Racing Rachel

Tomorrow, the odyssey to my bluegrass heaven begins, but the biggest race of the weekend may not even be between the rails. As I've mentioned previously, the majestic filly Rachel Alexandra will be running on Friday. However, her race's post time is scheduled for 1:26 p.m. Jim and I land at 11:02 a.m.- in Indianapolis. Fortunately, Perry will already be waiting outside in his most dapper driver's cap, waiting to whisk the three of us down the interstate. It's 131 miles from the Indy airport to Churchill Downs in Louisville. With any luck, we'll get to the gate on time, run through the airport like O.J. Simpson, and be on the road no later than 11:30 a.m. That leaves us less than two hours to get there, park, navigate the crowd, and rush as close to trackside as possible to see this beauty run. In the best of circumstances, we'd even be able to lay a bet down, but that might be asking too much. Early morning line on us getting there on time is 50-1. If we make it, I vow to crown Perry with a garland of pink lillies. But, if we are late, weep no more for us. Stay tuned for stories and pictures to come after the weekend.