Kentucky Derby in Portland

I can't stay away. I have so many issues with horse racing, but that first Saturday in May rolls around and I have to head to the track. For me it is nostalgia. My family always went down to Minneapolis to an old German neighborhood called "Bryn Mawr." We would visit with friends and family, go to the neighborhood garage sales, bbq, and watch the derby. To this day, my family does the same thing, minus me. So the best I can do is head to the local track, Portland Meadows, and take it in. Kentucky Derby day always makes me homesick. I find comfort in the fact that everyone from home called me yesterday to ask my picks. I know they miss me too.
I couldn't believe the crowd yesterday. Portland Meadows was packed. I even had a celebrity sighting...I am saving that for my next post:-).

Some friends met me out there and I ran into Richard of Nine Horses Studio. We did some gambling. I prefer $2 exacta boxes. I spent about $20..didn't cash in anything. I tend to bet on jockeys, not horses. It wasn't working yesterday. I always think, the better the joc is in the standings, the better the mount. Had I used this tactic in the Derby, I would have picked whoever Mike Smith was riding and Super Saver. But instead I had Sidney's Candy and American Lion as my picks. They were way back. I didn't care. It wasn't Bryn Mawr, but it was enough to be surrounded by friends, enjoying our drinks, taking in the sunshine pondering which beautiful horse would cross the wire first.