Coffee with Crawford | Why the Kentucky Derby walkover still stirs the soul | Sports

Note: Coffee with Crawford is a new daily weekday conversation — one story, one thought, or one question to start your day. Sometimes it will be about sports. Sometimes it will be about life. Often, it will be both. Always, it's meant to be quick, thoughtful and worth your time — something to go with your first cup of coffee (or whatever gets you going). Thanks for joining me.

Some things at the Derby never change. And I'm grateful for them.

This will be my 33rd Kentucky Derby. And I feel the sweep of so many changes.

But one thing has changed relatively little — and when you get to where I am, you appreciate the things that seem timeless.

The Walkover.

Here's how it works for me. A race before the Derby, I duck under the rail, onto the edge of the track and walk back to the stable area. Then I kill a little time, checking around the contenders' barns, until the loudspeaker crackles to life:

"Horses to the track for Race No. 12."

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At first, nobody emerges. But soon, here they come.

Wandering out from their scattered corners of the backside — horses, handlers, and colorful, growing entourages of owners and partners, all following these animals who have carried them into a dream.

And this walk to the starting gate isn't just a ritual. It's where the dream becomes real.

Soon, I start walking too.

The pace looks slow, but on a harrowed, watered track, I marvel at how racehorses glide across it — sure-footed and graceful. And I try at some point, between capturing images and absorbing the moment, to remember this point: Every Derby dream walks this path first.

As I pick my way along the churned earth, trying to keep the mud from claiming my shoes, I hear the wall of sound.

The roar of 150,000 people pours down.

And then, through the roar, I start to catch individual voices — greetings called to trainers, to horses, to owners.

Sometimes even to me.

The walkover is always special.

I've made it with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip sitting above in a box.

I've made it behind Eight Belles, who wouldn't return to the barn.

I've stood there, listening to 150,000 people sing My Old Kentucky Home, trying to hold a scene too big to capture.

When it comes to the Derby, almost everything changes.

The sport. The venue. The crowds. The price of admission. Even how we feel about the old state song.

But one thing doesn't change.

The walkover, even if it gets more crowded every year, is still a winner.

And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Trainer Dale Romans, who virtually grew up at Churchill Downs and has saddled a dozen Derby starters, said he remembers every walkover he's made.

"It's one of the greatest moments in sports," Romans said.
"I've always said it must be what it's like to be standing in the tunnel at the Super Bowl, getting ready to run out."

Some moments are too big to forget.

Some traditions stand their ground, no matter how much around them changes.

I find myself hoping the walkover is a forever kind of thing.

And if it isn't, I'll be grateful for every walk I had.

Quick Sips

Dress Rehearsal: Tuesday is usually the last day trainers let their Derby horses really stretch their legs before the big day. After that, it's all easy gallops, light works, and careful steps to the starting gate. A couple of exceptions: Japanese imports Admire Daytona and Luxor Café, who plan final works Tuesday. Part of a Japanese program that doesn't quite align with American norms — and worth watching. Japanese horses finished second and fifth last year.
Kelsey Alert: Among the expected visitors to the backside Tuesday: new Louisville men's basketball coach Pat Kelsey and his family. Somewhere in Florida, a 2-year-old named Kelz is beginning his training. Maybe Kelsey will have a namesake at Churchill Downs next year.
What I'm Working On: Look for a feature on Brian Hernandez Jr., last year's Oaks-Derby winning jockey, on how his life has changed. I'll also post another edition of the Kentucky Derby Notebook, rounding up the day's backside goings-on.

The Last Drop

"Until you go to Kentucky and with your own eyes behold the Derby, you ain't never been nowhere and you ain't seen nothin'!"

— Irvin S. Cobb