Sorry about the delay, but it has been busy since the crew and I returned from Derby Day.

To read part 1 and catch up with my Derby experiences from the rail, during the Derby race, and to read about my experiences surrounding Eight Belles, click here.

Photo: Robert Bolson

Einstein Solves the Problem:

Photo: Amanda Duckworth

I am a turf fan, if you read my blog you know this by now. So you can naturally guess I was very excited about Einstein and the Woodford Mile. As a huge Einstein fan and saw his race at Keeneland against the turf king, Kip Deville. I watched all the competition in the paddock, but Einstein was just looking great. A beautiful horse with that tongue action going on. Pyro, Tiago and so many others just enjoy that tongue sticking out. I will write a later blog on that.

I had media credentials and wandered across the dirt track to watch the race from the turf-side rail. Meaning I was right at the turn, just past the finish line. The area might be better known as photographers alley, which I did meet a lot of great photographers.

The starting gate position allowed the horses to pass by twice, once as the exited the gate and then twice as they crossed the finish line. Both turns allowed me to be closer to the action than I have ever been before. I felt the wind as the Woodford field romped by and felt the ground shake as the strides hit the ground. It was one of the greatest experiences and who knows when or if I will receive that opportunity again.

Photo: Amanda Duckworth

Read about Einstein and the race here.

Photo: Amanda Duckworth

Photo: Amanda Duckworth

No Gremlins for 'Gizmo:

The previous day, Oaks Day, I called horse number five to win in the Alysheba. Why you ask? Because he is a Giant's Causeway and yes, he won on dirt! Well, it was slop, but still, I called it. Giant Gizmo's name is what sold me, but the numbers on the page looked great as well. 'Gizmo's history at Churchill Downs and on wet dirt tracks was a good indicator that he would have an advantage over his competition.

Of course I had to go put him in an exacta and not go with my gut bet on him to win. I need to get out of the exacta habit. None the less, I say this was a defining moment as a great handicapping sucess.

Read more on Giant Gizmo's brilliant race here.

The first race of Oaks day and several other races throughout Friday and Saturday held many good strides in my handicapping knowledge and gain. I have to give a shout out to Jason Shandler for some of his help in that growth of racing wisdom.

The Stars are Out:

Among the races were lots of celebrities, and I saw most of them. I was able to work the red carpet and was thrilled to see several people in entertainment. Of course the A+ lister was Hef and his ladies, but seeing Lennox Lewis, Fred Willard, Greg Grunberg, Smoky Robinson, Dr. J. and several other celebrity/reality/sports stars was a blast. I have never had that experience before and do not know if I ever will again.

Watch the entertaining sights and sounds of the red carpet from Derby Day here.

Now they are not quite red carpet celebrities, but people who wore crazy hats entertained me almost just as much. It just seems like there was something everywhere. It was an experience that was a blast.

The most fun, hands down, was watching the races on the rail and having access inside the paddock for the week. It was amazing.

Fun BloodHorse.com Video: ATO and other Derby sights and sounds:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/Videos/SectionVideo/2840586e-8164-415c-ae45-ea1e8ffd783c.htm
http://www.bloodhorse.com/Videos/SectionVideo/c4480ae0-a3d9-4cdd-8b66-5e1762ef0519.htm

Derby Sights and Sounds Photo Gallery by Robert Bolson.

 A fun day full of excitement and a whole lot of turf races. I love a good turf race and like to see "turf" sires run well on dirt. Specifically Giant Gizmo. I called that horse with a gut feeling, and yep, he sure showed his skills. Of course he is a Giant's Causeway, as faithful readers know Giant's Causeway is a favorite of mine. So hats off to Giant Gizmo and another stakes winner for Giant's Causeway!

The first race was a huge win. An exacta that paid fifteen bucks on a one dollar boxed bet...so really six bucks. I also followed my good friend and highly skilled handicapper Jason Shandler. If you read some earlier blogs, I am homing in on my skills of handicapping and I greatly improved from learning new angles and some new betting styles that were previously unknown to me.

 Betting styles like a Keyed bet, where you can bet one horse who has to win and you can mix all other horses fininshing after the winning horse. A wheel bet, where you base all the horses around a specific horse. I studied the guide in the front in a lot more, on what all the stats truly mean in the past performances. I knew some, but it is a lot of information to read and remember.

I think I have some strategies down now though. As I was on top for a while and the races I did lose money on, I lost by one horse. All the losses were with boxed exactas where my horses came in second and third, or first and third. It was frustrating to lose the money, but encouraging that I was so close to success.

The Oaks was amazing to watch on the rail. The ladies just glided on the track like ice skaters. Elegant from beginning to end. Proud Spell had it in the bag, her workouts and watching her on the track was just too clear while filming in the morning this week. Ginger Punch dominated her race as well and that was seemingly a given also. It was nice to see that race with so many big names in this race. The Crown Royal was another turf race. I just can't get enough of turf races, and that turf track was getting pretty torn up by the end of the day.

Weather also altered betting methods and track conditions which was a neat change in pace for the day. Sure it was wet and somewhat annoying, but I enjoyed having to try altering strategies, which worked, mid day. Paying more attention to slop, yielding or wet turf and Churchill Downs pas performances paid off. I could go on about the weather and other results from the rain, but I want to keep this post brief. Many good stories to tell from this week at some point.

Aside from the great betting all day and the many races I won with, the comradeship with coworkers and having fun while working was great. Meeting all our wonderful freelancers who provide amazing images and writings on the industry was very exciting. I learned a good deal about how large events are held and how to attempt to organize it. Attempt being the key word after being a media member.

