Ooh, this horsey-girly girl is hoping for a Triple Crown...

Funny Cide, the gelding who won the Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness today. Whenever this happens, you've pretty much got to be rooting for a Triple Crown winner, and of course, that would be history in the making, since a gelding has never won all three. People in our area are hoping that a Triple Crown win, along with the upcoming movie Seabiscuit, starring Tobey Maguire, will help renew interest in the horse industry. When the movie comes out, one of the early screenings will be here in Lexington, because part of the film was made here at Keeneland with lots of extras who showed up in the rain. Personally I have a lot of mixed feelings about any kind of animal racing, but it's such an important part of our history here in the Bluegrass. A lot of people in our area depend on thoroughbred industry. Only a couple of years after the disaster of Mare Reproductive Loss hitting the Bluegrass, anything that could give it a boost would probably help our oeconomy. The fact that Funny Cide is New York bred, notwithstanding, it could really help.

Central Kentucky is a little odd in that our biggest employers are Toyota, Lexmark, and the University of Kentucky. There aren't a lot of traditional factories belching out smoke, etc. Many smaller communities have small factories where people sew clothing, etc. We're still largely agricultural. The common joke, of course, is that Kentucky gets it's money from vices--horse racing, bourbon and other distilling, tobacco, and our largest cash crop, marijuana. :) Then there's coal and timber, which are both environmental hot potatoes. This in an area that is firmly Bible belt in nature. We also have a lot of horse farms, Angus (beef), and people are exploring alternatives to tobacco like soy and organic vegetables. Most people have gotten out of dairy, but there are some. It's also perfect sheep country, especially once you get to the hills, although I don't know how many people actually raise it. Our family did in Owen county, I know. When you have lots of mineral-rich grass, grazing is a big commodity. Years ago, this area was a favourite of buffalo. I have to admit, I can understand why my ancestors came here. It's very much like Britain and Ireland. We even have karst topography (lots of limestone caves, sinkholes, etc.). My geology professor at UK was Irish, because that was his specialty. (I spent a lot of time in class just listening to his lilt). One of Central Kentucky's most charming features are the limestone fences reminiscent of Ireland. This time of year it's especially lush and beautiful (although full of allergens!) If you've never been, you might want to visit. There's a lot of history. Practically anyone who went west went through Kentucky--it's important in genealogy searches. We have Mammoth Cave, Natural Bridge (a stone arch), the Red River Gorge, etc., etc.

Gosh, I'm sounding like an ad. Let's just say I think of Kentucky as home, and I love it. It gets a lot of ribbing for being backwards (some of it undeserved, some of it deserved). But I like it with all its good and bad points.