Racing's Triple Crown pageantry, spectacle, athleticism inspiring

Who doesn't love watching with awe a muscled, well groomed horse, mane and tail flying, decked out in all colors of the rainbow, majestically soaring over the ground?

Racing's Triple Crown got underway recently with the Kentucky Derby. The next two legs of the Crown, the Preakness and the Belmont, will follow May 17 and June 7.

For fans of horse racing and especially those who live in Kentucky, or did so at one time, there were and are several innate passions -- basketball and horse racing.

A drive through the state, most notably in and around Lexington, the heart of "Bluegrass Country," unveils lush fields of green and ornate, elaborate horse farms where generations of families breed and grow generations of horses and generations of Derby hopes.

The color and pageantry of the silks of the stables and jockeys as they exercise their horses and later parade their athletic mounts to the gate for the start of the race holds your eye and your attention.

The scant two minutes or so it takes to actually run the race proves an unending, thundering cascade of flying hoofs and churning dirt as the riders and their horses head for home.

The race, as fascinating as it can be, takes secondary notice when one is in the "infield."

With actual seats in the stands beyond the paying reach of many, the infield is a popular place for "people watchers" in the grass in the middle of the track.

If you arrive early enough, it's possible to find a spot near the rail where you can actually see the race.

But most of those who make up the infield have to be content to listen to the call of the race and get a glimpse of the blurred motion when the action passes.

There are actually a number of races on Derby Day, with the big event heralded by the playing of "My Old Kentucky Home."

It literally becomes a day at the races, a similar scene repeated with the running of the Preakness and then, two weeks later, the Belmont.

The people, the festive occasion, the color, pageantry and tradition, and the graceful horses all add to an experience impossible to forget.

For those who have missed the horse racing experience in Kentucky, Maryland or New York, there are three tracks in Kansas -- Anthony, Eureka and Kansas City, and three in Oklahoma, although none in Missouri.

But for most of us, the living room is the closest we get to the track, the dirt and the smell of the horses.

But once you've attended a race, especially one of these premier events, it's hard not to watch from any vantage point and not experience an emotional connection.

As the days get closer to the next race for the Triple Crown, fans look forward again to those stirring moments with the horses and their jockeys racing down the track, nearing the finish with pulse pounding and excitement gripping the outcome.