24 April ‘09 Friday
Sometimes it seems that you are never at the right spot at the right time, and in Louisville we are 2 weeks early AND two days late… Two days before we arrived, Louisville enjoyed their “Thunder Over Louisville” fireworks show. We have been told that it is THE largest fireworks display in the country. The best seat for the show is “anywhere downtown”… They have two weeks of celebration prior to the big race at Churchill Downs and “Derby Day”…
This morning we drove out to Churchill Downs to take in the museum and track. We heard that we wouldn’t be able to go out to see the grandstands
Sometimes it seems that you are never at the right spot at the right time, and in Louisville we are 2 weeks early AND two days late… Two days before we arrived, Louisville enjoyed their “Thunder Over Louisville” fireworks show. We have been told that it is THE largest fireworks display in the country. The best seat for the show is “anywhere downtown”… They have two weeks of celebration prior to the big race at Churchill Downs and “Derby Day”…
This morning we drove out to Churchill Downs to take in the museum and track. We heard that we wouldn’t be able to go out to see the grandstands
and track because “the trainers are working with the Derby horses” but when we purchased our entry tickets they told us the tour to the track would take place in “20 minutes”. That announcement made our day… I’ve been a little surprised by names that have continuously come up… Living in the Pacific Northwest, we have always read, visited, and traveled the waters of Lewis and Clark that related to “our area”. Traveling through Tennessee and Kentucky their names and reputations are still with us as in our visiting the monument to York. Well Clark has come up again…
The track is named for John and Henry Churchill, who leased 80 acres of land to their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (grandson of explorer William Clark). Clark was president of the Louisville Jockey Club in 1874. His father-in-law, Richard Ten Broeck, was a horse breeder and trainer, and introduced Clark to horse racing. Clark ran the racing club for about 3 years but had trouble making enough money to do the necessary expansion. He found a buyer by the name of Applegate. Applegate sold the track in 1902 to Charles Grainger who really took charge and made Churchill Downs what it is today. A new clubhouse was built, the highly recognizable “twin spires” were added,
The track is named for John and Henry Churchill, who leased 80 acres of land to their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (grandson of explorer William Clark). Clark was president of the Louisville Jockey Club in 1874. His father-in-law, Richard Ten Broeck, was a horse breeder and trainer, and introduced Clark to horse racing. Clark ran the racing club for about 3 years but had trouble making enough money to do the necessary expansion. He found a buyer by the name of Applegate. Applegate sold the track in 1902 to Charles Grainger who really took charge and made Churchill Downs what it is today. A new clubhouse was built, the highly recognizable “twin spires” were added,
and the length of today’s track was completed. Today, Churchill Downs covers 147 acres and reaches crowds of 150,000 highly energetic fans that want to flock to the wagering booths at Derby day.
One more spot that I we see on TV while watching the race, is the Paddock, were we'll see the "Saddle Up" call again this year.
I found this note of history to be interesting…On June 5, 1907, African American jockey James Lee set a record that has never been beaten when he won the entire six-race card at Churchill Downs. The tour to the grounds didn’t disappoint, it was great. We did have a chance to see a “retired” Derby horse, but unfortunately neither Louise nor I can remember her name…but she was really beautiful and did a great job of coming in 4th on her day at “The Show”.