Copious Notes

A race fan from Iowa, and hundreds of others, crowded onto the stair railings on the fifth and sixth levels of the Jockey Club Suites to watch Mine That Bird pull off the big upset in the 135th Kentucky Derby. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.

It’s safe to say thousands of people in Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby never actually see the race. The goal is not to be one of those people.

The view from the staircase at the Jockey Club Suites.

If you do not actually have a box with a full view of the track, some of the suites with their expansive porches offer the best views, or at least a pretty darned spectacular view. I found my perch on the Jockey Club Suites, taking an elevator to the fourth level and then taking the stairs up to the fifth. There were still some spots on the rail, though frankly, the one I got gave me a better view of the Twin Spires — literally — than the track.

Then I looked behind me.

There was a stair case on which people were starting to line up. There was also a cop on the rail, who didn’t seem to mind — the last thing you want is to choose a spot and have the police shoo you away two minutes from race time. So, I went up and took a place. You could glimpse the finish line and a full perspective on the first and second turns and the backstretch.

It was a nice perch to watch Mine That Bird race to a historic finish.

‘Twas a very cool Derby, and fun day. Just, next year, let’s hope for a sun as bright and yellow as the hat the woman next to me was wearing. Everytime I turned around, I thought the clouds had broken. Also, could my longshot come through? It’s been a while.

Ernesto and Brenda Turner of Louisville cheer on their horses in the ninth race. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.

Throughout Churchill Downs there there is dissonance to the sounds rising from the crowd, a steady rumble punctuated by an improvosational “Mint Julep!,” a drunken fan stumbling through, a request to, “take my picture.”

But every 50 minutes or so, the crowd unites in harmonmy: “Go!” “Come on!”

“We’re just trying to make some money out here,” Ernesto Turner says a few minutes before the start of the ninth race at Churchill Downs Saturday. “So far, we haven’t done so well.”

He has No. 9 in the race. His wife, Brenda, has No. 8, following a system she has used since she picked No. 8 in the 2006 Derby: Barbaro.

Alas, the system didn’t pay off this time, though it looked promising for a few seconds.

The Turner’s song turns to groans, while others sound dissonant cheers.

But if Brenda followed that No. 8 strategy to the Derby, she had a good day in the end.

Producer Marty Spears and host Steve Gorman, also the drummer for the Black Crowes, prepare for Gorman's broadcast from Churchill Downs. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.

Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman says, “I have a bizarre perspective on things because I spent the last 20 years in a rock band touring the world.”

Gorman, who moved to Hopkinsville when he was 10, brought that bizarre perspective to Kentucky’s signature event, Saturday. He got a $7.99 thrift-shop suit, just for the occasion.

A few years ago, Gorman started showing up as a guest on a friend’s show for Nashville’s sports radio outlet, WGFX-104.5 FM (The Zone).

“First it was 10 minutes, then it grew into 15, 20, and eventually a whole half hour,” Gorman said, leaning on the rail outside the media center overlooking Churchill Downs’ muddy track.

Steve Gorman, on the air in Louisville.

Eventually, he was offered his own show, which usually runs for two hours on Sunday nights. For Gorman, it’s a natural fit. With the Crowes, he is often the guy who does radio spots for the band. And he says Sports Center is regular viewing for the group, which rose to fame on hits such as Hard to Handle and Jealous Again and is still a going concern with an upcoming album and tour.

That said, Gorman claims no actual sports expertise.

“We start with sports, and then we try to veer off track as quickly as possible,” Gorman says. “I love being the dumbest guy in the room. If I’m the smartest guy in the room, we have a problem.”

Gorman co-hosts the show with his friend Brandon Gnetz, a graphic designer for Nashville’s Frist Center for Visual Arts.

Among the host’s favorite sports to discuss are European soccer and his Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers.

“I claim no objectivity,” Gorman said. “When Gonzaga beat Western Kentucky, as far as I was concerned, the NCAA Tournament was over. Bring on the NFL Draft.”

