Derby No. 138 Follow-Up: Why I Don’t Watch Horse Races

I have watched several horse races in my lifetime: a couple on television, a couple at the track. In each, horses were hurt—some fatally. It’s enough of a pattern to convince me to stop watching. Not because I think myself a jinx, but because I believe too many horse trainers/owners/jockeys/track operators don’t take enough precautions to ensure the well-being of the horses.

I’ve been waiting to comment on this past weekend’s Run for the Roses until I could find out the postrun health of Take Charge Indy. Turns out, he has a bone chip.

Hey! So do I! I know just what it feels like to have that little bugger send out crippling shocks of pain to remind me it’s there. I feel for you, Take Charge Indy, and know exactly why your Derby race wasn’t your best.

Unlike me, Indy will be undergoing surgery this week to have his chip removed. The owners and vets expect a good recovery after about 60 days of rest and then it’s back to the races for the horse.

I also worried about Phyllis Wyeth’s Union Rags, whose race got stymied right out of the gate. It’s certainly not the worst that could have happened under those circumstances; at least the horses didn’t crash into one another or hurt each other in the tumult of finding a position.

All-in-all, this Derby went smoothly—no pileups, no falls, no injuries, no deaths. No complaints. O, that every race could end on such a high note.

[Photo by Harry Whittier Frees.]

Derby Day Is Here

“The Derby is the supreme hour of a supreme creature, a moment in which most falter and one transcends. It is not the richest race, not the longest, nor the fastest, but for many, it is the only race.”
—Laura Hillenbrand, in her essay “The Derby”

I won’t be watching the race today. But I will be hoping that each and every horse makes it through the big show without incident—no injuries, no accidents.

[Pic by Dan Dry.]

Dressing for Derby Day

The 137th Run for the Roses is only a day away and, as a new resident of the Bluegrass, I feel obligated to help you prepare properly.

There are two items you must wear as an authentic Derby audience member: a hat on your head and a mint julep in your hand.

The hat I’ll leave up to you. It can range from ridiculous to stunning. Personally, I prefer elegant. Whatever your choice, it’s supposed to bring luck.

As for the mint julep, I encourage you to rely on tradition. Sure, the Internet will give you gobs of recipes. But I’m about to share with you 19th-century statesman Henry Clay’s version—the one he introduced to D.C. society and the nation—straight from his estate in Lexington, Kentucky.

Clay was a bourbon connoisseur. He doesn’t specify a particular brand in his julep instructions, of course, but you can bet he didn’t cut corners.

“The mint leaves, fresh and tender, should be pressed against a coin-silver goblet with the back of a silver spoon. Only bruise the leaves gently and then remove them from the goblet. Half fill with cracked ice. Mellow bourbon, aged in oaken barrels, is poured from the jigger and allowed to slide slowly through the cracked ice.

In another receptacle, granulated sugar is slowly mixed into chilled limestone water to make a silvery mixture as smooth as some rare Egyptian oil, then poured on top of the ice. While beads of moisture gather on the burnished exterior of the silver goblet, garnish the brim of the goblet with the choicest sprigs of mint.”

Sip slowly.

Other recipes exist for this traditional drink and any claim to the RIGHT recipe stirred a great deal of controversy back in Clay’s day. In 1936, humorist Irvin S. Cobb wrote the following about mint juleps:

“…well, down our way we’ve always had a theory that the Civil War was not brought on by Secession or Slavery or the State’s Rights issue. These matters contributed to the quarrel, but there is a deeper reason. It was brought on by some Yankee coming down south and putting nutmeg in a julep. So our folks just up and left the Union flat.”
—From Beyond the Fence: A Culinary View of Historic Lexington

For stats regarding the mint juleps served at Churchill Downs, visit Kentucky Derby. If you’re a bourbon-drinking novice, visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Kentucky Barrels Web sites for additional information on this very American Spirit.

Happy Derby viewing. And don’t forget…

Sip slowly.

[Images of hats from a previous Derby: James Brown photographed by AP’s David J. Phillip, and an unidentified pic. Goblet crafted for Gabriel Jones by Lawrence Miller, based on an Asa Blanchard design; photo from Kempt. Unidentified Derby horses (pic by Kinetic); Lookin At Lucky from 2010 Derby (pic taken by Dan Dry).]

Stranger in a Strange Land – No. 12

“Whaddaya think of the Cubs?”

That’s a typical opener for small talk in the Windy City. Translation: “Do you think the Cubs will make it to the World Series this year?”

Here in the Horse Capital of the World, polite conversation opens with “Have you been to Keeneland yet?” I hear it at the pharmacy, the grocery store, the salon, the p.o. As the Cubs and Wrigley Field are in Chicago, Keeneland and its horses are icons in Lexington. It’s a coveted social scene for which young and old dress to the nines and attract attention with exquisite headwear. The 75-year-old track is located within the city and is also the site of several tony equine sales each year.

If you’re a regular Lull reader, you know I’m not a fan of racing horses. During the few races I’ve watched or attended, horses have been injured in falls. However, I still plan to go to Keeneland. I hear they serve a pretty decent breakfast buffet there, after which I can watch horses get groomed and walked.

Just food and (equine) poetry. To me, it sounds like a perfect day at the races.