On Tuesday March 10th Kim and I took off for Paris to begin a 17-day odyssey from France, through Germany, to the Czech Republic, and ending in Poland. I knew that the chances of having free time to go through all the cards over the two weeks we'd be gone would be not only difficult to fit into our busy schedule but also would detract from our trip. So I arranged with our son Brad for him to post the bets for just the two Saturday cards......March 14 Virginia Derby Day at Colonial Downs and March 21 Louisiana Derby Day at the Fair Grounds. To visit our web page on the 17-day trip, click below, then click each individual day for the photos & journals.
March 14: Virginia Derby Day
On Virginia Derby Day we'd arrived on the Viking Idi and sailed in the morning before docking in Bernkastel for our first excursion - an evening wine tasting. Because of the time difference the racing at Colonial Downs began shortly after Kim and I joined our friends Bob & Pam and Gary & Claudia for dinner. I was able to check most of the results before turning in for the night, and the last couple the next morning when we were headed to the Reichsburg Castle. It was a light day for finding horses to wager on and at the end of the process only six races drew my attention - three maiden events and three stakes races. I won the opener with Ramajay who was an even money choice in a 6f maiden special dash for 3yo's. Ran 4th in the third at 6/5 in a maiden claimer and then won another 3yo msw in the fourth when Ezum won by more than a pole. In the first of the stakes races I was 2nd as the prohibitive 3/5 favorite in the New Kent, but won the Sandy Bottom when Eunomia scored going a one turn mile. Didn't have a lot of confidence in Bob Baffert's Buetane, but put the minimum on him - ran 4th at 3/2. So I finished 3-for-6 and I was content with that.
May 21: Louisiana Derby Day
On Louisiana Derby Day we were in Prague. We spent the morning walking around the city and there were, much to my surprise "Easter Markets" nearly identical to my beloved Christmas Markets, in the main town square. That night we went on a "Prague by Night" excursion, the last where the six of us were together (Gary & Claudia) went home and passed on the Poland extension. So I was able to track all of my selections' results and event got to watch the Louisiana Derby unfold on a live video feed. I had eight selections today and had a great day at the races, despite being thousands of miles away! I started with a third place finish as the 3/2 favorite but then rattled off three straight wins. Braken Pappa was easily best as my BET of the Day in the Crescent City Oaks. Then Way To Be Marie came flying down the outside to be up in time in the Tom Benson Memorial on the grass. I wanted to go "prime time" on La-bred superstar Touchuponastar who'd won the Grade 2 New Orleans last year. But he's a "need to lead" who's won in open company but lives in La-bred races. So I only went in for a triple investment. Right to the front and never looked back. Third at 8/5 and second at even money in the next two graded events before closing the winners with a 2/1 winner in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby.
Favorite followers on our trip.....
We had a huge following, which is pretty typical for our trips, in terms of social media hits. And all the "usual suspects" followed along. And I am so appreciative of all of them. But I have a group of gal-pals that I am in more frequent contact than most of my social media pals, and I am ever so grateful that they came along for the trip......
Kimmy - I first met as a sophomore in my World History class. When she followed along to my senior Econ and WISE program we became closer. And once she was out of college living in South Florida we would see one another on a relatively regular basis.
Newscast pals: I've been fortunate enough to build friendships with these four gals and have chatted with them not only when off the air, but sometimes while on the air. They've always followed all our trips and have told me how much they enjoy the pics.
Former students: So many of my Facebook friends and social media gal-pals are former students of mine. But if I had to narrow it down to not only my favorite former students, but more importantly to those who've kept in touch and showed interest in our life, it would be these sweet girls:
Former teacher pals. About the only thing I really miss from my working days are the relationships with the students and teacher pals. These gals have followed along with our trips and we stay in touch. Note: Sophia is a gal that Kim and I met buying our Orlando condo. She and her husband Matt were our realtors and we've become good friends.
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