This car was parked in our hotel's parking lot at 11:45 AM on Derby Day...
Three in four years for Bo-Rail. Amazing...
The way this guy rides, it's no fluke he finds the winner's circle in a race loaded with traffic hurdles. He's daring, confident and race-track smart.
The paddock - Post-Derby.
The first of several hat shots...
Love the tilt...
Smartly deployed on Oaks Day. Had she donned it on Derby Day, the rain would have totally messed it up...
Can't beat fun at the old racetrack.
Similar to the one immediately above, but worn as if she knows she's about to connect on that $20 show bet she just placed...
Donna gets a ride from a pony in the Baffert barn for her on-track reports...
A wing and a prayer. Or is it a turkey leg and some variation of a Heineken in a sixteen-ounce can?
The rain wasn't all that heavy on Saturday, but it was enough to make the track sloppy...
A fan on Derby day urges home his pick in an undercard race...
Late in the Derby Day card, uniformed men and women stand watch on the inside rail of the turf course...
The Dutrow filly Amen Hallelujah enters the paddock before the Oaks...
This was our view of the finish line from section 220...
The field of six break from gate in the La Troienne.
The photogs get ready for the great Rachel Alexandra to enter the paddock...
Here she comes. What a beautiful four-year-old filly...
The smiles on the faces of race fans tell you Rachel is about to enter the track...
Guarded Entrance (#8) is about to take the lead away from the nice-looking grey Trinity Run during a claiming race on Thursday's card. Trinity Run ended up being claimed for $40 K.
The first furlong of the Thursday's third race. It was 75 and sunny that day.
The Breeder's Cup participant Jungle Tale is about to load for Thursday's third. She finished third.
The sharp trainer Tom Amoss saddled Falling Knife in Thursday's first race.
D-Wayne ran several horses on Derby Week but didn't have much success.
That's Luv Guv before getting saddled (with Lukas looking on). Luv Guv (named after former NY Governor Elliot Spitzer) broke slow, bumped another horse in the home stretch and failed to win Thursday's first race as the favorite. Luv Guv ran in both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes last year.
I feel like the sky-boxes already ruined the beauty of Churchill. So, while the lights aren't great either, the damage was already done.
Code Blue (trained by William Bret Calhoun) warms up for Wednesday's finale. That's Jamie Theriot on board. Code Blue finished sixth after going too fast early. After the race, Code Blue was handed over to the Joe Woodard barn for five grand.
Lined up in the post parade for Wednesday's finale. A five-thousand dollar claiming event...
The only filly to run in the Derby (Devil May Care) schools in the paddock Wednesday with help from two workers in the Pletcher barn...
The great Brother Bobby's trainer Grant Forster had three Derby week horses this year. Here he's about to saddle an improving turf runner named Dwelling Place.
Goldberg and Edwards prepare to record an update on the post-position draw for the mighty outfit back in Bristol.
HRTV's Alyssa Ali...
Daring Don gets ready to run in Wednesday's second race. He finished fourth and was awarded 750 dollars for his efforts.
Bob and Jill after Lucky got unlucky in the draw...
A railbird checks his tout sheet on a cool, sunny day at the Downs...
Calvin doesn't wait to begin changing his silks after losing aboard the favorite in Wednesday's first...
The size of his barn makes others envious. And he's had some infractions. But by and large, Pletcher's Derby win was about due.
Todd Pletcher and his assistant might be checking to see which Grade One race they can next tackle.
The 26-year-old Frenchman Julien Leparoux is now five years removed from his sudden rise to success. He still smiles and he's still a solid rider, but he's no kid anymore...
The one angle of Churchill Downs that still looks pretty cool.
See you next year...