Barbaro Is Now Eternally Flying Toward the Finish at Churchill Downs

by Fran Jurga | 1 May 2009 | The Jurga Report

Barbaro memorial statue at Churchill Downs, originally uploaded by Rock and Racehorses.

I'm sure you will see this on the telecast of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday but check this out: the new statue of Barbaro outside the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs features a larger than life sculpture of the 2006 winner...and not one of his feet touches the ground! The sculpture is somehow suspended from the rail so the horse flies. Thanks to lucky-to-be-there New York photographer Sarah K. Andrew for sharing this photo.

Kentucky Derby Barbie, Meet Backstretch Barbie: Which Would You Buy?

by Fran Jurga | 3 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

The Louisville's Courier-Journal tells us that the Kentucky Derby Museum's gift shop's shelves are stocked with a special commemorative Kentucky Derby Barbie doll. And I'm still scratching my head.

I guess my initial reaction is surprise. They still make Barbie dolls? People still buy them?

My next reaction was more positive, as in: Wow, Mattel thinks that horse racing is worthy of creating a commemorative doll. Maybe the industry isn't as deep in the gutter as it thinks it is.

But if we lived in a perfect world, which we don’t, how great would it be to give shoppers and collectors a choice of dolls? Yes, you do think of women in hats and fab frocks on Derby Day, because that’s what the media shows us.

But what about the women on the backside of the racetrack--shouldn't they be portrayed in a doll? Little girls could choose either the frock-and-heels Turf Club Barbie or maybe Backstretch Barbie, an exercise rider dressed in black fringed chaps, with some great tattoos, a body protector vest and a jock helmet with cool goggles.

Exercise riders have arms even Michelle Obama would envy...

One of my key memories of last year's Belmont was when exercise rider/assistant trainer Michelle Nevin ran out into the deep track toward Big Brown as he was pulled up at the finish. She was dressed in her in-case-we-get-to-the-winners-circle clothes and looked so different from the athletic figure who'd been photographed in her work clothes a million times in the months running up to that moment. You wouldn't have recognized her on the street.

Every summer, the thought flashes before me that the New York Times is missing a great photo feature for the Style section by not doing a fashion shoot of the exercise riders at Saratoga--male and female. I could see an assemblage of them on the cover of Vanity Fair. Annie Leibovitz, are you reading this?

Maybe flowered-frock Barbie is the image the Derby's marketing department wants to project. But little girls would think that Backstretch Barbie was Way Cool. She's got style, and the attitude and guts to pull it off.

And how about a sunburned Infield Barbie, wearing a tank-top, cutoffs and carrying a Churchill Downs beer cooler?

Thanks to Sarah K. Andrew of Rock and Racehorses equine photography for her use of the photo of Saratoga exercise riders. Sarah writes, "I owned exactly one Barbie, and her only purpose in life was to ride the Barbie Horse."

Kentucky Derby Barbie is for sale online for $47 at the Kentucky Derby Store web site. Maybe, like Michelle Nevin, she comes with a change of clothes.

Someone in Louisville Loves This Blog...and Told the World!

by Fran Jurga | 16 March 2009 | The Jurga Report
Writing this blog reminds me of being on stage in a play. The lights are so bright, you can't see beyond the stage apron. Is there a full house...or will your words just echo around an empty hall? When I hit the "Publish" button for today's post, will there be the hoped-for wave of laughter, maybe a smattering of polite applause...or an uncomfortable silence, with a cough or two?

Blogging has taught me to take a lot of risks. I have to open my email account to anyone who posts a comment. I have to read and then delete the obscene, abusive or overtly commercial messages left by drive-by comment thugs. I scrutinize statistics of unique visits, page views, referring sites and landing pages.

But I don't have a clue who you. the readers, are or, some days, if you are.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that The Jurga Report was recently the subject of a very favorable and flattering article in one of my favorite daily newspapers, The Louisville Courier-Journal. Reporter Diane Heilenman, it turns out, is a regular reader of this blog and she wasn't afraid to tell the world. Then Google News picked up the story...and for a few days, the blog picked up steam and a few rows of new readers from the Louisville area.

Thank you, Diane, for tuning in to this blog and for sharing your enthusiasm with the world. I am still shocked at your kind words and the paper's nice graphic presentation of the article about the blog.

The newspapers lately are filled with stories about web predators, identity thieves, viruses, and rip-off schemes. Every time you download a file, do you wonder who--or what--might be hitchhiking a ride into your hard drive? Do you screen your email through filters and guard your "white list" like its a key to your inner sanctum? It just might be, if you believe what you read in the newspaper.

I'd like to encourage everyone who reads this blog to stay safe on the web, but also to take some chances. Find new web sites and blogs and forums that are out there waiting for you, beyond the Yahoos and the Googles and breed/sport horse sites of this world. Explore the world, not just the USA, and re-discover how much fun the web used to be, before we all became paranoid and security-crazed.

You can be safe and surf at the same time, so head out there today and have a good time. Just don't lose the bookmark or RSS feed of The Jurga Report. I'll still be here when you get back, with some interesting news. You can count on that.

Thanks for reading The Jurga Report, whoever you all are!

Barbaro's Feet Won't Touch the Ground in New Memorial Sculpture at Churchill Downs

This 2006 Churchill Downs photo suggests the pose captured by sculptress Alexa King for Barbaro's memorial statue, which will be unveiled this spring at the Louisville, Kentucky racetrack.

The public unveiling of a larger-than-life bronze statue to celebrate the life of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro will take place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on the morning of Sunday, April 26, as the 2009 Derby Week begins in the city.

Production of the bronze statue is nearing its final stages under the direction of sculptor Alexa King. Her design captures Barbaro and jockey Edgar Prado in mid-flight between strides nearing the finish line, on their way to a dramatic victory in the 2006 Kentucky Derby.

The unique statue will be mounted on a horizontal bronze rail that will support the 1,500-pound artwork, creating the impression that Barbaro and his rider are suspended in air. It is the first time that an equine statue of this size and scope has been presented with all four of the horse’s feet off the ground.

The statue will become the focal point of Barbaro’s official memorial and burial site at Churchill Downs. It will be placed outside Churchill Downs’ Gate 1 and near the entrance to the Kentucky Derby Museum along with Barbaro’s ashes, which will be interred beneath the bronze. Currently, a bronze marker, featuring Barbaro’s likeness, marks the location of the future memorial site beneath a large magnolia tree.

The 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands is scheduled for Saturday, May 2.