Posted on May 11, 2010 - by Jennifer

Kentucky Derby Museum’s “Countdown to Victory”

So, I must admit that other than occasionally raising a mint julep with friends during NBC’s broadcast of the Kentucky Derby, I did not know much about horse racing or the Kentucky Derby specifically until I was hired by Cortina Productions to write films for the newly re-opened Kentucky Derby Museum.  The museum was damaged last year by flash floods but, with some of that trademark Kentucky spirit, they took advantage of the opportunity to update and expand, adding new films and interactive exhibits.  To learn more, read the USA Today article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-04-24-kentucky-derby-museum_N.htm

My work was on the “Countdown to Victory” films which take visitors behind the scenes during the 30 minutes just prior to the start of the race.  The short films give you a variety of perspectives on the action from the jockeys playing ping pong to calm their nerves,  to the grooms trying to calm the horses as the crowds swell, to the bugler who practices 2 hours a day for the 30-second Call-to-Post, to the “horse identifier” who risks her fingers checking each horse’s mouth for an identifying lip tattoo.  Each person has a unique perspective but they all share a passion for the derby.  I had always assumed that horse racing was an insular world, limited to a privileged few.  But, I learned otherwise in making these films.  Each owner, trainer, jockey, or groom and the many staff that support them seemed to have a unique and compelling story about how they got to the derby, from a jockey fighting back from a spinal cord injury to race again to a lifelong school principal living out his dream to own a Derby horse.

You can check out the Derby Museum website at:

http://www.derbymuseum.org/