Didn't start that way, as we drove the short 15 miles to the Museum entrance, and were told we had to park the RV over a mile away on the far side of the stadium. It was 10 in the morning, and there were thousands of empty spaces as the races didn't start till 6pm. The attendant at that location couldn't figure out why we were sent there, and sent us back closer. We ended up parking about 1/4 mile away (no charge!), and it was a pleasant walk in 70 degree weather along the face of the stadium.
The façade is impressive, and at the entrance there is a statue of Barbaro, the 2006 winner and potential triple crown contender who shattered his leg 3 weeks later at the Preakness. Inside the entrance, one is immediately struck with the aura of championship racing - photos, movies, racing togs; a display of the "Fascinators" hats that women wear on this dressiest of days.
There are numerous interactive activities for "children" of all
ages. One of the first is “placing your
bet”, where up to 3 players can pick their “win-place-show” horses. The players then move to another alcove, and a
simulated race is run—then the results show how much you would have
won had you placed a $2 bet.
Next
exhibit, very popular, is the race simulator.
Here Becky demonstrates how you ride your mount, and a race is then run
against other horses. Each rider sees
hers/his progress for the 2 minute race.
Becky won!
We went through the gift shop killing time
before the start of the movie about the Derby.
It runs 18”, and is superb. The
audience is seated on small white stools that look like pawns in an oversized
chess game, probably 40 spectators at a time.
The room is an oval, about 100’ long and 40’ wide, with continuous movie
screens about 10’ high circulating the entire 360 degrees. Most of us have seen 3 or 4-screen
multi-media shows, but not circling an entire room! The movie basically follows a race day, with
movies/photos on anywhere from 1 screen to the whole room at once. It shows the events of the day that happen,
then the race itself with film pretty and surround sound enveloping the
audience. It’s a pretty awesome show!
A 30-minute guided tour is included with
the $18pp charge (that’s the senior rate), and we had an excellent guide who
took us into the paddock that is filled with 10,000+ people on race day! On the walk to the Paddock, the guide pointed out the names of each year's winner-they are listed with individual plaques along the balconies.
The whole racetrack draws about 130,000, a
very substantial number to be sure! From the Paddock we went through the
tunnel to a spot near the finish line, where we learned about “millionaires row",
box seats and how you get them (by lottery!), and a host of other information. It is impressive to look up at the "special seats", and the balcony where Queen Elizabeth and other notables have waved to the crowds. Looking down the track, and across at the center spot where the winner is crowned with the garland of roses, gives one a feeling that you can "see" what happens there.
The last stop on the tour is by the corral of
a retired derby winner and his companion, a miniature pony named ‘Winston”. The retired horse was “Risen Warrior”, but it stayed in it's stall while we were there.
We finished that tour, and went to lunch
in their cafeteria, and that was a most enjoyable experience in itself. They have their own specialties, such as a
Benedictine sandwich that is essentially cream cheese with green coloring and
some other ingredients. Our waiter, “Jim”
was a real droll character and a fountain of information. He’s been working there 20 years, and is a
former Braniff International pilot! The
Derby pie was very goodl We are even bringing
one home to enjoy at a future date!
After that filling lunch, we RV’d some 30
miles to Fort Knox, the Army Armor school and home to the General George S.
Patton Leadership Museum. Jim had been
especially eager to see this, and we were both very disappointed. Apparently it had been closed for some time,
and just recently reopened. The visitor
is greeted in the lobby by two active duty soldiers, and there, is no admission
charge. The carved statue of Patton on the right was made from one piece of wood, except for the accessories.
The Museum is trying to come into the computer age, and you can download an app at the beginning of the "tour" by scanning with your cell phone, and then use it again at about 5 of the exhibits to get further information. It worked fine with the Staff Car he was riding in when he was mortally injured in a crash.
But then you wander through many
rooms of exhibits (self guided) and there is a major problem – most of the
exhibits lack any identification, so you have no clue what you’re looking
at! There were tanks that Jim didn’t
recognize, including one desert camouflage tank destroyer that might have been
WW II German, but more likely was from the Iraq war. Even the two soldiers had no clue (“we’re not
tankers !”). They had a damaged fire
truck, obviously from 9/11, but it wasn’t identified other than by a photo of a
burning truck near the Pentagon. We knew it was from there, as Becky had found it on line. It was also quite surprising that they had no
gift shop! Kind of capped the whole
visit. Outside Becky took the photo of Jim with a Vietnam-era APC that his cousin George Baldwin spent his tour in before being wounded.
We drove from there back to our campsite,
and had a leisurely evening with the dogs.
.
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