Of Horses and Baseball Bats

seems a fitting headline for our day in Louisville (read Lou-a-vull, lest Maddie correct you a thousand times! ;)  

 

Knowing we had only one full day to devote to our exploration of this fine Kentucky city, we sprung (well, Maddie never quite springs) out of bed and got to exploring.  First, we took a quick stroll down 4th street, one of the more touristy entertainment spots, which is home to not only The Brown, where we are staying, but also the Seelbach, which was built just a few years before The Brown (The Brown - 1923) and thus likely got the opportunity to serve as the inspiration for the hotel where Tom and Daisy are married in Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby (apparently, a scene or two from the 2013 film was filmed here as well).

Lobby in The "Gatsbyesque" Seelbach Hotel


After a quick bagel stop, we retrieved our car from the same parking garage that is holding the "batmobile" (as "Batman" is visiting children in an adjacent hospital this week, his tricked out Lamborghini has everyone abuzz) and headed to Churchill Downs for a day at the races - or, at the very least, a day at the Kentucky Derby museum.

What I love about days like this one is how fascinated I become about topics that might not typically be more than a passing interest.  I enjoy watching a horse race well enough, but I'm certainly not a hard core equestrian, nor have I had the pleasure of attending Kentucky Derby parties as my decidedly more horsey parents have done ;)

Still, once you've gotten past the utterly uninspired exterior of the joint (honestly, could they plant a tree or add some attractive light posts?!  As we arrived, Dana said, "Boy do they provide a tight shot of this place, or else they might capture some lady in her big fancy hat falling into a pot hole."  I think a committee needs to get over to Florida's Gulfstream STAT to see what can be done to an ordinary race track, let alone Churchill FREAKING Downs!!!)

The loveliest shot of the exterior of the famed Churchill Downs

Now that I've gotten that out of my system...   once you enter the grounds proper of Churchill Downs, it's hard not to become instantly in love with the history of this place.  The first race was run in 1875 in front of a then astounding 10,000 people.  Last year, 150,000 people watched Orb win.  The Derby is the longest continuously running sports event in America, having never halted for a single event.  No war, no crisis, no anything stops the horses from running.  Our fantastic, funny guide, Carly, provided all sorts of wonderful tips and stories, as she took us from the grandstand to the track, the paddock to the winner's circle.   Only three fillies have won the race in its long history, though there is a race, Kentucky Oaks, just for "the girls" just the day before the Derby.  That race is a sort of holiday here, where schools close and everyone comes out to watch.  Personally, I'd never heard of it.

 

 

Carly also warned us to think twice before ever choosing a horse that has the #17 position, as no horse has ever won in that spot (of course, she also pointed out that she warned many friends against "I'll Have Another," who was in the #19 spot which had proved equally unlucky for the previous 139 years - UNTIL I'll Have Another won.)  The tour was filled with lots of stories like that one, and the whole time I wished Mom and Dad, the true Kentucky Derby enthusiasts, were with us.  At one point, Maddie turned to me and said, "Grandma and Grandpa lived in Ohio for all those years, and they never came here?!  So - Mom and Dad, get thee to Louisville :)

 

Once the inspirational short film (I admit I choked up) and tour ended, we were free to explore the wonderful museum, where one could dress up as a jockey, pretend to race, mock place a bet, announce (and record) a race, and watch all manner of fascinating videos - my personal favorite was watching Genuine Risk take the prize; she was only the second filly to do so and the first in the age of television.

The kids listen to Daniel's recording of the horse race

Daniel "wins"

Maddie is eager to see the first female jockey win the Derby!



After lunch at the Derby café, where we sampled the famous Hot Brown and shared a Derby pie for dessert, we took a driving tour of Old Louisville and admired the Victorian mansions, which were preserved many years ago, making this one of the largest neighborhoods of its kind

We headed back to the hotel parking garage around 4:30 and took a good walk to the Louisville Slugger museum, which sits on "museum row" on Main street.  Luckily, in July the museum/factory stays open until 6:00, so we had just about the perfect amount of time to spend learning about the history of the baseball bat. :)  Once again, I found myself fascinated about the intricacies of a sport that isn't even among my top three favorites (which would be football, basketball and anything other than baseball). 

The factory tour was the highlight, with our friendly guide showing us all the steps in the process of making the bat and then letting us all "take a swing" with one of the bats about to be shipped out to Derek Jeter (though Dana almost clocked the nice woman standing next to him! ;).  I had no idea that each professional ball player uses specific bats - what an odd - and interesting - concept.  In football, you just pick up the football and get to work.  In baseball, the player has his bat handed to him, the bat that has been made to his specifications in orders of 6 to 10, then shipped out to his club where the equipment manager has a much more complicated job than in any other sport, I imagine.  Sheesh!!!

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photographs inside the factory, so enjoy these photos instead.  On exhibit at the museum right now is a Lego display, where lego artists devoted up to three days to create some of their baseball inspired Lego art.



You can't see very well in the photo :(  but within the image are the lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" - How crazy cool is that?!

The close-up portrait of some important baseball player, I'm sure - Lego Art!

We capped off the day with a ride on the trolley around town, dinner at a downtown bistro, a lovely walk back to the hotel and an evening of Shanghai (I won!)  Now we pack up and head to Birmingham, Alabama (which we visited and loved a couple of years ago) to see Lyle Lovett at 8:00 pm tonight.

Before we leave, though, we get a 50 state bonus - breakfast in INDIANA.  That's right; we're just over the Ohio river from yet another state.  Following my rules that we must visit an attraction or eat a meal in a state in order for it to "count," we have opted to dine in New Albany, Indiana before hitting the road to Alabama.  While I've no doubt we'll someday be back for a more proper visit to John Green's home state, we figured we may as well check it off the list while we're here, so... off to the races...