A friend of mine recently invited me to accompany her to a day at Church Hill Downs. I had never seen the "Downs" and not being one to pass up a new experience, I accepted the invitation and off we went. I have to admit that I was not overly impressed at the beginning. I really had in my mind a picture of the southern plantation type atmosphere that would inspire mint juleps and genteel southern grace. However, the entry gates looked much the same as any stadium and a security guard spent some time fumbling in my purse and checking my camera case. Once past the security, an elderly lady greeted us and informed us that we were on floor 4, she wished us good luck and led us to an elevator. Well, my luck was holding so far. I had passed the security check, and if the crowded elevator didn't stall, I was home free.

After a slow ascent, the doors of the elevator opened and boy was I surprised ! Honey, I was home !
I understood now why people came here after the Derby was long over. This was a very nice restaurant. The sound of soft music seemed to come from the very walls and the long rectangular room was lined with windows and sliding glass doors from floor to ceiling. The doors opened onto a large balcony that offered a wonderful view. The tables were dressed with white linen cloths, and lovely dinnerware. We were led to our table and before we were comfortably seated, a woman appeared and suggested that we have a cool beverage while we waited for lunch. Of course we accepted and it seemed that as soon as our glasses were empty, she reappeared with fresh glasses of a frosty green concoction rimmed with sea salt. This was southern hospitality at its finest. The other patrons were all laughing, eating, drinking and really enjoying themselves. The only thing that I found unusual was that some man kept talking about stretches, necks and noses and interrupting the music. I decided that there must be some exercise lesson going on somewhere in the building and he was the instructor.
The food there was wonderful and everyone was enjoying it immensely. They must have needed some exercise though because every time they heard the man on the radio they would all get up and go outside onto the balcony. When they came back inside, the man came on the radio again and was talking about Icy Ryan and Petite Diablo. These must be nicknames for some of the exercise participants I assumed, because he also said that one of them had won and another had been dead last. The other people there must have been following the contest because they would all cheer after he made his announcements. I became really curious about what was taking place outside, so when the large crowd came back in, I went out to see what everyone was looking at. I walked out onto the balcony and looked in all directions but there was nothing out there. I did see an airplane landing at the nearby airport, maybe that was what they were so interested in, or maybe it was the beautiful garden down on the field below.
The flowers were exquisite, and the grass was a thick lush green. There was a large dirt oval that had not been planted. I suspected that the grounds keepers were waiting for cooler weather and would place mums or some such plant in that area.

It really was a great way to spend an afternoon. We enjoyed good food, drink, lovely scenery, and a little bit of exercise. I found myself somewhat disappointed that such a nice day was ending. As we were waiting for the valet to fetch the car, my friend and I discussed the events of the day. We both agreed that our first experience at the "Downs" had been a treat and really good fun. Then she asked me what I thought about the horses. What horses ?

Diana Meade, ©July 2002.

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