Anyway, all the volunteers and grounds workers were very polite and kind to talk with. I want to thank them for their hard work and great handling of the huge crowd. 125,000 was the head count I believe for today. Speaking of the crowd, I have never seen so many variations in security uniforms, it was like seeing all the various units in Star Wars welcoming the arrival of the Emperor to the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. They are much appreciated though...remember to NOT bring umbrellas to a track.

If you are coming for the Derby, I am quite confident there will be a very large lake in the in-field area. So bring your swimming gear.

Be sure to continue watching the show And They're Off from the Derby, it is very fun and great information is passed to you. A lot of work has gone into those pieces, you will not be disappointed.

I have not told all the stories so if you have questions or are wondering about anything going on this weekend, simply ask. Thanks!
 

I made the trip to Louisville safely and awoke at 4:30am to prep my self for the track with my partners in media crime.

The track was very busy, dare I say swamped today. Everyone seemed to be in high hopes and in good terms. Trainers, horses, grounds personnel, and even the track shuttle driver told some dry jokes at 6:00am, too early to really laugh at the jokes. Yet I did chuckle at the shuttle driver and the guy next to me snickered a bit, we were piled in tight. The distance between the media parking lot and Churchill Downs is a long haul, especially with cameras/stands/mics/gear, so we took the shuttle. By long, I mean a mile or two at least.

All the horses were waking, being bathed and pampered for their romp on the track as we strolled through the gates. Soapy horses are just fun to look at.

I was able to watch the works of the horses, Pyro still looked great, Colonel Jon was amazing and Z Fortune looked amazing as well. Country Star looked stunning, the diva she is. Big Brown was not on the track but a glimpse of time, with his blow out being incredibly fast.

At that, what an entourage Big Brown has aquired, he could easily run his own Verizon advertising campaign, you know how in the Verizon commercials they have a huge crowd of people follow the customer everywhere? Yeah, it was like that. Tale of Ekati didn't do it for me this morning, Z Humor looked average as well. Bob Black Jack made an appearance and gave a little show parading around, but nothing there to keep my interest. To be honest, all the Derby horses looked good, I mean they did make the Derby. It's just that a few stood out strong.

I did experience the first siren/light show for a runaway horse, I had never seen one run up the bleachers before and that was eventful, but the horse was safely returned. 

 The media was covering every nook and cranny of the backside area near the track, but vanished after the last Derby horse exited the track. I heard I might see fits of craziness, but I found all the media guys to be understanding and kind. There is plenty to see, and I did not witness any bickering or fists thrown amongst each other. The media personalities and several photographers helped to spot sweet camera shots/angles and it was great! One of my several tasks was being such a spotter and it is tough when horses of certain trainers won't wear their Derby saddle cloths.

I was, however, in great disbelief at the media center and the area where we were suppose to be offered free dough nuts and coffee. Anybody and everybody were running over there, my media credentials finally felt unappreciated and feelings hurt. Free for all is the best term to describe that situation.

 After shooting video for the News Minute, we went to film the hit web show And They're Off! We had trainers and all kinds of industry people come up complementing Steve and Lenny on the previous show posted Wednesday. We would be walking around then stopped and asked about the video, not just ATO, but the Alydar/Affirmed feature as well. The shoot today, for tomorrow's release, was a blast. If you like the first one, then the special Derby Preview edition will knock your socks off. There is even more action packed commentary and explosive dialog.

I saw a lot of America's Next Top Model judge Nigel meandering around the backside, and then heard about him from several of our staff writers. Nigel was on a photo shoot for a magazine was the scoop. We did not secure an interview with him though, but if you are a media personality and reading this, come find us and we will interview you about the Derby.

Most of the sights and sounds will be seen in the videos posted today or tomorrow. Then keep watching videos through Saturday to see what else I have experienced. It is great stuff. I will to try posting here on site tomorrow and Saturday, but we will be at the track all day, so no promises. 

Side Note:

The New York Times is following the Derby also! They have some interesting things to read up on, so why don't you go check their blog out for a bit.

 

According to a press release, Animal Planet is launching several new series including one entitled "Jockeys." The series is reality TV, with a "real world meets the equine industry" feel. I am actually really interested to see the first episode and to see how they will portray jockeys and the horse industry.

I think it could bring a lot of new fans to the horse industry in general, not just the Thoroughbred industry, which is good for us. There are a lot of positive opportunities that can be used to enhance the industry across the globe. Equine education is important, and this show has an opportunity to do just that.

I could see all kinds of advertising opportunities here as well. The show could promote racing events,  Breeders' Cup races, Rolex, and the 2010 World Equestrian Games that will be coming to the U.S. for the first time in history.

However, it could also put a bad spin on the industry and misrepresent the majority of the horse world, jockeys, or horses. If the show is purely entertainment driven, then the episodes will be edited to squeeze in the most possible. This means that editing for the shows might be doctored to appear differently than the actual events, in order to produce the feeling of drama. So viewers may not get a total honest view of what happens.

"Jockeys" will be worth watching at least the first episode in my mind. Why the first episode? To at least get a first feel for the show and to know what to expect. After reading the press release, it seems the new president of Animal Planet is set on altering content to be more engaging. So drama will be highlighted, I am sure. The "model girlfriends" described in the press release are an incentive for me and then we can get into the competition between jockeys to see how the brotherhood is handled.

It is scheduled to debut next spring, 2009.

"...Animal Planet brings viewers into a world dominated by ferocious rivalries, fierce bonds and extraordinary risk, ruled by short men with silk shirts, oversized personalities and big dreams...The series showcases the day-to-day competition where five-foot-tall jockeys weighing 115 lbs. fly down the track on 1,500lb. thoroughbreds."

source:
http://corporate.discovery.com/

How do you think this will affect the horse industry and is this something you will want to watch? What types of scenarios from the viewpoint of a jockey would interest you? Would you rather see the Jockey's personal or professional life style and events followed?