the 1st saturday in may...
It was one of the most memorable sporting events I had ever witnessed and all because of the circumstances that placed me in the midst of tens of thousands of horse race fans.
HUH? What's up with that?
Here's how those circumstances came to happen.
The year was 1976 and the venue, Churchill Downs, was just a name that prior to that year was barely known to me. I would soon learn it was as iconic a name in sports venues as Yankee Stadium and Soldier Field.
My goal for the first years I had been in broadcasting was to work for a 50,000 Watt AM radio station. There were only 12 clear channel (50K) stations (no other station occupied that frequency) in the country at that time and it didn't matter which one gave me an opportunity.
That much-wanted chance came in the early part of the year when I was flown to WHAS Radio in Louisville, Kentucky for an interview. I vividly recall on the flight to the River City how exciting it was to think there was a chance my goal would be achieved.
The general manager who interviewed me was named Hugh Barr. He was kind, gracious, and apparently liked me and my work because I received a job offer two days after the interview. I was told I would be the mid-morning (9am-12 noon) air personality, Monday through Friday.
In retrospect, Barr probably had to wonder about my worldliness, or lack of, when during the Q and A, he asked me if I had ever been to the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks and I replied, No, I've heard of the Derby, but, I don't know what the Kentucky Oaks means (a full schedule of races on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby and the feature race late in the day is comprised of all fillies).
WHAS Radio was then and is today involved in wall to wall coverage of Derby Day. The station's live broadcast from the race track begins early in the morning and continues non-stop until well after the last race has been run in the early evening.
Sometime around February of that year, I was told of the plans for the station. I do not recall when I found out I would be part of that broadcast 46 years ago.
On Race Day, all station air personalities and news reporters and anchors were given various assignments around or within the one mile oval track. Each of us interviewed racegoers, fans, and fanatics. Teams of two people carried a portable Marti Unit (a broadcast transmitter) which allowed us to go on the air live from wherever we were located.
But, several days before Race Day, WHAS also broadcasts live from two huge steamboats on the Ohio River. It's known as The Great Steamboat Race and is the oldest event of the Kentucky Derby Festival that dates back to 1963. This year (2022), Belle of Louisville, Belle of Cincinnati, and, American Duchess will compete for bragging rights on May 4th.
Normally, back in the '70s and '80s, the Belle of Louisville raced the Delta Queen on a 14 mile course, but the Delta Queen couldn't leave its port back in '76. The Julia Belle Swain from Peoria, Illinois substituted for the much-larger Queen and went on to beat the Belle of Louisville that year. The Delta Queen returned in '77. I was assigned to be on one of the boats to interview guests and Derby Festival supporters.
Boarding the Belle of Louisville was exciting in itself because I knew I would be seeking celebrities first, and then other guests. Both steamboats are packed with paid guests and the rich and famous.
Countless other celebrations, large and small, precede Derby Day, including a televised parade in downtown Louisville.
One of the country's largest air shows and the biggest pyrotechnic fireworks display in the United States takes place on a Saturday two weeks prior to the Run for the Roses.
Hundreds of aircraft participate all day in the air show leading up to the fireworks after sunset. This annual event since the late '80s is called Thunder Over Louisville.
The setting for both of these unbelievably dramatic events is on the Ohio River. The 2022 version was held last Saturday, April 23rd and the weather was perfect as temperatures reached the low 80s.
Thunder was still in someone's imagination in '76, so it wasn't part of my maiden indoctrination to the Kentucky Derby.
Derby Day. Saturday, May 1, 1976.
115,387 spectators filled Churchill Downs. Excluding one lone individual, almost all the fans present in 1976 bet on eventual winner, Bold Forbes. One guy, and one guy alone (it seemed like that after the race was over and fans with winning tickets stormed the cash-in windows), stepped up to the betting window and put his wager on a beautiful horse named, Elocutionist (because he liked the name), who finished third.
My assignment for the radio station that day was the famed Churchill Downs Infield and my co-worker was a WHAS news reporter. It never dawned on me a new guy such as myself wouldn't be assigned Millionaires Row his first year on the job.
As we walked across the famed track to reach the infield at about 9:30 in the morning, I recall looking around at my potential pool of interviewees. Almost everyone in the infield was relatively tame while waiting for the Call to the Post of the first race, which was still an hour away. The wildness of the infield had yet to unfold and reveal itself.
The two of us set up our headquarters on the infield grass, 20 yards from the finish line. But, the gate enclosing the area was at least 30 yards in and was well away from the track and the action. I never saw the actual finish to any race on the card that day.
We were to roam the area and find colorful and/or outlandish people to interview, contact the anchor of the broadcast via our headsets with attached mics and tell him we were ready to go on the air. When he was ready, he would then give an introduction and I or my partner would interview the guest(s) chosen. If memory serves me correctly, expectations were two interviews per hour, one from me and one from my partner.
