Derby Day Seminar... Who Is Your Pick to Win?

 Recently Himself and I were at a seminar where the guest speaker was Dick Downey, who has created "The Downey Profile" (http://www.thedowneyprofile.com/  ) which ranks the horses contending in the Kentucky Derby by a system of factors that have been present in past Derby winners.  Horse racing isn't the career of Mr. Downey... no, he should actually be called Judge Downey.  He a judge on the Kentucky Court of Justice.

The Kentucky is his hobby and fascination.

He spoke with us on his methods and discussed the top horses that will be running in two days.  

We very much enjoyed his lecture and a bit of visiting afterwards.

The group sponsoring the seminar made up a Derby trivia game that was fun.  I got 17 correct (would have gotten a couple more right if I'd slowed down and thought about it!).

Try it and see how you do!

1.  How long is the KY Derby?

2.  What race is held for 3 year old fillies only?

3.  What is the name of the race track where the Derby is run?

4.  What gate have the most winners started from?

5.  How many horses starting from post #20 have won?

6.  Which was the last pre-Derby undefeated horse to win the race?

7.  What year was the KY Derby first run?

8.  Who is the last jockey to win 2 consecutive Derbys?

9.  What horse holds the record for the fastest Derby time?

10.  What trainer has won the most Kentucky Derbys?

11.  What horse won the first KY Derby?

12.  What are the names of the other Triple Crown races?

13.  What fashion accessory would a Derby goer not be without?

14.  How many fillies won the Derby in the 20th century?

15. What is the nickname for the Derby?

16.  The Derby is held on which Saturday in May?

17.  What is the traditional beverage of the Derby?

18.  Which jockey has had the most Derby mounts?

19.  What Kentucky born jockey won the Derby in 1978?

20.  Churchill Downs is located in what Kentucky city?

21.  What color horse has won most often in the Derby?

22.  How many women jockeys have ridden in the Derby?

23.  Has the KY Derby ever been cancelled?

24.  What was Secretariat's nickname?

25.  What horse won the 2014 Derby?

(Answers at bottom of post)

This is the current favorite American Pharoah.

(Due to Stanford scratching... American Pharoah has now been moved down to the gate 17.  No one has ever won out of 17...).

Second on the boards is Dortmund.  Standing at 17 hands, he is huge (2 inches taller than Secretariat).  He is coming into the Derby undefeated... same has his sire Big Brown who won the Derby in 2008.

Ranked third is this pretty boy... Carpe Diem.

And here's one for my Mom... Frosted.  She loves the greys.

He's not been given much notice... but you never know...

That's what makes it a horse race!

Trivia Answers:

1.  A mile and a quarter.

2.  The Kentucky Oaks

3.  Churchill Downs

4.  Gate 10 at 11.5% of starts, then Gate 5 at 10.6% of starts.

5.  1 - Big Brown (sire of Dortmund)

(Note: only 3 horses have won from beyond gate #16.)

6.  Big Brown

7.  1875

8.  Eddie Delahoussaye

'82 on Gato Del Sol and '83 on Sunny's Halo

9.  Secretariat

10.  Ben Jones - 6

Lawrin (1938), Whirlaway (1941), Pensive (1944), Citation (1948), Ponder (1949), Hill Gail (1952)

11.  Aristides

12.  Preakness and Belmont

13.  Hat

14.  Winning Colors (1988), Genuine Risk (1980) and Regret (1915)

15.  Run for the Roses

16.  First  (this Saturday!)

17.  Mint Julep

18.  Willie Shoemaker

He rode in the Kentucky Derby 24 times and won it 4 times, aboard Swaps in 1955, Tomy Lee in 1959, Lucky Debonair in 1965 and Ferdinand in 1986.

(He rode 4,350 horses in his career.)

19.  Stevie Cauthen on Triple Crown winner Affirmed.

20.  Louisville

21.  Bay

22.  6  - Diane Crump, Patricia Cooksey, Andrea Seefeldt, Julie Krone, Rosemary Homeister Jr., Rosie Napravnik.

23.  No.  But in 2010 there were concerns because of extremely severe thunderstorms.  

24.  Big Red

25.  California Chrome

There's A Right Way... And A Wrong Way...

I was fairly young when my Dad taught me to use a hammer.  He taught me well and made sure I had plenty of practice (siding - drywall - roofs).

There are certain ways to do things... like pulling nails.

This is an approved method.

This one works too.  The hammer is always under control.

This is NOT an approved method.

It is NOT a good way to straighten a nail that went in crooked.

