LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Apologies, fledgling readership of Coffee with Crawford. There was no edition this morning because, well, I didn't have coffee.
Instead, I am having coffee now, in the afternoon, after a busy morning at the track and a soaking walk back to the car from a shuttle that never came.
Generally, I love going over to the track for Thurby. I can take photos and work, and it's the one day without a lot of news deliverables. But this year, I stayed in the stables a bit later than usual to listen to a news conference on immigration and the state of backside workers at Churchill Downs.
The information I heard there will be part of the most important story I'll write all week. You can read it here.
Kentucky Derby 151 | Derby Prep Races | Derby Festival EventsÂ
I should be up front. I write a lot about athletes or teams or coaches on losing streaks. I feel like I've been on one this week.
I missed Pat Kelsey's media availability Tuesday. No one's fault but mine. Some wires got crossed, and by the time I figured it out, I was too far behind. I pieced together a story from someone else's video. It got done — and probably no one noticed — but I did.
But we're also in a different time, and I'm a bit handicapped by age and the things I've experienced. When Rick Pitino showed up on the backside, there was no missing it. The place started buzzing. Those were days when I could have a conversation with the coach that didn't involve a media scrum. Same with Denny Crum, for that matter. Same with Scott Davenport. It hasn't been that way with a Louisville men's coach since Chris Mack arrived. And I feel bad about that. But every coach has his way of doing things, and that's how it's supposed to be.
At one game this year, I realized I was sitting up in the top media section instead of on the floor, and a lot of website people were down courtside. And I had to check myself.
Eventually, I have to remind myself: Let some of these young people trying their best to do the job have some of the experiences you got to have. That's how it should be.
I'm not old. But I'm older. And I'm still having to learn new things and new lessons.
I can still do the job. It's just changed, and I've had to change with it. In every job, a time comes when you feel old. You may not think your best work is behind you, but it starts to feel like your seat at the table is being reserved for someone else.
And it's easy to feel insecure and resentful and a lot of other things you shouldn't feel.
The Derby, I realized as I slogged back to my car, has a way of helping that along. Every year, it gets harder to cover, because logistics of getting from A to B to do whatever you're supposed to do get tougher, and the press room seat is more crowded, and you feel like you're in the way.
Or, you're waiting for a shuttle that you question the existence of, and the skies open up and the rain starts pouring with a bag full of expensive camera gear you paid for yourself, and you figure the thing to do is go home.
And you feel old and beat. Just for a minute. But in this, like in everything, you need to have some good sense. Maybe even some horse sense. It's just ego, a lot of times, that leaves you feeling bad. And too, it comes after a stroke, with a side of neurodivergence. But in the end, everybody out there trying to do this job is in the same situation.
And none of us — here's where I'll end this little rain-soaked confession — would trade it for anything else. We're lucky to do what we do. It's a blessing to be able to hear these stories and tell them, to be in some of the places we get to be.
Whatever obstacles we encounter, more than likely, are there for a reason and usually for our benefit.
I just face my obstacles better when dry — and after a cup of coffee.
Quick sips
Perspective: I've written a little bit about my own bouts of professional anxiety this afternoon, but it's nothing compared to some of the anxiety around the barn area at Churchill Downs. At least three-quarters of the backside staff are immigrants, and 70% of jockeys are immigrants or Latino. Trainer Dale Romans said he's been working with immigrant communities all his life. Never has he seen a higher level of stress and anxiety than he's seeing right now. Much more on that in a column to come. And on WDRB News.
An Oaks scratch: Disappointment for the connections of filly Five G and trainer George Weaver, who made the decision to scratch her from the Kentucky Oaks this morning because they didn't like the way she'd been training. But kudos to him for doing the right thing by his filly.
The Final Drop
"Mud is mud. The only difference is that in Louisiana there might be crawfish on the track."
-- Bethany Taylor, exercise rider and assistant trainer for Coal Battle
Kentucky Derby Coverage:
BOZICH | Crushing the Kentucky Derby trifecta, superfecta, high five with Joe Montano
Kentucky Derby betting 101 | Learning the track lingo for exacta, trifecta and exotics
BOZICH | Picking the Derby winner with Travis Stone, Dale Romans, Mark Casse, Jack Wolf
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
