I had planned a week's adventure to Ohio to see my niece Khloe throw for her college track team, Ohio Wesleyan University. And when I laid out the dates I made plans to journey to Lexington, Kentucky for a day at the races at Keeneland Race Course. The Keeneland Spring meet is only three weeks in duration and is loaded with stakes events, including a listed stakes and a Grade 1 race on this day. My buddy Keith enjoyed our trip to Keeneland when we were there for the Breeders' Cup and had always said he would like to go back. So we made plans for him to drive from his home near St Louis (about four hours away) and me from my Mom's in Columbus (about three hours away). He arrived the night before and when I was close he headed to the track. The timing was perfect as he arrived minutes before me and we actually were only about half a dozen cars apart in the same parking area/row. We met up and headed in. First stop was at the gift shop to check out what we might want to purchase, I knew I wanted a shirt. When I asked about how late they were open I was told you could make your purchase and they would hold it up until thirty minutes after the last race. So I bought a shirt and a lapel pin. Then the gal asked if I wanted a FREE Keeneland Maker's Mark souvenir glass (today's big race was the Maker's Mark 46 Mile) and I said, "Let's see.....FREE glass or no? Duh, yes, I'll take the free glass!" It was an interesting design which I noticed was on a lot of things, even the program - kind of a melted wax thing. Then I discovered this is the trademark of the Maker's Mark liquor company (see below). It was a great day of racing......it was a near sell-out with well over 40,000 people there which made it great as the horses broke from the gate to the roar of the crowd and as they came down the stretch it was even louder. Missed on the first two, won the next two. Missed on two and then won the co-feature and the finale to finish a good 4-for-10 with a solid profit on the day. Keith who is an "all-in" bettor frequently and on my second win, which was my "best" of the day he loaded up and scored big. So we both had very successful days. When we returned to the gift shop between the ninth and tenth race we both got new hats and had a pic taken. Lots of great people watching, great racing and just loved the people at Keeneland. What a great day!
