Derby Week

[FrankD.]

Derby week officially begins for me this afternoon; the phone does not get answered, new customers are put off until Monday and my install/service  crew chief will handle any issues barring a total disaster. In 17 years of working for me he never has called me after Wednesday of Derby week.

I say it here every year it is my favorite betting week of the year. Simulcasting and co mingling of pools has watered it down some from years ago when the best puzzle was who brought in one to put over to pay for their Derby trip! In the old days the non locals were largely ignored and many left with pockets full.

I\'ve been to 4 live Slew, Affirmed, Pleasant Colony and Spend A Buck\'s; I\'ll be back for a couple more live ones soon. I keep threatening to retire and just may for real this year!

After opening night and the way the track played yesterday, I just don\'t get it.
Well documented by many here yesterday the dead rail outside down the middle of the track, void of speed surface is truly maddening. They got about 1/4 of rain overnight and hopefully that\'s it for the rest of the week. Saturday looks perfect at 70, been there with 140,000 folks when it was 90 the Spend A Buck year but I was young and dumb!

Nothing real juicy or appealing today and hard to believe the first 4 races have no more than 6 horses in any of them; is this Aqueduct? I\'ll fool around the the pick 5 and some pick 3 races, get my feet wet and hope the track gets a bit more fair!!!!!!!!!!!!

A tough favorite to overcome in the Oaks, Wise Dan in the Woodford may take some of the allure out of a huge horizontal score or NOT? We\'ll see. Nothing concrete here yet on the Derby however I know CC and WS at 3/1 & 6/1 probably will not be on top of any of my tickets. Way too many questions and variables in this years addition not to go long especially with Wise Dan making the pick 4 a pick 3.
Commanding Curve is a definite use for me and I\'m looking for 3 or 4 more bombers to use.

Good luck as it\'s Coffee with a bit of Sambuca time with racing forms and TG sheets all over the kitchen table.

Frank D.

[TGJB]

I like the drink and the image, Frank.

[richiebee]

A wise man once said \"You can\'t say you\'ve been drinking all day unless you start
early in the morning.\"

[pizzalove]

Derby week is magical.  My best friend Jack and my other friend Mark used to leave on Tuesday from Port Washington, WI and bet at Churchill Wednesday thru Saturday.  i only went with Jack once.  Back in 92 I knew I was losing my job and I said what the hell and made the trip to watch my favorite Jockey, Pat Day, win his only Derby with Lil E Tee.  I think I bet Arazi and pistols and roses big.  

Jack went to about 20 kentucky derbys and I was quite often stuck at the Wisconsin state math show.  It wasnt so bad.  It was an easy convention to work and I always had a booth by the window overlooking beautiful Green Lake.  I was the only vendor there reading horse racing material. Often I was on the phone with Jack telling him how envious I was.  I used to bet the Derby for many years from Waukegan, Il but now I go to Green Bay.

It was great to talk to Jack every day and have him relay to me the wonderful experience of derby week with him and Mark. Even though I wasnt there for all but one I felt I lived it through Jack.  I also loved the after derby phone call to each other to discuss if we had won or not.  We never revealed our horses to each other until after the race.  

Jack spent his last Derby with Mark and I from the off track in Green Bay in 2012.  He died of AML a couple of months later.  His ashes were scattered at churchill.  He was 51.  Gone.  But for Mark and I never forgotten.  We always smile when we think of how much he loved derby week.

[covelj70]

This is a really cool post

nice thoughts and nice memories

thanks for sharing

[tommydw2000]

My first derby was in 1986, Mom wanted to go to the local track and bet the ponies it was our first time to see live races and bet the derby. We played several of the under card races won a little lost a little then came the derby.Mom and my brother quickly went to the betting window to make their derby bet, me I couldn\'t find my horse. It was almost time for race I had to make a decision, so I did the only logical thing i could think of, I went with a jockey name I was familiar with. I choose Willie Shoemaker ridding a horse named Ferdinand from the one hole. I look back at that derby and have many great memories especially since I won that bet that day. Good luck to all this derby and to mom I\'m still playing the ponies some good days some bad ones thank you for giving me and my brothers such wonderful memories!

