kentucky derby

Like this guy? :floor:

Well....some of the hats were pretty bad.

More celebs---Stacy Keibler, Serena Williams, OJ SImpson, Jewel, Jerry O'Connell,Gilbert Gottfired,Dennis Hopper, Ciara, Billy Gibbons, AND


the one I would MOST like to meet- the guy who does the voice of SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!!!:wub: He's in town! I have a crush. I may have to go stalk him.

Okay- the celebrity sightings are trickling in- nothing too impressive yet--Ludacris, Muhammad Ali, Jennifer Love Hewitt:puke: , Peyton Manning, Nora Roberts, Usher, Petra Nemkova. Apollo Ohno, Michael Andretti, Alyssa Milano, Carson Kresley, Michael MacDonald, and Nick Lachey. Plus a bunch of pro football players that I don't know. There are a bunch of big parties tonight, so the morning news will report on the celebs in town. The Stuff magazine/Jack Daniels party is supposed to be the truly good one.

We went to the local seafood dive tonight- a few big hats showed up.

I bet it wasn't Mike Linings 😀

I bet it wasn't Mike Linings 😀

I wish it was- I love that place.:wub: Yum!

I wish it was- I love that place.:wub: Yum!

Me too!

While I appreciate the sentiment, the truth of the matter is I WORKED in Kentucky (at the Derby) when I used to work for Harry M. Stevens' ("serving the action world"). My actual position was working the infield for the Derby (a separate contract) and it was a very long 4 days every year.......when you order mint juleps by the milk truck load, you generally have an idea that it is going to be a long event.

As a former horse breeder and lover, absolutely HATE to see the Barbaro incident.....and, like all horse owners KNOW that only the good ones suffer such maladies. The ugly, inexpensive, slow and talentless, live forever, cost just as much and make you pay every time you feed them.

gordie

While I appreciate the sentiment, the truth of the matter is I WORKED in Kentucky (at the Derby) when I used to work for Harry M. Stevens' ("serving the action world"). My actual position was working the infield for the Derby (a separate contract) and it was a very long 4 days every year.......when you order mint juleps by the milk truck load, you generally have an idea that it is going to be a long event.

As a former horse breeder and lover, absolutely HATE to see the Barbaro incident.....and, like all horse owners KNOW that only the good ones suffer such maladies. The ugly, inexpensive, slow and talentless, live forever, cost just as much and make you pay every time you feed them.

gordie

Barbaro update--6 hours of surgery later, he is standing. Prognosis won't be known for a few days. Apparently he has been a great patient, which may save his life - his sane temperment is helping. Pray, cross you fingers, send good wishes- Barbaro's "peeps" are good people, especially Michael Matz, the trainer, who is known for not running his horses to death like other famous trainers that will go nameless here.

Gordie- you were a julep pusher! Awesome! But the real question is- do you like to drink them???

OMG! I have been so worried about Barbaro that I have been refreshing the Sports Illustrated page constantly all day long, looking for updates on his status. I am so encouraged about the results of his surgery. The owners, trainers, and jockey must be flipped out.

I have seen a horse euthanized right in front of us on the track at the Callaway Gardens Steeplechase. Not a pretty sight. The party stopped because it was so sad.

I hate to see an animal hurt. I saved a baby bird last week that had fallen out of its nest. I climbed up into the tree and put it back in the nest. It's doing fine because I can keep an eye on it from the kitchen window. My husband teased me this AM on the way to church after I saw a squirrel that looked like he/she was about to cross the road. I made him stop the car until I was sure the squirrel wasn't going to dart out in front of us.

Besides, who likes pieces of roadkill stuck in their tire treads?

Besides, who likes pieces of roadkill stuck in their tire treads?

That last statement made me laugh! Years ago when we were living in our very first house in Kennesaw, Georgia, we pulled into our rural neighborhood and some neighbors stopped us. They asked us if we'd mind running over the big snake that was making its way across the road. I indignantly replied that no way were we going to get snake guts in our tires.

That last statement made me laugh! Years ago when we were living in our very first house in Kennesaw, Georgia, we pulled into our rural neighborhood and some neighbors stopped us. They asked us if we'd mind running over the big snake that was making its way across the road. I indignantly replied that no way were we going to get snake guts in our tires.

One day my maid was taking out the trash and saw a big copperhead on the driveway. She flipped out and refused to go outside, even though it was time for her cab to arrive (small town - no public transportation). So I got in my car and ran back and forth over that snake 20 times and was convinced it was dead - I mean, it was major squished. A little while later I went outside, and it was gone. 😱 We have a lakeview home and long driveway, and later on we saw that the snake had had made its way all the way down the driveway (presumably to get to the lake). I supposed it collapsed then because ants had eaten it until nothing was left but its skeleton. GROSS!

I hate to see an animal hurt. I saved a baby bird last week that had fallen out of its nest. I climbed up into the tree and put it back in the nest. It's doing fine because I can keep an eye on it from the kitchen window. My husband teased me this AM on the way to church after I saw a squirrel that looked like he/she was about to cross the road. I made him stop the car until I was sure the squirrel wasn't going to dart out in front of us.

