We spent much of today first at the Kentucky Derby Museum then at Churchill Downs.
The museum opened at 11:00, and we arrived about then. Our first scheduled activity was to watch the brief yet comprehensive film about the Kentucky Derby. It was shown in a large oval room with screens encircling the high levels of the walls. Guests were seated on individual stools that easily rotated as the action moved around the screens.
Immediately after the film, we took a short tour out to the rail beside the track listening to a guide with a memorized speech. He stopped and asked for questions a few times during his delivery, but no one asked any. One of the things he talked about was how jockeys are now weighed before and after every race. Years ago, they were only weighed before a race and were given lead weights to put in their pockets if they did not meet the minimum weight. The jockeys would then toss the weights out on the track as they went to mount their horses. The guide said that that was the origin of the phrase "Get the lead out.
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After the tour, we decided to get a snack before going to watch the horse races and stopped inside the museum cafe. I noticed that one of the soups listed on the specials menu was burgoo. Philip and I both tried it and found the broth full of flavor and full of meat and vegetable pieces. I have never tried burgoo before, but glad to see it here. I have a clipping from an old newspaper from Florida with an article about how my Great Aunt Aggie and Great Uncle Russell made burgoo for all their friends and neighbors for Thanksgiving. They took the recipe with them from central Illinois where they lived most of their lives to their Florida retirement community. Their recipe called for many more country ingredients than the burgoo we tasted had. It originally had oxtail, venison, and rabbit cooked in it along with the beef, chicken, and pork of the museum's version.
We walked down to the entrance to Churchill Downs and left the car in the lot near the museum. The arena is huge but only a few spectators came to watch the races today.
However, when I showed our tickets to one of the ushers to get help finding the seats, he said that someone else was seated in them. The office must have double booked. He said to take any seat — no problem. We found some nearby as I had studied the seating chart and looked at the view from the seats to try to find ones that were covered but still had good sight lines to the finish line.
After watching a couple races and tasting, but not particularly enjoying, a mint julep, Philip decided to place a bet and won a few dollars on his five-dollar bet on the favorite. We both bet on the next race. Philip again bet on one of the favorites after studying the info on the racing form, but that horse was not in the money on this race. I bet on Midnight Stormy because I liked the timeliness of the name; Stormy Daniels has been in the news so much. That horse had fourteen to one odds so should have come in close to last, but surprised us by coming in third winning me $31.50 on a five dollar bet to show. That was enough excitement for me for the day. We had seen enough and left the track soon after. It was a fun day with the highlights being finding burgoo stew and winning on a long shot.
Overnight at the Hilton Garden Inn Louisville Airport KY
2025-02-12