Derby Day 2007

“And unlike most of the others in the press box, we didn’t give a hoot in hell what was happening on the track. We had come there to watch the real beasts perform.”

- Hunter S. Thompson, The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved

As Delta flight 1624 taxied along the tarmac at the Louisville Airport on the evening of Friday May 4, its occupants craned to get a glimpse of the conditions.

It had only recently stopped raining, and some rays of sunlight were now peeking through the remaining shreds of cloud.

“Oh my, did you see that big rainbow over there?” an older woman asked her twentysomething son. Their journey to the Derby had begun earlier that day in the Florida Keys. “Wonder if there’s a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow.”

“Look at all those private jets,” replied the son, Jake, now gazing out the window. He had missed a prime weekend of wake boarding with friends in Orlando to make the trip.

Indeed the giant rainbow had ended in a mass huddle of private jets, no doubt the mode of transport for the rich and famous who now descend on Louisville each year on Derby Day.

“You know the Queen’s gonna be here,” said the mother, who spoke in a thick southern accent.

Mother and son had not come down solely for the star-gazing.

“I’m going for Scat Daddy,” said Jake.

“Kid love the slop? Mother was mudder? Father was mudder?” offered the Observer, referencing an episode of Seinfeld, and the bad weather.

“What?” came the response.

“What the hell did you leave a small town like New York to come down to a big city like this for?” joshed a portly cab driver on the drive into downtown Louisville, pronounced “Loo-a-vul” by the locals. “Don’t make a lick of sense,” he said. “That’s an expression.”

The cabbie’s joke belied an obvious—if increasingly senseless—truth about his hometown on Derby weekend: for two long days, Louisville, population 256,231 at last count, is converted into an international city.

At its core, of course, the weekend is about a horse race. The Kentucky Derby, billed as the oldest sporting event in the South (date of birth: 1875), has almost since its inception drawn racing fans from across the country and the world. The typical crowd at Churchill Downs is around 155,000. This year 156,635 fans would pack the stadium – a good turnout, but nothing extraordinary.

What does appear to be changing is the crowd populating the boxes of “Millionaire’s Row”. While the Run for the Roses has always drawn big names – Presidents Bush and Nixon, Babe Ruth, John Wayne, Jack Nicholson – the arm’s length list of famous faces clogging up the choice seats this year included the likes of O.J. Simpson and celebrity inseminators Larry Birkhead and Kevin Federline.

More notably the weekend is overrun with celebrity-driven parties and events -- the types of orgies of cross-promotion and celebrity protectionism that tends to invade any and every annual event these days, especially the ones larded with jet-setting young folks.

“Ladies and gentleman, Nick Lachey,” said a man in a tuxedo from a stage out in front of Cyb Barnstable Brown’s mansion later that evening. Local gawkers, crammed in a pen adjacent to the red carpet, began chanting, “Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Vanessa Millo,” said the announcer, butchering the last name of Mr. Lachey’s girlfriend, MTV personality Vanessa Minnillo.

A long pathway leading up to the sprawling house was lighted by various stages on either side of it—each with a different makeshift backdrop in the theme of a Broadway musical, and a different troupe of young girls singing and dancing their little hearts out. The house itself was adorned with Christmas lights. The party’s theme this year was “That’s Entertainment.” Next Page >

Street Sense won the 133rd Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs this afternoon, coming in from 19th to win by a stretch.

'I wish my momma and daddy was here, this is the greatest moment of my life!" said jockey Calvin Borel coming off the finish line.

Here's what The Observer's own Jerome Keel had to say about the winner yesterday:p>

"Street Sense - This colt likes the Downs. Won the Breeders Cup Juvenile on the strip by ten lengths. Had a great workout on April 24th. Comes to run all the time. Best speed rating 105."

The two minute race, held at Churchill Downs, has become about a lot more than the horses.

Spencer Morgan, who is in Louisville today, reports sightings of Star Jones, Nick Lachey and Queen Elizabeth II through the general julep haze of the sleepy Kentucky burg. He'll have a full report when he wakes up Sunday morning. Next Page >

On May 5th, 2007 they will gather under the twin spires at Churchill Downs in Louisville Kentucky for the 133rd Run for the Roses—the greatest two minutes in sports.

When the field turns for home and the crowd hits fever pitch, there's nothing like it. I've been there twice, in 2000 and 2001. This year, I will be there in sprit.

Here are some tips on picking a winner:

• Since 1957, every Derby winner has finished fourth or better in his last start before the Derby, so make recent history a primary factor. Also, look for a colt that has hit the 100 mark in speed figures.

• Take post position into account: look for a middle post or one on the outside. The ones on the inside get all the crowding, and they stand in the gate the longest waiting for the start. It's not a coincidence that posts one through four have gone 1-80 in the past twenty years.

As for this year's field, let's take a look:

Curlin - Unbeaten. Won the Arkansas Derby. Has been impressive in every start. The new owners paid $3.5 million to get in on the ownership. Training great at Churchill Downs. Seems to like the track. Best speed rating 102. Looks good to me.

Street Sense - This colt likes the Downs. Won the Breeders Cup Juvenile on the strip by ten lengths. Had a great workout on April 24th. Comes to run all the time. Best speed rating 105.

Hard Spun - Only beaten once. Like Curlin, has won all his other races easily. Has run well over Churchill. Has speed to be a pace factor. Has a shot at winning. Best speed rating 106.

Scat Daddy - Won the Champagne Stakes last fall. Won Florida Derby this season. He has shown weariness when running two turns. Has Edgar Pardo in the saddle. Comes to run every time. Best speed rating 101.

Great Hunter - Had a world of trouble in the Blue Grass Stakes, where he was bounced in the stretch. Will probably run an improved race in the Derby. Best speed rating 100.

Nobiz Like Shobiz - Put it all together in the Wood Memorial Stakes in his last race, with the help of blinkers an ear plugs. Has run some great races. But the crowd on Derby day could be his undoing. Still a little immature. Best speed rating 103.

Circular Quay - Won the Louisiana Derby in his last race. Had trouble in Raisen Star Stakes race before. Has not run in eight-weeks. Will be moving in the stretch, but might have to get by nineteen other colts. Best speed rating 105.

Any Given Saturday - Finished third in the Wood Memorial in his last race. Comes to run every time, could land a share of the purse. Best speed rating 105.

I'm betting CURLIN to win. Then I'm putting him on top and for second in the exactas. The triple I'm playing is CURLIN, STREET SENSE and HARD SPUN.

My selections were made before the final entries were taken.

Good luck to all the horses and riders. See you at the windows.

Jerome Keel works part-time as a mutual clerk for the New York Racing Association at Belmont. He has been writing tip-sheets for in-house consumption for several years. Last year, he correctly predicted the exacta in the Kentucky Derby and the triple in the Belmont Stakes. Next Page >