Though he grew up in Kentucky, Louisville always seemed much farther away than Nashville. Still, he is now happy to embrace the Bluegrass State’s longest standing sporting tradition.

“I’ve actually talked to a lot of people in the last month getting ready for this and learned a lot,” Gorman said.

Friday afternoon, he found himself in the winner’s circle mere feet from Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra.

“These horses are amazing althletes,” Gorman said. “It’s really a great sport.”

Not that it couldn’t be greater.

Among suggestions Gorman had as he started his Saturday afternoon broadcast were fans getting a little bit more vigilant about rooting for their horses, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox style.

“Think about two drunk guys, one in a Friesan Fire jersey and one in an I Want Revenge jersey,” Gorman said, “It would be great.”

He also has a theory about Derby hats: “It’s saying look at my hat, and don’t notice that my dress doesn’t fit. I should have gone with the size 8.”

And a lot of this came out before the second hour of his show, which he promised listeners would be done, “juleps in hand.”

Like Gorman said, he brings a different perspective.

Doug Allen of Baton Rouge, La. (center, with cup) shares a $1,000 mint julep with friends, including Tom Rathmann (left) and reigning Miss Louisiana Lacy Minchew. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.

Brown Forman spokesman Tim Laird takes us back to whiskey’s medicinal roots.

“In the early days of farming, you didn’t have Tylenol and medicines like that, so people would have whiskey as a sort of a bracer to start the day,” Laird said.

So, people quaffing down mint juleps at 11 a.m. could not be seen so much as strikingly early imbibing as much as continuing an agrarian tradition. And Derby morning, it was a tradition Doug Allen of Baton Rouge, La.  was paying $1,000 to continue — for the third year in a row.

“It’s a good way to start off a great day,” Allen said, as friends passed his $1,000 cocktail in the golden cup around.

John Birkhofer, Matthew Birkhofer and Mike Smith enjoy some juleps in the morning.

He said Derby is a great time to drink a julep because the bourbon is fresher in Kentucky and there’s a greater variety here.

Mike Smith of Fairfax, Va., was enjoying his first juelp — of the Early Times $10 variety — and it sounded like it wouldn’t be his last.

“It’s got a nice taste,” said Smith, who was enjoying one of several Derby traditions at his first Derby, including wearing a seersucker suit. “I think I’ll make this part of my drinking repertoire.”

His friend, Matthew Birkhofer, a University of Louisville law student, is more inclined to confine his julep drinking to Derby day, saying, “I prefer my bourbon straight.”

Jockey Stewart Elliott gets a face full of mane as he guides Kentucky Derby hopeful West Side Bernie through a workout at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Saturday, April 25, 2009. Photo by Ed Reinke | AP.

I did not have to look far for my horse today in the Kentucky Derby. Not past post position one.

When it comes to picking ponies, I’ll read, I’ll look for things I like. But it’s really in the name for me, and here is the passage from Alicia Wincze’s notes from the backstretch column that made Bernie my man:

Owner George Hall said his wife Lori names all their horses and said that West Side Bernie “is all Broadway.”
“He’s by Bernstein so she immediately thought of Leonard Bernstein, who wrote West Side Story,” Hall said. “That’s how Bernie got his name. They’re putting on a revival of West Side Story now and we’re involved in that as a Fundraiser for the Hearing Center at New York University.”

I think Bernstein is the greatest American conductor ever and he wrote some great musicals too, so obviously I’m partial to the Hall’s tastes.

Bernie is 48-1 in the morning line, but hello, Giacomo, these artsy named longshots have come through for me before. I also like the story of first-time trainer Kelly Breen and the story of his stable-mate, Atomic Rain, who is somewhat the opposite of Bernie as his name sounds like some punk band playing a dive bar in the early 1980s.

So, that’s where I’ll put most of my modest bets.

It was a late night last night at the Barnstable-Brown Gala. Check out the slide show and video, and I’ll write again from the Downs.

