Derby Paddock Reflections

John Tweedy at the 2025 Kentucky Derby

May 8, 2025

Kate and I had the privilege and thrill of being at the Kentucky Oaks and Derby this year.  Good Cheer and Sovereignty both ran great races, and it was a relief that all the horses came home safely, despite some very challenging weather. 

Deepest thanks and congratulations to Churchill Downs, its workers and staff, all of the horse owners and connections, riders and trainers, veterinarians, backstretch workers, and Louisvillians of many walks of life who collectively make Derby Week an unforgettable experience. 

During the happy pandemonium of the day, I found a calm spot on the Turf Club balcony high above the saddling paddock, where I could watch from afar the horses gather, be walked, saddled, and cared for by their trusted humans in the last moments before the race.  I remember being present for those moments over fifty years ago. 

I felt with every sense in my body the currents of anxious tenderness among Secretariat – or Riva Ridge – and Eddie Sweat, Charlie Davis, Lucien Laurin, Ron Turcotte, and Mom.  In a big race, let alone the biggest, there were always media, fans and onlookers present as well. 

I remember thinking, even as a child: you can train a horse to run its fastest, to compete with other horses, handle different track conditions. 

But how can you ever prepare a horse for the roar of Derby Day?

Secretariat is being celebrated as a progenitor of every single Derby competitor this year, a fact of which my family is very proud. 

One reason for his pervasive bloodline, of course, is the advantage gained by the size of his heart.  But beyond fitness, soundness, stamina, and speed, a great racehorse – a great racing team – needs heart of another kind.  

If you look closely at the subtle gestures between horses and humans in the saddling paddock before a race, you might see it beat.  I saw it on Saturday, in how Sovereignty kept his head up, and how his handlers gentled him past the heedless screeching in the paddock stands before entering the tunnel onto that drenched, cacophonous track.  

It’s not a thing you can easily capture, but I tried a few grainy photos nonetheless.

©John Tweedy

Sovereignty before the race…