I know just how you feel. I was driving a little west of here earlier today and noticed all these cars merging from the right lane into the left, and then saw what I thought was a dead deer in the lane. Then I realized it was still alive. It must have just been hit and the poor thing was trying to get up but one or both of its rear legs was injured. That image has been haunting me all day.

From the Associated Press

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa.) -- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro came out of a day-long surgery Sunday to repair three broken bones in his right rear leg and "practically jogged back to the stall," the colt's surgeon said.
At this moment "he is extremely comfortable in the leg," said Dr. Dean Richardson, who stressed before the marathon procedure that he's never worked on so many catastrophic injuries to one horse.

Barbaro sustained "life-threatening injuries" Saturday when he broke bones above and below his right rear ankle at the start of the Preakness Stakes. His surgery began around 1 p.m. Sunday at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for Large Animals.

At the front gate, well-wishers already had tacked up signs: "Thank you, Barbaro," "Believe in Barbaro" and "We Love you Barbaro."

"You do not see this severe injury frequently because the fact is most horses that suffer this typically are put down on the race track," Richardson said before the surgery began. "This is rare."

Unbeaten and a serious contender for the Triple Crown, Barbaro broke down Saturday only a few hundred yards into the 1 3-16-mile Preakness. The record crowd of 118,402 watched in shock as Barbaro veered sideways, his right leg flaring out grotesquely. Jockey Edgar Prado pulled the powerful colt to a halt, jumped off and awaited medical assistance.

"It's about as bad as it could be," Richardson said of the injury. "The main thing going for the horse is a report that his skin was not broken at the time of injury. It's a testament to the care given to the team of doctors on the track and (jockey) Mr. Prado on the racetrack."

Horses are often euthanized after serious leg injuries because circulation problems and deadly disease can occur if they are unable to distribute weight on all fours.

Barbaro was fitted for an inflatable cast by the attending veterinarian, Dr. Nicholas Meittinis, and the colt trained so expertly by trainer Michael Matz was taken to the Bolton Center.

There had been no sightings Sunday of Matz or owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson at the facility, which was swarming with media awaiting an update. The Jacksons reportedly were at the center for the start of surgery, but left.

"Two weeks ago we were on such a high and this is our worst nightmare," Matz said Saturday night at the center. "Hopefully, everything will go well with the operation and we'll be able to save him."

Richardson outlined Barbaro's medical problems: a broken cannon bone above the ankle, a broken sesamoid bone behind the ankle and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle. The fetlock joint -- the ankle -- was dislocated.

The breaks occurred as a result of an "athletic injury," said Corinne Sweeney, a veterinarian and the hospital's executive director.

"It's an injury associated with the rigors of high performance," she said. "They were designed as athletes and they are elite athletes, thus they incur injuries associated with performance. The frame sometimes plays a role, absolutely."

Barbara Dallap, a clinician at the center, was present when Barbaro arrived at the center Saturday night.

"When we unloaded him, he was placed in intensive care and we stabilized him overnight," Dallap said. "He was very brave and well behaved under the situation and was comfortable overnight."

Tucked away on a sprawling, lush 650-acre campus in Chester County, the New Bolton Center is widely considered the top hospital for horses in the mid-Atlantic region. The center is renowned for its specialized care, especially on animals needing complicated surgery on bone injuries.

The Jacksons live less than 10 miles away on their farm in West Grove, outside Philadelphia in the horse country of Chester County.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

2 stories for you :

on the way down to sowal on may 5, we were heading down I65 and mr audie was in the left lane, he slowed down and swerved to the right, and there was a poor medium sized black and white dog in the left lane just standing there. i immediately put my fingers in my ears and shut my eyes because i knew what was coming. in his rear-view mirror mr audie saw that the semi coming behind us wasn't so kind to the dog - what he saw bothered him for several days, and i wouldn't let him talk about it with me. i just felt sick and still do.

when i was a teen my dad made me use the push mower and trim around the 10 million trees and flower beds mom has in their yard while he rode the riding mower (they have 1 1/4 acres to mow) anywho, i was trimming around the dog pen in the back corner of the yard when i hit something that stalled the mower. i looked down and i had run over a huge black snake and the mower cut it into 4 pieces with each one squirming and moving. i immediately screamed bloody murder - i am super terrified of snakes. my dad comes flying back there on the rider, he assumed i cut my foot off or something. he checked out the mower, and that snake was so thick it knocked the mower blades off when i ran over it. after that i refused to mow that back corner.

i have been worried about this horse all day - i sure hope he does ok - another article i was reading said he still has only a 50/50 chance due to the severity of the injury....

Please give me an alert if you start telling sad animal stories. I can't take it. That poor horse has been the saddest thing for me. I hope he recovers.

I know Ms Kitty, that broke my heart too.

BR, I don't understand how you can brag about saving the life of a bird and attempting to kill a snake in the same thread. Did you know that some species of birds kick out the weakest young birds out of the nest so that only the best fitted genes are passed on, thereby making the species stronger?

Good point.

But still, snakes creep me out!

Good point.

But still, snakes creep me out!

you kill all the snakes you can my friend !