Indelible images

I find it difficult to tell a complete Kentucky Derby narrative for two reasons: There are a lot of tangential event to cloud the narrative, and more importantly, no one wants to read a blow by blow account of my week.

There were three moments that when I close my eyes and retreat from here and now that I can still feel with all the intensity of when they actually happened, and it is those moments that I will remember most about Kentucky Derby weekend (in chronological order):

1.  Calvin Borel comes back to trainer Steve Asmussen aboard La Troienne runner-up (aka LOSER) Rachel Alexandra.

The idiosyncrasies of  Rachel Alexandra's loss have already been explored in various media, but I haven't seen any photo or words that captured the bitter disappointment mixed with guilt that was written across Borel's face when he returned the filly to her trainer's care.

The look on his face while still aboard Rachel and locking eyes with the trainer for the first time reminded me of a grade schooler coming home to his parents with a detention slip in his back pocket. Sure, Rachel Alexandra ran fast, but she didn't win, and Borel felt the pain.

Once Borel dismounted he seemed a little more comfortable, and he and Steve shared a cordial, professional conversation about the race, but nothing could erase the memory of the heartbreak, shame, and disappointment scrawled across the jockey's face--not even seeing his jubilation at winning the Kentucky Derby (again).

2. Owner-trainer-groom Tom McCarthy shaking like a leaf when arriving at the winner's circle following General Quarters' Woodford Reserve Turf Classic win.

I said on Twitter Wednesday that I cheer for horses not sob stories, but it would be impossible for anyone (including me, who was ripping up tickets when GQ won) not to have been thrilled for McCarthy when he arrived at the winner's circle in front of an announced crowd of 155,000 and the look on his face was pure, unadulterated joy.

The fact that he's a retired principal with a one-horse stable doesn't make me cheer any harder for him going forward, but it's always refreshing to see someone so happy with winning a horse race. On last year's Preakness undercard a big stable won a graded stakes race and the only guy there was an assistant stallion seasons manager. I felt embarrassed for the stable and Pimlico.

3. "They're in the gate!"

From 2007 through '09 in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby I'd have a recurring dream that I missed the actual race for one reason or another--bathroom, concessions, betting, etc. I didn't have any such dreams this year--in part because I was so busy with my mom in town recuperating from a car accident--but the lessons of those dreams will never be lost on me: Don't take the race for granted, enjoy it every year.

Loading the Derby starters in the gate is akin to putting novelty snakes in a jar of peanut brittle. You cram all that energy into a fixed space and then the whole thing erupts when you open lid, but for that moment that all the horses are in but the gates are still closed it's a comfortable calm. Its one last chance to catch your breath before enjoying the ride.