Filmmaker John Corey and Lost in the Fog owner Harry Aleo filming the documentary "Lost in the Fog." Photo courtesy of John Corey.

Click the play button to hear John Corey talk about Lost in the Fog:

Copious Notes podcasts are available on iTunes.

Living in San Francisco’s Noe Valley District, John Corey always thought there was a story in the crotchety octogenarian who would antagonize the liberal neighborhood by sticking pictures of Ronald Reagan in his storefront window.

“I wanted to do something on him,” said Corey, then a producer for San Francisco’s CBS affiliate. “But I was waiting for something meaningful to happen in his life.”

Then the cantankerous neighbor, Harry Aleo, bought a horse named Lost in the Fog. Corey read about it in The San Francisco Chronicle.

The story “said it looked like he was on the Derby track,” Corey said of the horse.

That was rare for a horse at Golden Gate Fields, considered minor league horse racing compared to Southern California and Kentucky.

Corey sensed an opportunity to film a neighborhood character in whom he had long been interested and a horse possibly headed to the greatest race in the world. Soon, the filmmaker, who didn’t think of himself as much of a gambler, was all in on the Lost in the Fog story.

The resulting documentary, Lost in the Fog, opens Friday at The Kentucky Theatre.

Unlike most documentarians, Corey didn’t know how the story would end when he left his secure job to follow the horse full-time.

“I’ll be damned if I didn’t make a huge bet on this horse,” Corey said.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you miss the fact that the Kentucky Derby is on Saturday, maybe you just aren’t watching enough NBC and its universe of networks.

Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel, daughter of Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, will be part of Bravo

This week, the Peacock is proving that while healthy advertising budgets are nice, nothing beats having a whole bunch of networks on which you can air tied-in programming. And that is why, as Sharon Thompson alerts us, Bravo will be live from Churchill Downs at the Oaks at 5 p.m. Friday. Ladies First: Bravo at the Kentucky Derby will look at Derby food, fashion and celebrities with Bob Costas, Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell, The Real Housewives of New York City’s Bethenny Frankel (daughter of Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel), and Tiki Barber, who will be in the infield with the last two winners of Top Chef.

The 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. segment of the Today show — the portion of the show Saturday Night Live just loves — will also look at Derby fashion today, and Friday, it’s Derby cooking.

Meanwhile, financial network CNBC is looking at the monetary side  of the event with Run for the Roses: The Kentucky Derby and the Business of Horse Racing hosted by The Call’s Melissa Francis at 9 tonight, and repeating several times through Saturday.

With Paris Hilton on the guest list, you can bet the paparazzi will be out in force, and NBC’s own Access Hollywood will be in town for bashes like the Barnstable-Brown Gala and providing red carpet coverage at Churchill Downs with O’Dell and Barber during the Derby broadcast from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

According to the Courier-Journal, the formal release of the guest list for the Barnstable-Brown Derby Eve Gala adds a couple of names to the lineup we reported yesterday morning.

Brooke Shields. Photo by Jon Ragel | NBC.

Chief among the additions is Brooke Shields, a 1980s teen film star whose recent roles have included NBC’s Lipstick Jungle and playing Hannah Montana’s mom on the Disney Channel hit. Also added are some old B-B party friends: original Supremes member Mary Wilson, Darryl McDaniels (D.M.C. of Run D.M.C.), Taylor Dayne, and country star Lee Ann Womack.

They will join a guest list topped by paparazzi magnet Paris Hilton, bad boy rocker Kid Rock and self-proclaimed redneck woman Gretchen Wilson.

As best we can Google and Nexis, this will be Shields’ first Barnstable-Brown Gala since 1994. At the race, Saturday, Shields will wear a hat custom-made for her by designer Rachel Roy. After the race, it will be auctioned off by the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation with proceeds going to benefit the Barnstable-Brown Foundation, which supports diabetes research at the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville. The party is also a benefit for the foundation. The hat benefit is sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka, which last year paired Kentucky-native Molly Sims with designer Eric Javits.

