The Murray State News Blogs

Here’s the deal. Some of you may have expected full Derby 135 blogging coverage from me throughout the weekend. I’m sorry if I DISAPPOINTED anyone, but there was a (legitimate) reason. I had nothing positive to say about my experience this weekend. And since I wanted this blog to showcase and highlight the best of the best - in a positive light - , my sadness led to extreme writer’s block. Last night and the night before, I contemplated what to write, or to write anything at all. I had to cool down first. Ha! After all, I was voted most dramatic at staff awards tonight. I’ve been hyping up my extreme passion for the Derby for such a long time, and I was DISAPPOINTED. Okay, I was not DISAPPOINTED at the actual race itself, but rather deceived and manipulated by people in charge of public relations for both Churchill Downs and the Barnstable-Brown party. This is what happened:

First of all, the Murray State News press credentials for Derby day access were denied. The themes of disrespect and lack of accommodation acted as shining themes throughout this past weekend. Misty and I jumped hurdles to try to obtain these coveted credentials. After receiving no email stating “yes” or “no,” we came to the conclusion of how college media should NOT be treated. Paris Hilton was treated better than us! Anyways, life went on …Who would have thought?! … college media? What? Who? Huh? Oh, those little people who don’t matter. What happened to reaching the voice of the “next generation?” Looking back, I understand that two college newspaper editors don’t compare to reporters from the New York Times or ESPN, but PR personnel should think more logically; horse racing has become more and more popular with college students, and college media is a huge RESOURCE to make this happen. Look at all the college students who come out to opening day at Keeneland! If I’m not mistaken, more college students attended opening day this year at Keeneland than did middle aged people.

And for me, I want to pursue equine journalism. A few years ago Churchill offered a college experience program for covering Derby day. What happened to this? Budget cut, I assume.

Misty Hays (the photography editor for Murray State News) and I dressed up in our glamorous dresses and high(est) heels and headed to the Highlands area to the Barnstable House. Granted, we did not have press credentials for this particular party because no contact information existed to get the credentials in the first place. We parked on a hill, marched down under a spitting sky and waded through casually dressed spectators to arrive at the media tent. After explaining our situation to the PR “gentleman,” he preceded to inform us that college media was a joke and no one EVER representing a college paper would be allowed in his pretentious media tent. So, we left and headed downtown to Main Street where the Mint Jubilee was taking place. Lucky for us, Mint Jubilee PR folks accepted our press credential request. At this point our feet were hurting EXTREMELY BAD. We were grumpy. Enough about our feet … We caught a few stars arriving late. Valerie Bertinelli, Weight Watchers spokeswoman, graced the red carpet with a lovely gold metallic dress. She even took a picture with me! Me and Misty enjoyed complementary mint juleps and headed home.

The next day, we watched the televised version of the Derby via the local Lexington news channel, Channel 6. After learning I Want Revenge (Derby favorite) was scratched from the board, I cried a little. But then, I respected the ultimate decision from removing the horse from the race: Earlier in the day, trainers noticed a hot spot on his leg, and then conducted an x-ray. The x-ray turned out OK, but the horse’s overall condition was not satisfactory. Thus, the owners, trainer and jockey made a classy decision of not risking I Want Revenge’s life.

This decision made me happy. Mind That Bird came out of no where on the final turn, and kicked up wet dirt. Maybe it was the down economy, or maybe it was bad luck, but all I can say is I hope next year’s Kentucky Derby season creates more fond memories for me.