Sovereignty wins!!!
(from Google Images)
And I picked the winner! Of course, I didn’t place a bet, or Sovereignty would have crossed the finish line dead last. Everyone probably makes this claim, but I really mean it when I say I’m prone to bad luck.
But seriously, the Derby is special to me, as it is for many folks, especially Kentuckians.
Whether Derby Day is spent in the infield, or in a private suite high above the track at Churchill Downs, or at someone’s Derby party two-hours from Louisville, it’s just a fun day.
I remember my late Aunt Fay taking me and my brother Kevin, and our cousins Sheila and Tammy, to the infield at Churchill in 1983. Sunny’s Halo won that year, but what I remember most was how rowdy and raucous it was.
I haven’t been back to the infield since. After that ‘83 experience, it was mostly Derby parties away from Churchill Downs every year.
That is, until my late Aunt Fay’s business partner invited some of the family to his Derby suite in 2018, the year Justify won. The day was rainy and dreary, but since the suite’s balcony was partially under shelter, the weather didn’t keep us from enjoying the experience.
(L to R, brother Kevin, Dad Kenny, and me)
Of course, the women enjoyed it, too! They got to play dress up for a whole day! One piece of advice I can pass along from them is…don’t wear heels! Unless you’re wealthy and can have a limo bring you close, you will walk and walk some more.
(Aunt Fay in wheelchair and L to R, Kevin’s wife Jennifer, sister Bobbi Jo, wife Stephanie and mom Sharon. Cousin Sheila took this pic, so you can’t see her, but trust me—she was as gussied up as the rest.)
I have other memories associated with the Derby as well, like from 1992 when Lil E. Tee won. My brother Kevin must have won a little on that race because shortly after that, when he acquired a new Beagle pup, he named her Lily.
Many, many Kentuckians and Americans in general have Derby stories and memories to share.
Kentucky is the Home of the Derby, the greatest horse race in the world, and Kentucky is the Home of Bluegrass music. Put Bluegrass and horse racing together, and what do you get?
“Molly and Tenbrooks”—aka “The Race Horse Song.”
The song is a fictionalized story about the very real, 1878, one-on-one, horse race between Ten Broeck, a male, Kentucky horse, and Mollie McCarthy, a mare from California.
The race was held at the Louisville Jockey Club, which today goes by a different name. Yeah, you guessed it—Churchill Downs.
Unlike the Derby, which is the second longest race of the Triple Crown at 1 and 1/4 mile(the Belmont Stakes is longest at 1 and 1/2 mile), the July 4, 1878, head-to-head match race was truly long at four miles. No, that was not a typo. (Appalachian Music and Culture. mozart.radford.edu)
(Google Images)
Today’s 2025 Derby was rainy with a sloppy track. The 1878 match race was, too, possibly the reason why Ten Broeck beat Mollie McCarthy so handily.
How was the race fictionalized? The main difference is that in the song “Molly” runs so hard she dies at the end of the race. In reality, she lived several years beyond the race and foaled at least twice.
We probably will never know who wrote the song. Nor will we probably ever know the original version because it was too long ago and was passed along by word-of-mouth.
We do know it wasn’t recorded until 1929 by the Carver Boys. (Wikipedia)
As far as we know, Bill Monroe recorded it next in 1947, and his version is the preeminent one.
The Stanley Brothers recorded it in 1948, but their version didn’t catch on with the public as well as Monroe’s; in fact, “Molly and Tenbrooks” is today known as one of Monroe’s signature songs.
(Google Images)
Horses are not a “signature” part of my family, but we think very fondly of the Kentucky Derby.
Yesterday, the family was once again represented at Churchill Downs, this time for Kentucky Oaks Day. My daughter Kenlee and her fiancé Ben Hopper attended and made a fantastic day of it.
The Kentucky Oaks, a one and 1/8 mile filly race, has been going on as long as the Derby—since 1875. Oaks on Friday, Derby on Saturday. First Friday and Saturday of each May. Simply remarkable!
And fun! I’m already looking forward to the 152nd running of these two races.
Looking forward as well to picking with you or for you. Maybe a little “Molly and Tenbrooks”?
UPDATE: one week later. May 10, 2025.
Notice in that final sentence how I unintentionally used a word with a double meaning—“picking.” THIS is one small reason why I love words so much I became an English/Language Arts teacher.
I’m retired now, but that hasn’t changed my love of words.
Double meaning? Picking an instrument, in my case, a guitar. Picking a winner, in my case, Sovereign!!
To be sure, as the writer, if I’m not careful with my word choice, I might inadvertently confuse my readers. Yes, I’m criticizing myself here, mostly to caution myself.
Slow down! Proofread more!
When I wrote “…picking with you or for you…”, how was I using those two words “…for you…”?
I meant “picking for you”, as in performing for you or entertaining you. However, the reader might have thought I meant “picking for you”, as in choosing for you.
Some of you are reading this update and thinking—why be so anal about a word or two? Didn’t I already tell you I love words? What I didn’t tell you is that I also love you—the reader.
Without you I would have no reason to write. In other words, without you, writers wouldn’t exist.
What a powerful relationship we must have if my existence depends on you!
Therefore, as a writer, I have a keen desire to safeguard that relationship.
I don’t want to mislead you! I don’t want to confuse you!
I want to inform you! Entertain you! Uplift you!
I thank you for being one of my readers. You are my reason for writing.