The first half of Kaylin Podmore's sophomore year of high school was pretty intense for someone who usually tries to keep away from the drama. It seemed like almost every day she spent her day fighting with someone, whether it was between her parent...
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"Hi Magic!" I greet my favorite Thoroughbred, Faith's Magic, the three-year-old filly once I come to a stop in front of her stall inside the barn that my parents, Derrick and Tammy Podmore, have at Churchill Downs.
Churchill Downs is an old, world-famous Thoroughbred racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky and is only about two hours away from where I live in Lexington, Kentucky on my parents Thoroughbred racehorse breeding and training farm, Shadow Ridge Farm. It has a mile-long dirt track and an inner turf track that is only seven-eighths of a mile. The racetrack is the host for some very important races, just like the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve - which is happening in a few hours - the first of three races of the prestigious Triple Crown.
The Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve is one of the longest standing racing weekends, held exclusively for the world's top twenty three-year-olds. It is annually run on the first Saturday of May at a mile-and-a-quarter over Churchill Downs mile long dirt track.
The Kentucky Derby is one of the biggest horse races of the year around the world, held exclusively for the top twenty three-year-olds. It's always held on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs, run over a mile-and-a-quarter over the mile long dirt track. It's also the first race in the prestigious Triple Crown, a series of three races run in five weeks for some of the best three-year-olds.
Only the top twenty three-year-olds, while twenty-four qualify in case of scratches or withdrawals, can run in the Kentucky Derby. They qualify by finishing in the top four in races that are on The Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of races held starting in September all the way through to April that are split into three series with varying points awarded to the top four. Just in the United States, The Prep Season had nineteen races held from September to February, the first leg of the Challenge Series had a single race in February and six races in March while the second leg had two races held in March and four final races in April. There was also a wild card series of two races, one in March and one in April.
The Triple Crown, a series of three races which can only be run by three-year-olds, includes the $3,000,000 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve held annually on the first Saturday in May, the $1,500,000 Preakness Stakes, that is annually held two weeks later up in Baltimore, Maryland at Pimlico Race Course that is followed by the $1,000,000 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, at Belmont Park which is farther north up in Elmont, New York, held three weeks after the Preakness, a grueling five weeks for any horse. There have been 13 winners since 1919 when Sir Barton won and 10 more between him and Affirmed in 1978 while American Pharoah and Justify won in 2015 and 2018 respectively.
I live at Shadow Ridge along with my parents and my paternal grandparents while my almost twenty-one-year-old sister, Kimberly who graduated from Henry Clay High School last year May has been living with her boyfriend Ryan Adams, who's almost twenty-two-years-old since last November. The family run operation has been passed down for generations, most recently to my parents after my grandpa, Ray, on my dad's side had a heart attack. My grandma, Mary was on him for a little while over it and he finally agreed that it was time to slow down, knowing my parents were more than capable of handling the responsibility. It has been a dream of mine to run the farm one day and since my sister has no interest in racing, I know one day it will be mine.
