Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Celebs Horse Around At Race

From Wire Reports

John Goodman polished off a beer, wandered onto the balcony of the Eclipse Club and yelled to the crowd below: “Give me a winner!”

Goodman, star of TV’s “Roseanne,” was among dozens of celebrities at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.

As hundreds of fans cheered him from the paddock area, Goodman said he would have regretted being anywhere else Saturday.

“The one thing about Kentucky - these people come ready to party,” Goodman said. “If Derby Day were every day, I think this would be heaven. This is the best place to be in the world right now.”

Dennis Hopper, star of the movie “Speed,” also greeted fans from the balcony. Hopper grew up going to races at Santa Anita, and said the thrill of his Derby day was meeting former president George Bush.

Also spotted at the Derby: comedian Jon Lovitz, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, actor Hal Holbrook, talk-show host Geraldo Rivera, TV star Loni Anderson, Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Lange and her longtime companion, actorwriter Sam Shepherd, soap opera star Susan Lucci, Louisville football coach Ron Cooper and Oklahoma football coach Howard Schnellenberger

Kato Kaelin, the suddenly famous houseguest of O.J. Simpson, also attended and watched the Derby from a secluded corner of Millionaire’s Row.

Best-best bust

Once again, the best bet in the Derby was not a $2 win ticket on the favorite.

For the 16th straight year, the posttime favorite was beaten, and this year the favorite had two chances.

The D. Wayne Lukas-trained entry of Timber Country and the filly Serena’s Song went off as the 3-1 favorite. Timber Country finished third, Serena’s Song 16th after leading for the first mile. Thunder Gulch, the third Lukas horse in the field, won the Derby and returned $51.

The last favorite to win was Spectacular Bid in 1979.

Krone’s chronicle

Jockey Julie Krone, riding trainer Nick Zito’s Suave Prospect, was never a factor in the race and finished 11th.

“He broke beautifully,” Krone said. “I was behind the speed but he kind of shied away going into the turn.”

After the first quarter, Zito’s horse was ninth and then drifted back to 11th and 14th.

“He’s a small horse and he gets a little intimidated. When I angled him out, he picked up some horses and when we got right around the turn, I pointed him completely outside and he didn’t fire. I didn’t have enough left to make up ground.”

The crowd watches

A crowd of 144,110, second-largest in Derby history, enjoyed the calm conditions and balmy temperatures.

The largest crowd, 163,628, watched Cannonade’s victory in 1974, the 100th Derby.

Watching the crowd

Security was noticeably tighter because of last month’s bombing in Oklahoma City. Authorities walked with explosives-sniffing dogs through the crowds and checked cars and trucks more closely than ever.

“You can’t ever prepare for what happened there,” said Louisville police Capt. Steve Thompson, commander of the city’s bomb squad. “We’re as prepared as we can be. When you’ve got a crowd this size, you can’t make it a concentration camp.”

But the nervousness was evident in the numbers: As many as 500 security officers from the city and county and at least five federal agencies, including the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.