And they're off!

Not much going on this morning, but later this morning we are scheduled to go to Churchill Downs and to meet the rest of our reunion group.  We've been planning this reunion for two years and now it's here!

We're all meeting at Diane's house and taking two cars.  We take a quick tour of the house and we all fall in love with it.  So many beautiful touches!  Such as an armadillo and a flamingo!

We decide to have our picture made on Diane's back porch:

Front row:  Me, Pattie
Back row:  Carol, Paulette, Diane (her house), Suzanne

We met at Diane's house so we could take two cars.  David and Charles (Diane's husband) rode with Carol and Pattie and me, Diane, Suzanne, and Paulette rode together in Diane's car. 

We pulled up to Churchill Downs and I was in for a shock!  Not at all like I thought it would look.  Somehow I pictured this race track in the countryside.  Not so...it's in town!  Once you're inside, it truly is very nice.

We pulled up to the valet park area and the man taking the $5 asked if we knew the names of the seven dwarfs.  We started naming them and he stopped us, gave the money back and let us park for free!  The group in the other car had to pay!

We have reservations in the Matt Winn Room.  You could choose menu or buffet, but I believe we all stuck with the buffet. Very fancy and very good.  Felt really sorry for one lady...she turned over the peach cobbler on the buffet.  It hit the floor and there was cobbler everywhere!

David did try the burgoo (kind of stew), but I wasn't brave enough!

We spent some time eating, but then headed outside to see what there is to see and do at Churchill Downs.

See the guy in the red coat blowing the bugle?  He's playing the "Call to the Post."  It's played about 10 minutes before each race.  Gives the horses time to get to where they are going to start.  David referred to the guy as the "coo-coo clock."  Popped out, played his tune, and popped back in until the next time to play it!

This beautiful horse was quite a handful all the way up the track.  Quite feisty!  One friend said it was because leg warmers had gone out of style.

Here are the horses running on the dirt track.  After each race, a "dirt Zamboni" (BIG TRACTOR) comes and smooths the dirt.  Sometimes they raced on the dirt and sometimes on the grass.

Look at the horse at the end (far left).  All four feet are off the ground!  Made me remember an old "Bat Masterson" episode that decided whether or not all four feet truly left the ground.  They do!

One of the funniest sites of the day was this jockey checking the big screen replay to see who one!

Here was a photo finish!

And here was the one to bet on!

These painted horses are all over Louisville.  This one was at Churchill Downs.

After the track, we all headed back to Diane's house.  We eventually headed back to the campground.  Breakfast tomorrow at a fun restaurant or so we've been told!

Catch us down the road!

Jenny :)