Here, There and Everywhere: Derby Day 2012

Derby Day is kind of a thing for me. It's only a thing because my grandfather made it a thing. After all, it's an excuse for a party, right? And that was his thing.

My first Derby Day without him was last year, and it was quite the celebration! Last year a bunch of us went to Gamekeepers and wore our Chuck Fuller T shirts because he played there on Derby Day and was no doubt involved in totally illegal betting. This year I thought that maybe I would try something different but low and behold, I wound up right back at Gamekeepers with bets on two losing horses.

The few hours that I spent at Gamekeepers meant so much to me. Very few of the old crew were there but that didn't really matter. Heidi, Hammy and I (and some other great family friends) laughed and cheered and for lack of better words, goofed off and had fun. It's not the same as it used to be, but it is what it is now. I don't think I will ever see a horse run and not think of Poppy.

Side note, when I was about 10 he owned (at least in my mind he did) a horse named Gentle Kelly. He took me to one of her local races all dressed up in a white dress and pink and green bows in my hair. When she won, we went down to the track and took photos with her and the Jockey, with flowers around the horses neck. Poppy gave me a $50 bill that day from his winnings. I kept it in the bottom drawer of my nightstand and kept it there for a very long time. Months? Years? I'm not sure. I remember my parents "borrowing" it for whatever reason, and I always made them pay me back in a $50 bill. I have no idea what I finally spent it on, but I remember where I kept it with the picture of us with Gentle Kelly. It was an 8x10.

Oddly enough, I work for a company that was named after a Derby winner way back in the day named Majestic Prince. We had a fun day at work with everyone dressed up, the unveiling of a painting of the horse, lunch, and derby pie.

It was a weekend filled with good times, memories and traditions both old and new!