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.

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.