Backstretch with Gordon

Umbrella. Can you please use it in a sentence? If you are heading to The Red Mile Thursday you might bring an umbrella or you will get soaked. U-m-b-r-e-l-l-a. Correct, and sorry Yannick, my weather forecast from yesterday came true as we had rain from about 10 p.m. last night until about 9 this morning, and more is in the cards later today.

It was pouring this morning when my phone rang at 7:45 and it was the boss, Kathy Parker, calling me to tell me to simply make a drive-through around the racetrack and not get waterlogged, and have Joe Kyle take some sort of rain-related picture. When I left home a bit later it was still pouring, but after having the normal 10-minute drive take about 30 minutes, I arrived at the track under dry conditions.

What a contrast to yesterday, where there was hardly a cloud in the sky with temperatures in the 70s, and sunglasses and hats were the fashion statement of the day. There was some good racing, and how about Pampered Princess’s world-record win, trotting effortlessly to a 1:54.4 mile? John Campbell still had a snug hold on her as she crossed the wire so it appeared she had even more in the tank.

Back to today, I parked my car and stopped to talk to Randy, the attendant in the official’s parking lot, who has been on that assignment the past four years. Randy’s daughter, Patricia, has been working in the track’s admission department for 20 years, and his wife, Nancy, has been in the same department for four years. Randy always waves and smiles as I pull in, and he readily admits to me his toughest task is trying to line up the cars in rows in a lot that has no parking lines.

“We’ll have it hot, dry and dusty for the races,” trackman Dan Coon said to me with a big laugh as I walked into the building, joined by one of the sport’s leading trainers, who shall remain unnamed for a reason I’ll soon tell you.

I walked up the stairs to the apron to look at the rain-soaked track, which was closed for training. But on the inside half-mile training track were probably at least 50 horses, which I said at first looked like a herd of cows going past as there were so many bunched together on the smaller oval.

I walked down the stairs again, and that unnamed trainer was right behind me, but then I heard a thud. I looked around and there was that unnamed trainer (who is a big person) on his keester, having slipped in a puddle formed by a leak in the roof. I only tell the story because the only thing harmed was the trainer’s ego.

In closing, it will remain cool today and tomorrow’s forecast is for a high of barely 60 degrees, but from there it is supposed to warm up gradually. As for gas prices, this morning all four stations near the track were at $2.07 a gallon. And my lips are sealed as to the trainer’s identity. I’m just glad that it wasn’t me doing the dipsy doodle.

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