A DERBY DAY FIT FOR A QUEEN
FIRST IN THE SERIES, “WHERE THE HELL IS PT TODAY?”
The Queen, an avid horse enthusiast, got her first look Saturday at Churchill Downs, a racing icon best known for its twin spires and hospitality on Derby Day when mint juleps flow and fancy hats are in fashion. The British icon and her husband, Prince Philip, arrived a little more than two hours before the Derby, the first leg of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown. They went immediately to a private suite where they had a finish-line vantage point on a balcony to watch Street Sense pull away with the win in the 133rd Kentucky Derby run.
The British monarch, on a six-day trip to the United States, was among 156,635 fans on hand, the third-largest crowd in Derby history. “She took extremely close interest in the horses,” but didn’t place any bets, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said, on customary condition of anonymity. The queen wore a fine wool coat of lime green, with a matching silk dress in a small floral print and a lime green hat with a fuchsia trim. She was accompanied by Will Farish, a former ambassador to Britain, as she entered the suite to a round of applause. “It’s unbelievable,” said Erica Fencil, a college student from San Diego who found herself in the same suite. “I can’t believe I’m in the same room with her.”
Several pari-mutuel clerks were standing at their windows as the queen and her entourage arrived in the clubhouse. One clerk, Lori Mellon, called it a thrilling event to see the queen. “I’d really like to know what her choices are for the Derby,” Mellon said. “She’s an extremely savvy horsewoman. She’s not new to this game.” Race fans said the queen’s presence added to the event’s glamour. For at least one day, they were on the same footing with royalty.
“She loves her horses, and this is the place to see beautiful horses,” said Mary Vandever, a retired truck driver from Torrance, Calif., who was attending her first Derby in the Churchill Downs (‘infamous’) infield. For fans with no chance of getting an up-close glimpse of the queen, there was an alternative. A Queen Elizabeth impersonator drew long lines in the track’s paddock area. For a distinctive Kentucky flair, she posed with a look-alike of Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain. Judith Gindy of Miami, the impersonator who refers to herself as Queen Elizabeth Too, admitted to being a great admirer. “I’m very excited. It’s my dream to meet her,” Gindy said. For those in the infield, where the beer flows and a carefree attitude reigns, any view of the queen would be from a distance. While the Derby draws plenty of nattily attired fans, the infield crowd is more apt to be in jeans or shorts and T-shirts. “I don’t think it would be her cup of tea,” race fan Betty Lyons said of the infield. (ed note:- a T-shirt I observed had the motto, ‘I survived the Kentucky Derby infield’ beneath a cartoon ‘horse & hillbilly hootenanny’ taking place. While stereotypical in character, the shirt did capture the mood of the infield, a place where 100,000 people drink mint juleps and beer until it’s a step away from a riot or an orgy, and every year they talk of shutting it down for the next year. It’s the party for the commoners who like to picnic.)
This year’s Derby was the queen’s only public event in Kentucky, and she left the track soon after the finish. On previous visits to the state - the last time in 1991 - she stayed at Lane’s End Farm in central Kentucky, owned by Farish. Saturday’s visit wasn’t the first by British royalty: Princess Margaret, the queen’s sister, attended the race in 1974. And just this past year, Sir Mick and the Rolling Stones played there in the rain in the first ever concert gig. “Queen Elizabeth is certainly the most prestigious guest we’ve entertained in the modern-day history of the Kentucky Derby,” track President Steve Sexton said. To prepare for the royal visit, a number of Churchill Downs workers took etiquette lessons and the lead chef planned a sumptuous meal featuring a variety of Kentucky ingredients.
(additional source:MSN)