Horse Racing and Baseball, August 29, 2016

Today we traveled to Louisville, Ky. to Churchill Downs Race track where we toured the Museum and also took a tour of the backside of the track where all the horses are stabled.  They have about 1,200 horses stabled there today, but near race time they could have as many as 1,400 to 1,600 horses.  They train on the track and then either race here at Churchill Downs or go to other tracks located in Kentucky or other states.  The groomers and the trainers stay on the backside of the track in dorms much like the college dorms.  The groomers stay with the horses all the time if they are traveling to other tracks to race or if they are training here.  If the horse gets upset during the night, the groomer is the first to see about him or her.  The Kentucky Derby is run the first weekend in May every year.  They say because the weather is better than any other time.  The track is one mile and a quarter and it is maintained every day.  They check the dampness of the ground and either add water or plow it until it is dry enough for the horses to train or race.  They even have a test area where they come out each morning and scrap the ground to see how wet or dry it is.

The museum has a theater that plays races from the past on a 360 degree screen.  It also shows the track getting ready for the race and the horses being led to the track by what they call ponies.  A pony can be a quarter horse or something else and they are there to lead the race horse to the starting gate and to keep them calm before the race.  In the stalls, the horse spend most of their time.  They are put on the track for about 30 minutes each day, then given a bath, a change of horseshoes if needed and put in the stall.  The stalls have toys for the horses to entertain themselves.  Some have balls on a rope and others just have a rope hanging outside the stall.  They reach out and bite it or make it bounce on the walls.  This was very interesting to watch. 

Horse racing is a family sport and you see a lot of father and sons around the track doing different jobs such as the groomer, trainer, exercise rider or the poop expert.  Speaking of poop they sell the stuff to farmers and other horse farms for fertilizer!!

After Churchill Downs we went to Louisville Slugger factory and took a tour of the factory to watch them make wooden bats for the Major League teams.  (They also make aluminum bats for college and little league teams, but not here in Louisville).  A lot of the Major League stars design their own bat or they may choose a bat another player designed.  It takes 40,000 trees a year to supply the teams with bats.  Most of the trees are grown in New York or Pennsylvania.  They are either maple or white ash trees.  They have farms in the above states that raise enough wood to supply the factory with trees.  They replant every time they harvest the trees.

This is the test dirt

Starting Gate used in Kentucky Derby

stables on backside

The two spires are a landmark for the Churchill Downs.  I forgot why but they were added years later after Churchill Downs was finished and were done during a remodeling I believe.

Inside one of the gardens of the Derby

All the winners are posted on a wall around the buildings and the Triple Crown winners are in gold letters.

Winners Circle, the horse comes here after winning the race and gets roses placed around their neck.

After the Kentucky Derby we went to the Louisville Slugger, but they would not let us take photos during the tour for obvious reasons.

It has taken three days to complete the blog and loading these photos.  The WIFI here does not load fast at all.  So I may wait until we get home tomorrow to post the Bourbon Tour photos