Kentucky Derby Demolition

Kentucky Countryside

On our way to Louisville we stopped at Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace at Sinking Spring Farm, near Hodgenville, where he lived until he was 2 years old.

A reconstruction of the type of Dwelling they lived in

Sinking Springs

His parents paid $200 for the farm in 1808 and then due to a land title issue they moved to Knob Creek in 1811 where they leased 30 acres for farming.

Dandelions under the trees

We stopped to have a look at Knob Creek and learnt that by1816 law suits over both land titles had the family moving again across the Ohio River into Indiana.

A disused Tavern at the Knob Creek site.
Built in the 1930's by a local couple as a memorial and promote tourism.

Hence the myriad of places we found claiming Abraham Lincoln lived here.

Continuing up the road the name My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown piqued our interest and so we stayed the night in the campground. The Park was set around a golf course and a lovely Mansion with beautiful manicured gardens.

Georgian Style Mansion

We drove up to the Georgian Style Mansion the next morning and enjoyed a guided tour given by a lady in period costume. It was built by US Senator John Rowan in 1795 and his cousin Stephen Foster wrote the ballad “My Old Kentucky Home” after he visited the Mansion that was later to became the State song.

Hanging around in Bardstown

Bardstown is the Bourbon Capitol and as we walked around we found ourselves within walking distance to the 1792 Kentucky Bourbon Distillery.

Entrance to Bourbon Distillery

That will be one oak barrel to go....

So we joined a tour that culminated in a taste test….after a small sip the burning sensation had me thinking this would be just the thing to keep you warm on a cold winter’s night in the Yukon.

Tasting bourbon and homemade chocolates

At the distillery we saw our first Ground Hog also known as a Woodchuck….

We named him Chubbs

With one more night before our reservation at the Kentucky Derby we made a detour to the US Gold Depository at Fort Knox just to get a glimpse of the imposing building and planned to stay a night at a nearby campground but when we arrived we were advised it was only open to the Military so we continued to the outskirts of Louisville where we camped the night in a Walmart car park.

I read the prohibitive list on the Kentucky Derby website declaring no umbrellas, no backpacks, no detachable camera lenses, no handbags bigger than 12 inches (30cm) and so on…… and I began to think this had been a silly idea.

Thunderstorm approaching 

Derby day arrived and after a huge thunderstorm the previous afternoon it was not surprising it was still raining when we left for the racetrack.

For a tip we got a ride with a local couple to Churchill Downs and were grateful to at least arrive dry.

We purchased the general admission tickets that offered, well, nothing. No view of the track and no access to covered areas and after going through airport type security we stepped outside into the rain.

Derby madness...

I was glad to see the poncho was the most fashionable item of the day and considering the amount of water pooling on the pavement I was glad to be wearing my waterproof hiking boots. I saw everything from bare feet, thongs (flip flops), stiletto’s, Nashville’s country style leather boots and very fashionable gum boots (Wellingtons).

The paddock area

We edged our way through the crowd to the paddock area for a look at the horses as they were paraded around and photographed with their owners before the race.

Horse and riders on parade

We continued to stand in the rain as we watched the race on the large TV screens.

Our day out in the rain...

The rain eased up for awhile and the humid air turned cold and began to seep into our bones.

I think he looks like a winner...

I watched a horse paraded around without a saddle on and looking at his long body I thought that horse is going to win. Then when he was saddled I saw he was number 8. I should have placed a bet because He did win his race.

Huge crowds had gathered under the sparse cover of the numerous betting windows and the tunnel that led to the infield. Suddenly in the middle of this human squeeze I wanted to flee but John held my hand firmly and finally we emerged into the infield.

The infield

Our only glimpse of the racetrack

Here hardy race fans had tied tarpaulins to the fence for shelter obscuring any chance of a view of the racetrack. The area was covered in water, mud and rubbish. You could buy Mint Jellup’s and any number of alcoholic drinks and fast food but no hot drinks like coffee and tea. By now the cold had seeped in and I was struggling to keep warm. Looking around at the ladies fashionably dressed in their short sleeved soaked dresses, sagging hats and high heels my distress faded into insignificance.

The tall people said
"Have a picture your taken with the horses head"
so I did

In the rain we stood in line for over half an hour to enter the Cafe and Gift Shop in hopes of buying a coffee to warm up but when we passed through security they advised the Café was closed for a private function. We stood in the entryway for another half hour just to be out of the rain.

Back at the parade area

Back outside the rain eased and cigar smoke filled the air. With an hour and a half before “the race” at 6.35 pm we left Churchill Downs sporting our reentry bracelets and walked down the street in search of a place to buy a nice hot cup of tea or coffee. We settled on some freshly roasted corn on the cob and BBQ ribs in hopes that it would warm us up…and it did.

Waiting to watch the race...

With renewed enthusiasm we walked back to watch the famous race we had come to see. 

and there racing...

The rain was holding off as we stood with the crowd in front of the paddock looking up at the big TV screens watching the horses lining up at the gates…...2 minutes later the mud covered horse and riders crossed the finish line and Orb took first place.

It was a muddy track..

We walked back to Dude and made a hot cup of coffee with a dash of Baileys in it to warm us up. We had just finished drinking our coffee and were sitting on the bed reading with a blanket over us when a loud bang sounded and next thing John and I were airborne...Dude was moving and everything inside hurtled like projectiles towards us. In an instant everything was a mess.

John scrambled out of bed searching for his shoes and dashed out into the rain trailed by the fire extinguisher and contents from the cupboard that spilled onto the pavement. The tent campers next to us were shouting at the driver not to drive away. I couldn't believe I was actually calling 911 and advising them we had just been smashed into by a driver who had careened off the main road and into the RV Park collecting the front of Dude. How the driver missed all the pedestrians crossing the road and the tent campers standing in the rain beside us we will never know but we were thankful no-one was injured. While the police were in attendance booking the drunk, uninsured driver and towing his vehicle away another drama unfolded just down the road with a bicycle taxi being struck by a vehicle. What a night this was turning out to be. We had seen these earlier and commented on their lack of helmets, lights and high visibility clothing at night in the rain. Chaos ruled supreme......on this night.

Dudes demise...

Our road trip had suddenly taken a new turn….for the worse. After driving the short distance to Lexington Dude was no longer driveable and would have to go in immediately for repairs. We were now homeless.........