It does NOT keep the hammer under control if the nail head happens to break.

Because when that nail head breaks... the hammer could hit YOU on the head.

There will be instant intense pain.  A goose egg will form.

And then you will have a lovely black eye for several weeks to remind you to listen to your Ol' Dad!

Salud! at Whole Foods: Israeli CousCous Salad

As I mentioned earlier, we have recently done a Whole Foods class with Chef Dan Maggiepinto.  This class was "Springtime in Italy" but one of the recipes is a perfect summertime salad!

There is a lot of fresh tomatoes and spinach and mint.

That's Chef Dan and a couple of our students plating the meal.  You can see the Couscous salad.

Here's a better look!  

(Plated with the salad is lamb spiedini and carrot slaw).

A Chippy Little House

Have you ever seen an old house and was captivated by it?

A few weeks ago we were visiting a friend in another state.  On a walk with her, we went past this house.  It was love at first sight.  I took one photo of it.  When we came home, I looked at it over and over.  Then I told Himself on our next trip through that town, I wanted to go by it again and take more.

He asked me why I was so taken with it.

My reply:

“Because it is an interesting old house that is chippy, and beautiful, and awesome.  I love the salmon shutters and door...if I had a white house I would paint our shutters and doors just like this.  It’s the type of house that has a thousand stories to tell.   And they are probably just going to tear it down and I wanted a picture of it.”

Cooking With Herbs: Fairy Tea Cakes

Here is another great cookie recipe I'd like to share with you.  These cookies are so light and delicious they are just perfect to pair with your afternoon tea.

http://www.lavenderandlovage.com/herbs-on-saturday  

Ode to a Jar

Oh canning jar!  How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways...

I love the way you can become a lavender candle, making my desk smell so wonderful.

I love how you become an instant vase... just add flowers.

I love how you keep my roses from my sweetheart.

And how you hold memories close.

And how you are so helpful in the kitchen.

I love that you keep my beads so neat and organized.

And how my embroidery thread is so easy to see.

You keep everything just so I can find it.

I never have to worry about my touch-up paint, you have that under control too.

But maybe the most important job of all... you are so good at keeping my marbles from getting lost!

http://knickoftime.net/   

March WAS For Me!

Oops!  Forgot to do this posting!

Tho the weather outside was frightful for most of March, it was delightful for me.  The only projects I did were for me.  No spring cleaning, no dead lines, no self induced stress.

Ahhhhhh...

So, what did I do for an entire month?

I read a lot.  I played around with some of my crafts (and entered some in a competition).  Spent some time with the baby kiddos.  Shot some photos.  Attended several events.  Started a Bible study at my church.  Putzed in my studio.  Visited with friends.  

I also got a new very short hair cut.

Cleared my closet of frump!

Gave myself a mani-pedi.

And just rested.

It was very good.

Ladder Me Show You This

I love to repurpose things; using them in a completely new way.  One thing I'm always on the look out for are old ladders.  I have a few in the shed for some projects I have in mind... as soon as I finish other project so I can get to them!

Until then, here are a few ladder projects I've done already.

This little ladder is on our bedroom wall.  Snagged it from Mom when she redecorated.

This step ladder was found along side the road!  Oh I did the happy dance when I found it!  It gets moved around constantly.

Five dollars at ReStore... and a bit of paint.... and I now have a fun decoration for our bird garden.  It's going to have even more bird houses on it by summer.

Now all my ladders are for decorative uses.  This one is my perfect rack for drift wood boards.

So... what do you repurpose and use at your home?

http://knickoftime.net/2015/04/farmhouse-ladders.html 

Cobweb Eggs

Running off the success of my Easter stuffed eggs, I decided to try another method of dying my eggs.

This time I cooked the eggs as normal, bounced them around in the pan to crack them for the cooling phase.  Except this time I dropped them with shell still on in a really dark dye bath.  After letting them sit for 15 minutes, I peeled as normal.

And this is what I found under the shell!

Funny thing... the shells on the outside looked pretty normal.  But on the inside you could see the pretty lines.

Fun stuffed eggs or whole hard-boiled too.

Tea Time Treats: Chocolate & Strawberry Cookie

This month's challenge at Tea Time Treats was "chocolate".   What perfect timing since my most recent class at Whole Foods had a wonderful chocolate dessert!  It's a recipe by Chef Dan Maggiepinto, owner of Caffe Nona (a featured restaurant on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives).

The recipe consists of 3 'layers':

A rich chocolate cookie,

strawberry salsa, and

chocolate-hazelnut cannoli cream.

ENJOY!!