Kid Rock, shown here at the 2007 Barnstable-Brown Gala, will be back this year. Photo by Angela Baldridge.

Derby mode got a little delayed this year at Copious Notes because it seems like every arts group in Lexington decided to have an event in the last couple of weeks. But here we are at the big week, and I am having a hard time resisting cheering for the Chocolate horse, which is not surprising.

But our first order of business is to see which celebs are coming to the Derby and the Derby Eve parties.

Paris Hilton. AP Photo | H. Rumph Jr.

Topping the list — and in terms of being a paparazzi magnet and all that, she will be hard to top — is Paris Hilton, who is a confirmed Barnstable-Brown Gala guest with her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, and will also host an  after party at the Sports and Social Club on Louisville’s Fourth Street.

Barnstable-Brown spokesman Corky Coryell said a formal announcement will be out Wednesday, but did confirm Woody Harrelson, Gretchen Wilson, Kid Rock, Bobby Flay, Joey Fatone, Nick Lachey, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Travis Tritt, En Vogue and Boys 2 Men.

Other bashes, have announced their guest lists including the Mint Jubilee, which will welcome CSI star Marg Helgenberger, former One Day at a Time star and current Jenny Craig pitchwoman Valarie Bertinelli and Desperate Housewives star Kathryn Joosten.

Mekhi Phifer. KRT photo | Lionel Hahn.

The event at the Galt House Hotel also lists some dudes, including under-appreciated actor Mekhi Phifer (always makes me think of that line from Lose Yourself), comedians Damon Wayans and Joe Piscipo and a bunch of athletes including former Heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield. Maybe the coup for the Mint is getting both of the Bluegrass State’s Misses: Miss Kentucky America Emily Cox and Miss Kentucky USA Maria Montgomery.

The Grand Gala always waits until Derby night to throw down. It’s guest list is topped by Idris Elba who stars opposite Beyonce in last weekend’s No. 1 movie Obsessed, Rush Hour star Chris Tucker and NBA legend and Derby perennial Michael Jordan.

Kim Kardashian. AP Photo | Dan Steinberg.

Also announced is radio host Tom Joyner and Cosby Show star and one of Tyler Perry’s go-to actors Keshia Knight Pulliam. Entertaining at the event will be ’80s R&B star Teena Marie.

Kim Kardashian, who’s kind of in the famous-for-being famous group with Hilton, is hosting a Derby Eve bash at Louisville’s Glassworks.

So that is the confirmed guest list thus far. There are rumors out there, and there are always last-minute announcements. Stay tuned.

We will, as always, be at the Barnstable-Brown Gala Friday night, and between now and then, will be on the look out for other Derby fun.

Big-time sporting events have long had star musicians perform The Star-Spangled Banner with sometimes spectacular (Jennifer Hudson) and other times less-than-sterling (Roseanne) results.

LeAnn Rimes at the 2008 CMT Awards. AP Photo by Evan Agostini.

The Kentucky Derby, however, has avoided that trend, instead hanging its colorful hat on the annual sing along of My Old Kentucky Home, until this year.

LeAnn Rimes will deliver the first live, vocal rendition of the national anthem by a national recording artist on Derby Day in the event’s 135-year history. Rimes is best known as a country singer, though you could also identify her as an author, actor and inspirational artist.

“We believe LeAnn Rimes is the perfect performer to help us begin a 21st century Derby tradition — one
that has been a long-standing and well-accepted part of other major sporting events,” Kevin Flanery, senior vice president of Churchill Downs Incorporated, said in a news release.

According to the release from Churchill Downs, Rimes will sing the anthem shortly after 5 p.m. on Derby Day, May 2, and the performance will be broadcast by NBC. The Fort Knox Army Band, which has traditionally performed the anthem near the start of the day’s race card, will continue to do that, shortly after noon.

And, of course, we all need to be warming up for “The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home . . . ”

• More Derby coverage from Kentucky.com.