As the day wore on, I noticed a wide array of the most colorful and extravagant hats, beautiful dresses, matching shoes, outlandish sport coats, and men's hats I had ever seen. Fashion in the grandstands, and, even at times in the infield is an integral part of Derby.
We interviewed a wide array of personalities. The weather cooperated and blue skies prevailed all day. Many took advantage of the fair skies and were shirtless or less. As I was to find out, risqué was the operative word of the day.
I was a guy with a mic and that accessory alone allowed me access to almost every group I approached. Most people were kind and offered me every imaginable food including steak, venison, hamburger, hot dogs, chicken, pork chops, and, ribs. Beer, wine, or any other refreshments were available at every stop. Bottled water was not yet in vogue. By the end of the day, I had made dozens of new pretend friends.
The main anchor who coordinated the entire day's broadcast was the late Wayne Perkey who passed away last February from Omicron. He remained a very dear friend all these years. A future blog called, A World Without Wayne is forthcoming.
Wayne was the WHAS morning man and he was exceptional at his craft. That particular day, he smoothly transitioned from one reporter to another. He was stationed on top of Millionaires Row and could see the entire campus from his vantage point. Television cameras and TV personalities surrounded him as various local TV outlets as well as the ABC Network were broadcasting on location too.
By midday, my partner and I decided we would eat a quick lunch. I was totally surprised when she opened a picnic basket that held fried chicken she had prepared for the two of us. I devoured my portion in record time.
Prior to the start of each race, the competing horses parade in an open, covered, paddock area that spectators can walk up to and view the competing horses for each race.
The Paddock is located behind the grandstands and well away from the infield. After parading in an oval, horses are saddled and led from the Paddock to the track where they walk in front of the grandstands as part of their warmup prior to post time.
My partner and I walked over to The Paddock before the 8th Race (Kentucky Derby Race, the feature race). I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but confidence was overflowing that my pick would be victorious. I even remember the amount wagered ($4.00). My three-year-old thoroughbred gave a valiant performance, but, crossing the finish line in First Place wasn't meant to happen.
The 1976 Kentucky Derby feature race was over. It was the race most fans came to see, but many stayed until the last race was run.
As the 10th race was completed, our day was finished. We wrapped up our assignments, loaded our equipment, and headed for the parking lot along with tens of thousands of other fans.
As we were walking together, we discussed the day's events.
I recall thinking, How could I have done better or asked more interesting questions of the interviewees chosen. Together, we dissected a good part of our day and jotted some notes for the next year. It was then that I recalled one particular embarrassing moment on my part. My partner and I had a lot of laughs that day, but none as hard as we laughed about this particular interview.
As I was talking to a guy in his 30's, I asked him if he was with the lady standing next to him.
The man looked at me, then looked at his friend and said to me, The woman I am with is actually a man. Do you have a problem with that?
After wishing them luck with their picks, I left them as gracefully as possible.
Since my first Derby all those years ago, I have covered nine other Kentucky Derby Saturdays and met some wonderful people along with producing a vault of stored memories.
I did make it to Millionaires Row two of those nine years (I was with another station for the last six of my Derby Days) where I interviewed several celebrities and a couple corporate chiefs, including Lamar Hunt of the Hunt Brothers, co-architect of the silver fiasco in 1980.
Thirty days prior to meeting Mr. Hunt, he uttered his famous quote, A billion dollars isn't what it used to be. During my interview, I asked Mr. Hunt about that line. He said that's what he and his brother lost when silver dropped in price and he didn't regret saying what he did.
It was a stark reminder that all things are relative, but certainly not equal.
By 1988, I was a veteran Kentucky Derby reporter. It was my last year at the track in a broadcast capacity and it was just as memorable as the first.
No, that's not accurate. Nothing quite matches the first time I saw the Twin Spires and understood their significance to sports history. My attendance at those races wouldn't have happened without having experienced the opportunity given to me in early 1976.
Circumstances and how they occur. A fascinating subject and everybody has their own story.
Coming up: Meet more POS; meet a 92 year old man who is still doing his thing, and; meet Wayne in A World Without Wayne.
And, finally. The 2022 Run for the Roses will be held on the First Saturday in May, which is May 7th.
I am going on record as picking Smile Happy (even though as of this writing, the official race program has not been determined) as my choice to cross the finish line first in the feature race. Why? Simply because the name resonates with me as did Elocutionist in '76 (Bold Forbes) and Steve's Friend in '77 (Seattle Slew). as well as seven other useless $4.00 bets.
So, as I have amply demonstrated and proven so many times, don't be in a hurry to get to the betting window because of my choice.
Huh? What's up with that?
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