Run for the Roses #134

Today is Kentucky Derby #134...

The run for the roses...

The first Saturday in May...

The most exciting two minutes in sports...

Basically a holiday in the Wagner household. Bob and I have celebrated six Kentucky Derbys "together". He has celebrated many, many, many more. Derby day brings back so many fun memories for me. Not to live in the past but here are my top three...

Kentucky Derby #130

Year: 2004

Went to Las Vegas with Bob, his brother, and his brother's family. It was niece Alex's 21st Birthday too. I bought Alex and Golden their first mojito a at the Bellagio.

Winner: Smarty Jones

Kentucky Derby #132

Year: 2006
Pregnant with "Baby Wagner" Bob and I opted out of a trip to Vegas and headed to Reno. Lots and lots of Derby analysis that year. Number crunching, research, spreadsheets, replays, etc. It came down to two horses. Days before the Derby, Bob wrote a very poignant email about a certain horse named Barbaro. Jokes were made that depending on the Derby winner (especially if he went on to win the triple crown) Baby Wagner could be named after a horse! Needless to say minutes before the race, we picked a different horse, bet all our money and hoped for the best... Minutes later we stared in disbelief (or was it sheer awe) as Barbaro kicked 19 other horses butts and we threw away a bunch of loser tickets. We made a vow to never do that again!!! Barbaro went on to captivate the country as he fought to survive after an ugly leg break in the Preakness two weeks later. I still believe that he could have won the triple crown... but am glad we didn't have to name Charlotte Barbaro!

Winner: Barbaro

The most memorable Kentucky Derby...

Kentucky Derby #131

Year: 2005

Bob, his brother and I headed to Vegas. All the talk was about a horse named Afleet Alex. Lemonade stands, cancer, a real heart wrenching story. The kind that makes you NEVER want to bet your money or get involved in horse racing. But alas... there we were at the big Derby party at Ballys... nervously sipping mint juleps and waiting for the big race to start. About one minute and forty five seconds later we are all watching with our mouths hanging open as Afleet Alex gets beaten at the wire by not one but two horses. It just so happens that Bob had all of the four finishers on his ticket... in the wrong order. The superfecta paid 1.5 million dollars (or something like that). We won $0.00. Our ATM withdrawls were capped for the day, the race was over... we were losers. I was so overcome with emotion I stormed off and went back to the room. I was crying, exhausted and beat. Wasn't the point of all this to have fun? Bob comes back to the room to check on me. I explain to him (sobbing) that the whole thing was ridiculous and that it is supposed to be fun and that none of that matters in life and what really matters is people, not horses and then somehow I said to Bob... "DON'T YOU EVER WANT TO GET MARRIED... TO ME???" I still can't believe that came out. So Bob gave me a big hug and asked me to marry him. We had lost all our money, we had nothing but each other and yep... he proposed... though I think I sort of forced his hand. What was I to say? I basically asked him to ask me. So I started sobbing even more.

We showered, got dressed and met his brother for margaritas (charged to the room because nobody had any cash left). Three months later, in the very city where I forced Bob's hand... we were married. It was one of the greatest days of my life.

Winner: A horse named Giacomo ... the real winner was me!!!