a day at the races

Today is a high holy day where I live--the Kentucky Derby.

Easy, I know, for the uninitiated to wonder 'what's the big deal?'  So I'll give you my spin...

Horse racing is a multi-billion dollar industry.  Gobs and gobs of money trade hands at betting windows, on sales floors, in breeding stables...  Just so happens that right here in the Bluegrass where I live, geological forces come together to create an environment like none other on the planet, which just happens to be ideal for raising really fast thoroughbreds.

For us, then, the Derby is more than "the most exciting two minutes in sports".  It's a celebration of our land, our culture, the way we live.  Some of the most elaborate parties you can imagine, with budgets in the millions, happen all across the state in the week leading up to this day.  And of course, it's the one day and place that ladies can wear fabulous hats with complete abandon.

Now all that said, I don't really get too excited one way or another about the race itself, but I will tell you every year before it begins, I stand and sing 'My Old Kentucky Home' with a tear in my eye. 

Kentucky gets more than our fair share of barefoot, toothless, inbred ribbing through most of the year, so it's nice to have a day when people remember that the sport of kings starts and ends right here at home.

Passion, beauty, and love, folks--24 hours at a time...