Kentucky and Indiana – Day 3 – Michael's Piece of the Web

March - April 2018

Day 3 started out early. We went to the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs and took a 4-hour tour by golf cart. Besides learning a lot of history, it was fascinating to see exactly how much goes into running a place like that. Our tour guide was a guy who grew up around the track. He knows everything and everyone ever involved with it. The tour included lunch in the restaurant on the backside of the track that's not open to the public. I wouldn't have expected great Mexican food at Churchill, but it was really good! In the afternoon, we drove to Clermont and took a tour of the Jim Beam distillery before driving to Shelbyville for dinner at Claudia Sanders' Dinner House. Colonel Sanders operated the restaurant while he grew his KFC chain. It even served as the KFC corporate headquarters until he sold the chain.

03-001 Twin Spires — Arriving early at the famous Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby

03-003 Churchill Downs Sign — Ready to tour the famous Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby

03-004 Barbaro Statue — Statue of Barbaro

03-005 Hats for Sale — Yes, they sell fancy women's hats at Churchill Downs. Are you surprised?

03-009 Aristides Statue — Statue of Aristides

03-010 Pat Day Statue — Not all statues here are of horses. Some are of jockies. This is Pat Day.

03-012 Secretariat Sign — Secretariat is royalty around here

03-013 Grandstands — These grandstands are way more full on Derby day

03-014 Winner's Circle — Hanging out in the winner's circle

03-016 Grandstands — Looking up to the grandstands from the winner's circle

03-017 Track — Trackside at Churchill downs

03-018 Finish Line — The famous finish line

03-020 Infield — Looking across the track to the infield

03-022 Scoreboard — The scoreboard, sponsored by Woodford Reserve, of course

03-024 Horse & Training Rider — The training riders are out taking the horses for a run

03-027 Horse & Training Rider — The training riders are out taking the horses for a run

03-028 Horse & Training Rider — The training riders are out taking the horses for a run

03-033 Horses & Training Riders — The training riders are out taking the horses for a run

03-035 Horse & Training Rider — The training riders are out taking the horses for a run

03-036 Millionaires Row — There's Millionaires Row

03-037 Entrance Tunnel — This is the entrance tunnel that you see the horses come through every May

03-042 View from Millionaires Row — The view from Millionaires Row is pretty sweet

03-046 Derby Winner's Circle — For the Derby, they use the winner's circle in the infield

03-047 Track Panorama — Panorama of the track from Millionaire's Row

03-048 Horse & Training Rider — The training riders are out taking the horses for a run

03-050 Barns — We'll be headed over to tour the barns later

03-051 Glass Churchill Downs Model — Model of Churchill Downs in glass

03-053 Seating Parlor — In one of the parlors

03-055 Regret Display — The Stake Room features a display about Regret, the first filly to win the Derby

03-057 Michael & Mom with Twin Spires — When you visit Churchill Downs you must get a photo in front of the twin spires

03-059 Twin Spires — Getting an up close view of the famous Churchill Downs Twin Spires

03-060 Video Screen — The video screen in the backfield is massive

03-063 Steinbeck Quote — John Steinbeck's thoughts on the Kentucky Derby

03-064 Seating Parlor — In one of the parlors

03-066 War Admiral Table — There are tables dedicated to the winners of the Derby. This one is for War Admiral.

03-067 Winner's Wall — Every winner has a badge on this wall

03-071 Jockeys Mural — This brilliant mural is updated with every year's winner. Oh, and that's our amazing tour guide below.

Churchill Downs originally began as part of the Louisville Jockey club

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