Spring Break 2011: The Second Half

On Thursday morning, we got up and drove a short 250 miles to Louisville, Kentucky, and, more importantly, straight to Churchill Downs. As everyone knows, Mo is a lover of horses and horse racing so, let's just say she was enthused. We got the full ride of the place, the track, the "Behind-the-scenes" tour of the press box, locker room, and other places, and, finally, the barns on the backside of the track. And off we went . . .


The iconic twin steeples.


Here the horses are shown before headed to the track. On the right is the stall where Barbaro stood before winning the Derby in 2006.


Winners of all the Derbys together - and a close-up on Secretariat's plaque.


From there, we did a 180 and headed down the tunnel onto the track.


The front stretch heading towards the finish line.



The original structure is a national landmark and still has the original gutters (that are heavily rusted) and original underside of the roof. Not bad for 137 years old.




And with that, we headed for more tours.


For the "behind-the-scenes" tour, we saw the jockey's locker room, their weigh-in station, the pressbox, and the Millionaire's Club (a.k.a. where I will not be watching the Derby this week). Where the ladies are standing above is where the likes of Michael Jordan and others will be watching the horses come Saturday.




On the left is C cooperating. On the right is C wanting the photographer (his mommy).




The inside of the Millionaire's Club where around $60 grand will get you one of those tables.


The view from the announcer's booth. Not a bad seat.


And they are ready for Saturday . . .


Here are scenes from the jockey's rec room - the sun deck is where, on Derby Day, all the jockey's gather for their group picture. And yes, they dress it up a bit more than it is normally. Inside, the jockeys are quite superstitious and don't allow for much change. Hence, the horribly outdated facilities. This would carry on throughout the facility.


The training room. I told you it was rough. On the left, the state-of-the-art massage tables and on the right, the ice tub where jockeys will sit after a day at the races. And yes, they fit in their quite easily.


Once the race season begins, these hooks will be filled with hundreds of silks (the jockey's vests).


The jockey's locker room. I warned you it was old. Apparently, when they installed the HDTV on the column, an uproar ensued. And no, that is not a joke.


Calvin Borel's locker. He has won 3 of the last 4 Derbies so he gets first pick every year on the locker.


This is where the jockeys will weigh in, carrying their saddle, cap, crop, and all. The large scale is no longer used - their is a smaller scale to the right that is electronic. As you can tell, K was impressed.


Churchill Downs, Ladies and Gents.


A close-up of the Winner's Circle, used only once a year. And you only get one guess.




Happy Girls.

Check out our tour of the barns and Friday's escapades at the Louisville Slugger Factory after the jump below!


Finally, we headed to the backside of the track, which is where the stars of the show reside.


Not a welcome sight.


This one is much better. The starting gates.


Here are the barns - you will notice some have logos up representing the stables that have their horses housed within those barns.


The stables that return year after year will do a little landscaping for their barns.




This Philly will be running in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday.


I guess TAP didn't want us seeing their horses.




Us.


Where the winners go, not because they are in trouble, but for post-race drug testing.


Heck of an animal there.


If you noticed that Mo has the same smile on in all of these pictures, it is because it was permanently tattooed on her face all day.


The girls in the starting gate. Notice K is holding her air reigns and is ready to roll.


Calvin Borel's get-up from his win last year.


The finish line pole used when Secretariat had his run.



The ladies (and the sleeping giant) with Barbaro.


I am sure you will all be shocked that we closed the placed down that day. Besides the guy with the key, I think we were the last ones out. From there, it was on to find a hotel to rest up for Friday and our visit to . . .


Because, you can't stop in Louisville and not see how the bats are made . . . Right? After Wednesday night, C was convinced we were headed to another baybawl game so we figured this was close enough.

 
Yes - that is one big bat. C's remark: "I hold it."


Geaux Braves!

 
Me and K holding a bat Mickey Mantle used in the early 60's. Very neat. 

 
C making his appearance as the museum worker hustled to get the Mantle bat back into the case as quickly as possible. We took the tour of the facility and everyone got a mini-bat, which was not necessary a good move on the museum's part.

 
C really liked "dohs baybawl guys."


Here is one of the bats used by the Babe in 1927 when he hit his 60 home runs. If you look closely, you can see the notch marks he carved into the bat to account for each home run he hit with this bat.

 
More cool bats - which is what they should have at the Slugger factory.



 
The little guy had his bat and his ball and was ready for his nap. 


Another 300 miles later, we were in Beckley, WV for the evening as a tornado was cracking through the St. Louis Airport 550 miles away. The next morning, we were off again, driving through the West Virginia mountains, stopping in Charlottlesville, VA, for some lunch, and coasting into home plate late Saturday afternoon - just in time for Easter Sunday. One heck of a Spring Break for sure!