Ms. Gunter's friend Jennifer Dempsey of Louisville made the hat. Never mind that no one remembers all the verses of Kentucky's song. They smile, mumble and steal glances at the words in the program. The roiling mass of humanity known as the infield. Thousands loll on blankets, smuggle booze past security and sometimes get stuck in the portable toilets.
Infielders recall a different era altogether.
Every time I attend the Derby, I want to rub my eyes. And that woman in the infield. Jim Beggan was surprised, too. He's from the Northeast, now at the University of Louisville, and his first Derby last year was a revelation. The two weeks of pre-Derby hoopla.