Such was my Friday:
6:00 a.m. Pick up my buddy from the Equine Business program at the University of Louisville.
6:15 a.m. Arrive on the backside at Churchill Downs and visit with the trainer my friend is working for.
6:25 a.m. Shake hands with jockey Calvin Borel, winner of the last two Kentucky Derbies. He's working one of the trainer's horses. Conversation:
"Hi, Calvin, nice to meet you.
"Good to meet you, Scott. Whew, whee, we almost didn't make it! There was a plane landed on the freeway!
"Oh yeah, I heard about that."
"Yeah, we were driving in and I look over and there's a plane! Man, I said, there's a plane on the freeway! Can you believe that? A plane on the freeway! I was like, whaaaat?
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, whew-whee, boy, I wasn't sure we were going to make it on time! Geeeee!"
The point being, Calvin is exactly the person you see on television. It was 6:30 in the morning, and he was jacked up 100% Cajun. What a character.
6:35 a.m. 5 furlong workout complete - very nice three-year-old, going easy, wrapped up by Calvin, lots in the tank.
7:15 a.m. Breakfast at a hard-core diner. Friendliest waitress in the world.
8:15 a.m. Pick up Daily Racing Form for Keeneland at the pharmacy across from Churchill Downs. Head to Lexington.
10:00 a.m. Arrive at Kentucky Horse Park for the World Equestrian Games.
10:45 a.m. Sit in the stands for a game of "Horse-Ball," which is best described as basketball on horseback. In fact, it is exactly like basketball on horseback. I saw a female rider "box out" a male rider with elbows and then swish one in the basket!
These riders have incredible balance and agility. See what happens when the "Sputnik"-looking ball almost hits the ground:
11:00 a.m. Watch Standardbreds, Hackneys and Irish Connemara ponies perform. All of these horses are gorgeous in their own way.
There are few things more beautiful than a horse in full flight:
11:30 a.m. Catch shuttle to our parking space 2 miles from the Games (which cost $20). Ouch.
12:30 p.m. Arrive at Keeneland race course, where the parking is free and the racing always fantastic.
Keeneland is special because the racing facilities are stunning, probably the nicest in the country. The backdrop isn't as breathtaking as Santa Anita's mountains (here, it's just horse pastures for miles), but I daresay the paddock is the most gorgeous you'll find just about anywhere:
That's Michelle Yu from TVG there on the right of the bottom photo. We also chatted with long-time TV handicapper Hank Goldberg for a bit.
4:15 p.m. Paracaidas wins a one-mile turf allowance with ease, Garrett Gomez on board:
5:20 p.m. Wickedly Perfect takes the Grade 1, Alcibiades Stakes for two-year-old fillies in impressive fashion, completing a nice double for my buddy. He was all over Wise Dan upsetting Hollywood Hit in the previous race. I thought Hollywood Hit was a cinch. I made up for it by hitting a $55 exacta earlier in the card.
No matter. I could've lost all day, and it still would've ranked as one of my favorite days of all time.
8 p.m. Arrive back home in Louisville, delightfully exhausted.
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