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 From the Backstretch Real race at Churchill Downs is for seats in the infield
Posted: Saturday May 01, 1999 01:31 PM
By Jon Scher, CNN/SI LOUISVILLE -- Derby Day is in full swing. People started lining up outside the entrance to the infield at 1 a.m. When the gates to Churchill Downs opened at 8 a.m., a bugler sounded the Call to Post, and the best race of the day was underway. The denizens of the infield dashed down a concrete ramp, under the track and onto the grass, in search of the perfect spot to party and, incidentally, watch the Derby. There are three basic rules: No one can bring in alcohol, glass or concealed weapons. It's a pretty good bet that all three are violated with regularity. One group of guys rolled their stash of coolers, food and god knows what else down the ramp in a covered wagon, complete with tailgate. A member of the crew ran ahead to stake out a homestead on coveted turf near the giant TV screens on the backstretch. As they know, you can't see much of the track from the infield, but that won't bother the tens of thousands of people who will pack the grounds this afternoon. With the perfect weather -- 75 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky -- the all-time Derby attendance record could be threatened today. And there are plenty of betting windows under tents in the infield to take money from everyone in the crowd. A handy map in the Louisville Courier-Journal serves as a guide to the infield scene, which resembles the parking lot at a Grateful Dead show, a biker convention, spring break on MTV and your local county fair, all rolled into one. The area closest to the track in the third turn is a "traditional college crowd," the map says. I wandered over, past endless rows of portable toilets, sidestepping the occasional pool of day-old barf, to see if the map was right. "How much for the cooler?!" bellowed a beer-bellied kid who looked like he'd been drinking since, oh, last Thursday. "Right now! How much!" The guys carrying the object in question kept moving, never even looking back. A couple of girls were selling stuffed Taco Bell dachsunds outside a mobile Taco Bell. "Does it have beer inside it?" one pedestrian yelled. "Hey, ya wanna ----?" asked another. Keep in mind, it's still not even noon. ... Who keeps order in such a rowdy crowd? The United States Army, who else? MPs from the Kentucky National Guard, to be exact. They populate the infield, dressed in combat fatigues and packing heat. I also saw a squad of Jefferson County cops in full riot gear, marching past a mint-julep stand. Plus, scores of Secret Service guys on Al Gore detail were inconspicuously posted all over the Downs, in suits, earpieces and red lapel pins. ... As the Courier-Journal map promised, the infield isn't all a party scene. I trekked over to the "traditionally sedate area," between the first and second turns. There, people of all ages, whole families were lounging on the grass. Kids were throwing footballs and frisbees. The only thing missing was a hacky-sack. ... This seemed a good place to do a little more research into mint juleps. I waited in line -- at 10:30 a.m.! -- to pay $6.25 for a very cold one at a stand run by the Lebanon Junction Jaguars. Much, much better than the watery swill I sampled behind the grandstand on Friday afternoon. The sprig of mint actually looked as if it had been picked in the past three weeks. I've heard a few Louisville natives admit that mint juleps are kind of a scam passed off on the tourist trade. Locals never drink 'em -- real Kentuckians like their whisky clear. After a few satisfying sips (purely for scientific purposes, boss), I tossed the rest, kept the glass (only need two more for a set) and set off down the ramp to return to the real world. Somehow it seemed fitting to have entered the infield drinking bottled water, and then leave it with liquor on my breath. ... Price gouging alert: The friendly folks at the local bus company raised the fare for shuttles to and from Churchill Downs from $3 yesterday to $5 today. The $10 round trip is still cheaper than the $20 two local urchins were charging for access to park your car in their family's front yard, beside a '69 VW microbus with a wrecked front end. ... OK, if anyone out there is still reading this, let's talk racing for a minute. The Derby field is down to 19 horses, after Aljabr pulled up lame on Friday. It'll still be a cavalry charge into the first turn. Keep your eye on Three Ring , the filly in the No. 2 spot. Word in the pressbox is that she will get out of the gate fastest and set the pace. Will one of trainer Bob Baffert's three horses ( General Challenge, Prime Timber and the filly Excellent Meeting ) give him a record-breaking third Derby victory in a row? Or will one of the other two super-trainers, Nick Zito ( Stephen Got Even and Adonis ) and D. Wayne Lukas ( Cat Thief and Charismatic ) emerge with their third win of the decade? As Baffert put it, "Let's get it on." Come back later this afternoon for frequent updates leading up to post time. We'll wander back out to the infield and look for spontaneous nudity. And assuming we survive that trip, after the race we'll take a Closer Look at a key moment.
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