April 30 - Kentucky Derby is coming

Next Saturday is the Kentucky Derby. I won’t be able to blog that day because I will be out of town at an undisclosed location. I thought I would share my memories from attending two Kentucky Derbies.

In 1982, as a sophomore at The Ohio State University, I made the trek with some college roommates. The highlight of the trip was running into Howard Cosell and getting my picture taken. Howard was a large unit (about 280 pounds) and was wearing his trademark canary yellow ABC broadcasting jacket. He really didn’t like being around people / crowds. Or maybe he just didn’t know the real me. We sat /drank/slept in the infield section of Churchill Downs. Now I did not attend Woodstock, but I be a lot of the other infield patrons had.

My second trip was in 1987. I went with friends and co-workers from NCR. In fact, I’m still in regular contact with the two gentlemen in this photo. We spent the night at a friend’s parent’s house in Louisville. We slept outdoors, and in my case handcuffed to a lawn chair. Don’t ask why. We viewed the races form the outfield section of Churchill Downs. This area is much more reserved and sophisticated than the infield. Someday, I’ll make it to the grandstand.

The only thing worse than beating a dead horse is betting on one.