Out and About Ky. Style: Derby Day

A recent newspaper article about Kentucky Derby goers slipping prohibited items past ticket-takers while on their way to a prime spot in the infield triggered a 56-year-old memory of the Derby, and the infield in particular.

Gary West is an author and News Journal columnist.

I was a college student at the University of Kentucky and had been to Churchill Downs in 1965 and sort-of-watched Willie Shoemaker boot home Lucky Debonair to win the roses. Even with fewer fans, seeing the race, much less a horse, became near impossible.

There had to be a better way.

The following year, I found that one of my fraternity brothers was a first cousin of jockey Don Brumfield. Before the 1966 Derby he had already ridden over 1,000 races at Churchill Downs. So when all of us Sigma Chis found out the Nicholasville, Kentucky native would be riding Kauai King, the odds favorite, our entire house was all in.

Jim Brumfield, my frat brother, who I had also gone to high school with in E’’town, quickly gained a new celebrity status with us because he was related to a famous jockey riding in the Kentucky Derby.

“All he ever thought about was riding. He started when he was 10 or 11 and won his first race when he was 16,” Jim Brumfield would say later. “I remember he would smoke and drink lots of coffee to stunt his growth.”

Plans began to take shape.  How many of us would go to Louisville on that first Saturday in May? Would we all try to stay together in the infield or would it be every man for himself?

I don’t recall who the chief organizer was but we decided to stick together. Someone suggested we take stepladders in and boards to run between three ladders so we could sit on them above the rest of the crowd. And the rungs on the ladders would also give some of us a better vantage point.

Some of the guys, the same ones, wanted no part of this. However, eight, or nine of us plus dates and spouses couldn’t wait.

Three of them would carry ladders, three would each carry boards, and I would pull a little red wagon in with refreshments.

Believe it or not rules were not as restrictive back then. I do remember alcohol was the big no-no.

It wasn’t until later that anything like building a viewing platform was totally off limits. Not only was it dangerous, but it blocked any chance of seeing a horse for those behind it.

My little red wagon had a cooler with ice. Can you say false bottom. All of us had fake binoculars and cameras and lots of soft drinks. There’s no way we could afford $3 or $4 mint juleps. I did taste one and that was enough.

We parked and lined up sometime around 7 a.m. and an hour later we were making a run for the first turn of the infield. We had calculated that’s where we could see the most horses, not just the Derby, but the under card as well. From there we could see some of the backstretch.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Those fraternity brothers who couldn’t make the trip from Lexington at least sent bets on Kauai King. The truth is we were all betting on Don Brumfield, the jockey, not really the horse.

In the months before as a student I worked part-time at an upscale men’s clothing store in Lexington. It was frequently visited by horse trainers, owners, and on occasion jockeys. I was always looking for a tip from nearby Keeneland.  Unfortunately, very few turned out to be accurate. However, this time seemed different as everyone, who knew what end you feed a horse, said it was Kauai King.

We all felt good about where we were in life. Even though we were in the infield, the best I remember we were dressed in Derby attire. Our entry fee was probably three or four dollars. There was no way we could afford the eight dollars for a grandstand terrace seat. Plus it required you to be in a seat. No way.

It was at the 1966 Derby that Millionaires Row came into being. None of us knew anyone there, so we were all good that we had a fraternity brother who was a cousin of Don Brumfield, a future hall of fame rider who won 4,573 races in a 35-year career. That was better than anything on Millionaires Row.

Collectively we all had lumps in our throats as the bugler played and the 100,000 fans began to sing “My Old Kentucky Home.”

Our dates sat on the boards that stretched between the ladders, but as excited as we were the story was about to take a dark turn. Back then the infield patrons were able to get much closer to the rail than today.

One of our brothers had taken money to bet on Kauai King from some of those unable to make the trip. The total was almost $300, a large sum of money for a college kid in 1966. Jay, at the last moment decided not to bet the money and book it himself. He was the only one of us betting against Don Brumfield.

Kauai King came out of the number 12 gate and immediately shot to the lead.  Rarely in Derby history had a horse led wire-to-wire, so when the horses thundered past the grandstand for the first time and by our location in turn one, we were so close to the rail back then that we could almost see the eyes of the jockeys. It was exciting. Don was leading. Jay was excited, also, and felt good about his covering the bet that Kauai King would not win.

The rest is history. Kauai King with Don Brumfield aboard the 92nd Kentucky Derby were history. By now we had been in the infield at Churchill Downs for more than 10 hours. Oh, to be young, in college and a bit crazy in 1966.

“I wasn’t in the infield with the guys,” Jim recalled. “I was in the grandstands with my mom and dad and Jinx, my wife to be. We couldn’t tell for sure that he had won until it was posted. My dad cried he was so happy.”

But for Jay, our fraternity brother, it was not over. He had to make good on the bets he chose not to place at Churchill Downs. It was several hundred dollars.  The event was so traumatic for him and his new wife that it eventually led to their divorce.

Make no mistake, Don Brumfield was a star, in the mould of Shoemaker and Bill Hartack. The day before the Derby he won the Kentucky Oaks and then Kauai King won the Preakness two weeks later. Going for the Triple Crown, the horse and Brumfield placed fourth in the Belmont. He retired from racing in 1989 and at 83 he still makes appearances at racing events.

Things are different today. At least $100 to get into the infield, hundreds of dollars for a seat in the grandstand terrace and a small loan might be required to purchase one of the watered-down infield mint juleps.

Still, a trip to the Kentucky Derby anytime is special regardless of where you sit.

There’s no excuse, get up, get out and get going! Gary P. West can be reached at westgarypdeb@gmail.com