and they contemplated leaving before it was all over. It turns out that Paul was ready to leave when the most acclaimed race - like the Derby, on Derby day - two races from the end. But Stephanie and the kids (and I) wanted to keep going, staying for - and betting on - all the races.
On my last food foray I went into an area inside that I hadn't seen before - where people could bet on horses, self-serve (I always went to a window and dealt with the same real person - usually collecting any winnings and placing a bet on the next horse at the same time - and also could bet, self-serve, on races at other tracks. It's in this room that I could imagine Churchill Downs adding slot machines - if and when the legislature and perhaps voters go for it. So far- like in Ohio - the Republican-controlled Senate - where the KY Baptist Assembly is powerful - have prevented that. Our friend Marian Taylor - the new KY Council of Churches director - will no doubt work with the Baptists and the Cathoblic bishops in opposition to expanded gambling - even though in very tight budget times like these the possibilities for saving cuts in social services or schools through taxes and fees from expanded gambling seem somewhat attractive.
As we left I took a picture of the track awash in lights in the 11:30 P.M. darkness.
One of the cool things about the night - the great weather, the winning races, the company, the Downs after Dark craziness - was the outcome of two races. We learned later in the paper that the Downs photo-finish equipment had broken down. And so there were two races that were so close that we couldn't tell from the replay who won - but that in fact was all the race officials had to go on, since that automated photo-finish equipment was not working. And so - not once - but twice - the officials had to call "dead heat." This excited us fans - on top of the exiciting waiting period before they called the races - partly because it meant that two groups of people - who had picked two different horses - could both say they won and both claim victory winnings. Click on the button on the screen below to watch one of these super close races.
-- Perry
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