Keeneland unkind, at least at the window

Arriving late after a bit of a morning (and early afternoon) drive from Saint Louis, Keeneland Race Course was a beautiful sight and a great (albeit sweltering) place to spend an April afternoon. But it was not my lucky day at the window.

In the first race I wagered, Race 5, I had what I thought was a certain cold trifecta melted down by 14/1 McLard and James Graham, who finished third when Julien Leparoux got 4/1 Cat Park boxed in on the rail and couldn't get running room in time to avoid finishing fourth by a head. In the next race, a maiden special weight, I had another tri nixed by a horse at a double-digit price, as Proud Jared overcame a wide trip to finish third at 20/1, a good 2 1/4 lengths ahead of my prospective show horse, Ghost Shopper, who went off at a little more than 9/1. ... I should have just bet the exacta on that race because I had a little trouble trying to separate the rest of the field for third.

In deep stretch of Race 6, I thought my luck was going to turn around as Corey Lanerie looked positioned to bring Gore Bay home at nearly 21/1 -- and me with $10 on her across the board. But the pair got overtaken at the wire by about a length, finishing third behind Tarrip and Patti's Regal Song. Yeah, the ticket still paid ($7.20 for each $2 to show), but not like it would have if Gore Bay had managed to finish what she started.

I was apparently completely lost on Race 8, trying to beat odds-on Affirmatif (a dumb idea) with 10.6/1 Whitley, who was steadied at the 7/16ths pole and only made it home in fourth.

So, I decided to quit while I was behind. And then the only horse I really liked at all in the ninth and final -- Big Blue Streaker -- was sent off at 3.3/1 and won like he should have been 1/9, scoring by 13 3/4 lengths beneath Leparoux and paying $8.60.

Still, even a losing day at the racetrack is better than -- well -- just about any day anywhere else. So I'm still feeling pretty good as I hit the road from this Lexington, Ky., McDonald's and truck home about eight hours to Henderson, N.C.

Oh ... and my favorite picture I took all day at Keeneland is posted above. On the walk out, it cracked me up that whomever it was who stashed this SUV in the spot apparently reserved for one "M. Trombetta," is a rebel for whom white lines on pavement do not apply.