Kentucky Derby Weekend

This is going to be one hell of a fun weekend. Later today six of us from Atlanta will be piling into an RV and making the trek up to Louisville for the 132nd Kentucky Derby.

I've never been before, but this promises to be a blast. Every year the infield at Churchill Downs gets packed with tens of thousands of party-goes. At that point, how could it not be bad?

The fact that it's Cinco de Mayo doesn't hurt either. Even though this weekend holds much promise, it still may not top my favorite Derby moment. That happened a few years ago when I was living in New Jersey. Mike Michetti flew out for a visit and got in late Saturday afternoon.

It was a two hour drive to Atlantic City, so we hopped in the car as fast as we could and raced for the casinos. We made it to the sports book at Caesar's Palace with a few minutes to spare and wriggled our way up front just in time to place a couple of bets.

Then entire area was jam-packed with people and you could feel the excitement of the crowd. The gates flew open and we spent two and a half minutes cheering our horses on, shoving people out of the way and, for us two short guys, trying not to get stepped on. It was great.

After the Derby we headed around Atlantic City shouting comedian John Pinette's notable line, "Show me the buffet!" and mocking the posters announcing a show featuring Sherman Helmsley. Great fun.