Trackside At Ak-Sar-Ben

May 6, 2023 - It's race day at Churchill Downs in Louisville - the Run for the Roses, the first leg of the Triple Crown - the Kentucky Derby. It's also the 106th anniversary of my father Louis' birth so naturally both are dominating my thoughts for the day.

I've already picked my horses for the Derby. First pick is always my lucky number. This year the horse is Mage, which means magician. His odds are 15-1 so he might have to be a magician to win. Second pick is by how the horse's name resonates with me. Reincarnate is that horse with 50-1 odds. That is really a long shot, but I've seen horses win seemingly impossible odds before. Finally I choose by the horse's looks and that horse is Angel of Empire. He's a dark brown colored horse, which I always favor, with odds of 8-1. He's also an Iowa owned horse and I would be over the moon if he won. By the way, I do not actually bet on any of these horses. 

The first time I placed a bet on a horse was at the Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in Omaha. It was May, 1969. Denny and I were living in Des Moines and our checking account was with the Polk County Schools Employees Credit Union. As part of membership they had what was called the Young Iowans which sponsored different group activities. That May it was a bus trip to the horse races at Ak-Sar-Ben. We went even though it was very close to the due date for our first child.

Whatever it cost for the trip, $25 dollars per couple sticks in my mind, it didn't include grandstand seating. We were down there in the crowd close to the track as shown in this old postcard. I've never been a gambler but we each decided to a pick horse and bet a small amount. I did what became my way of picking a horse - by name - regardless of the odds of it winning. I placed a two dollar, win, place or show, wager on a horse named Try Mona Try, even though I have never gone by that nickname. Its odds were very long, 30-1 or some such. As the horses came around the last corner headed for home my horse was near the front. Wow! We crowded up to the rail and as the horses came across the finish Try Mona Try was right there, one of the first three! I was so excited, jumping up and down and yelling. It's a wonder I didn't have the baby that day.

I don't remember how much I won. Less than ten dollars, I think, but enough to place another bet on one of the next races in which I didn't win anything. But it was a fun experience. After that I only went to Ak-Sar-Ben one more time before it closed in 1995. (It was demolished in 2005.)

My earliest memories of the famed racetrack and coliseum are of my dad going there with, probably, his brother-in-law, Uncle Al, and then coming home and talking about it. There was another time he and my brother Ron went, along with a highschool buddy of Ron's.

Dad's birthdate has another connection with Ak-Sar-Ben - the May 6, 1975 tornado that hit Omaha and narrowly missed the racetrack where nearly 16,000 people were in the grandstand according to a story I found online. This picture was taken by the track photographer as the storm passed just west of the facility.  

We've had some light showers this morning with chances for some severe weather later today and tonight - no tornadoes, I hope!

It looks like the Kentucky Derby might also see some rain. I wonder if a muddy track would help any of my horse picks win? I'll find out late this afternoon as I watch the 149th Run for the Roses. 😍🏇🌹