[moosepalm]

My derby story isn\'t personal because I\'ve never been, nor particularly interested in going.  But, my father went every year, initially on a train, with a sizable group of local high rollers (one of whom was a prominent horse owner and had an NBA franchise for a few years).  The trip was arranged by a meat packing mogul, so they ate like kings, and drank like them, too.  Poker games went all night, and they weren\'t nickel dime.  They left Thursday night, pulled in Friday in time for the first post, and had some kind of private box.  For a number of years, their neighboring box was occupied by Jimmy the Greek and Paul Hornung, and for the latter, sobriety never made it past the ticket taker.  My father died in his sleep the day after returning from the Derby when he cashed on Spend a Buck, and had a very good Friday, as well.  Losing him hurt like hell, but I could still manage a smile at the thought of him going out a winner.

[Rick B.]

You guys are all making me cry, which during Derby Week usually does not
start happening until immediately AFTER the Derby is made official.

Lost my best racetrack buddy almost 2 years ago; been to live racing
maybe 5 or 6 times since. Thank goodness for ADW.

Great stories, guys. Memories of friends and loved ones can be bittersweet,
but are also a great reminder to keep pressing on, and to enjoy life to the
fullest while you still can.

Hmm...think I\'ll wander out to the track on Saturday...

[TGJB]

Yeah, I\'ve seen Horning\'s act at Siro\'s. If you ever see the placque there about \"the site of his last tackle\", I was there, a friend of mine put that up. Hornung was drunk and tried to pick up a waitress (as in off the ground, not get her to go home with him), he fell over crashing into another friend (Tommy Meyerhoff), knocking him through an interior window, butt first.

[tommydw2000]

My point I tried to make(very poorly) was picking Ferdinand thru sheer bling stupid luck. After all these years I still think I have not progressed much from the Ferdinand derby. I still love derby day, still love going to bet the ponies, and love to watch my 2 favorite horse racing shows, \"let it Ride\" and \"the Long Shot.\"

[moosepalm]

TGJB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah, I\'ve seen Horning\'s act at Siro\'s. If you
> ever see the placque there about \"the site of his
> last tackle\", I was there, a friend of mine put
> that up. Hornung was drunk and tried to pick up a
> waitress (as in off the ground, not get her to go
> home with him), he fell over crashing into another
> friend (Tommy Meyerhoff), knocking him through an
> interior window, butt first.


Yeah, everybody forgets Hornung was also a defensive back at Notre Dame.

[TreadHead]

Speaking of hunchbacks...

Year Monarchos won I went with a group of friends and we got there at open and grabbed a spot on the rail of the paddock for the day.  A friend of mine who is a drunk filled a metal flask with bourbon and then loosened the laces of his shoes to an extreme.  He placed the flask in his shoe under his foot and walked thru the gates as a club-footed cripple.

[Topcat]

moosepalm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TGJB Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yeah, I\'ve seen Horning\'s act at Siro\'s. If you
> > ever see the placque there about \"the site of
> his
> > last tackle\", I was there, a friend of mine put
> > that up. Hornung was drunk and tried to pick up
> a
> > waitress (as in off the ground, not get her to
> go
> > home with him), he fell over crashing into
> another
> > friend (Tommy Meyerhoff), knocking him through
> an
> > interior window, butt first.
>
>
> Yeah, everybody forgets Hornung was also a
> defensive back at Notre Dame.

. . . in the last, lingering days of limited substitution . . .

[billk5300s]

Sounds to me like you\'re livin the dream Frank D.  Best of luck!!!!

[FrankD.]

Richard this one is for you and Rick B.

Paul Horning circa 1986 in the kitchen at Tuffano\'s on Taylor Street chasing Mama DiBlasi around drunk as a skunk with a piece of bread dripping sauce all over his shirt. He was and is a piece of work!!!

One of my favorite Italian restaurants in the world; always go back there when I get to Chicago. I believe it was BC day in 86 when Paul put on his show after Manilla rolled in the turf classic.

Frank D.