Madison's Choice

by Skye Michaels

  Matt grinned. “My pleasure. Glad I was in the right place at the right time.”

  Epilogue

  Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky—First Friday in May, 2013—The Kentucky Oaks

  Madison and Calleigh gazed about them and were amazed as they sat in the box on Millionaire’s Row with their friends from Ocala for the 139th running of the Kentucky Oaks, the “Run for the Lilies,” a stakes race for three-year-old fillies with a winning purse of $1,000,000. Known as the first leg of the Filly Triple Crown, the race is a mile and one-eighth on dirt. In order to take the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, the winner of the Kentucky Oaks also has to win the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course and the Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park.

  The grand old racetrack was decked out and gorgeous. It had been trimmed in cotton-candy-pink banners for the event, and most of the spectators wore some shade of pink apparel, hats, and accessories. The ladies from Le Club had carefully coordinated their outfits to avoid any unexpected duplications and to create a harmonious array for any pictures to be taken in the winner’s circle in the event of a win by Calleigh’s Delight.

  “Oh God, Calleigh. Look at these clothes. And the hats. Wow! You know I checked it out on the internet, but I’m still shocked. ”

  “It’s a good thing we all coordinated our outfits and had those shopping trips to Miami. With the limited selection available in Ocala and Gainesville, we could have had wardrobe malfunction big time if we hadn’t been really careful and all worked together.” They had so much fun coordinating everyone’s outfits.

  Maddie wore a pale-pink suit with a pink hat and had insisted that Ross wear a pink tie with his gray pin-stripe suit. Nickie was similarly dressed although he had vehemently protested wearing a suit and pink tie. Ross had shown him little sympathy, telling his son that if Dad had to wear a pink tie, so did he. Calleigh wore a bright-pink sheath dress and matching hat and shoes in honor of Calleigh’s Delight, her namesake. She held two-month old Victoria Rose Steele in her arms. The baby wore a light-pink lace dress and bonnet with little matching shoes. Little Emily Rose Steele, who was almost two years old, wore a matching pink confection that looked good enough to eat as she was held in Jason’s arms. Kelly Devereau, similarly clad in pink, held her five-month-old son, Justin Jr. or J. J., who wore an adorable white shorts outfit with a pink polo shirt while Justin looked on proudly with a pink handkerchief in his pocket and a pink carnation on his lapel. Their friend, Anne Sutton, who had beaten breast cancer several years ago, would be wearing a pink silk coat dress and black hat with a pink ribbon hat band when she walked in the Survivor’s Parade with Jamie Devereau, wearing a pink fedora, prior to the race.

  Eden Creek’s filly, Calleigh’s Delight, was running in the Oaks, and they were all thrilled. Calleigh’s Delight was the daughter of Midnight Passion, the result of an unplanned pasture mating at Eden Creek, and had been born before the end of the year 2010. Midnight Passion had “jumped the fence” and gotten the job done with Elegant Lady without any assistance. This necessitated Delight’s first birthday occurring on the immediately following January 1, 2011 when she was actually only three months old. All Thoroughbreds have their birthday on January 1, so Delight was an early three-year-old. This was generally viewed as a handicap as early three-year-olds were running against older fillies or colts who had the benefit of additional experience as well as time to grow and mature. As a result, Delight was running at twenty-to-one odds on the morning line, the pre-race odds that appear in the racing programs and other racing publications, in a field of nine horses.

  Ross and Mike, as well as their jockey, Belinda Jones, felt that Delight was ready for the competition as she had scored three straight wins as a juvenile culminating in a two length victory in the grade three Tempted Stakes at Belmont Park and the grade two Pocahontas Stakes against Icy Girl, at Churchill Downs. The Oaks, a grade one race, would be her fourth start in four months.

  Everyone in the box stood to watch the Survivor’s Parade and then the post parade to the starting gates. Calleigh’s Delight, her black mane braided to hold a string of pink carnations, walked calmly to the gate. Belinda, wearing the Eden Creek yellow and black silks, held her firmly but had no problem loading her into the gate like the young lady she was. The horn blew, the gates clanged open, and they were off!

  Icy Girl, the favorite who started on the rail, took the early lead down the stretch and into the Clubhouse Turn. The field ran close together down the back stretch, but Icy Girl was caught in the wash as Calleigh’s Delight came flying around the final turn, taking the lead and putting Icy Girl and the rest of the field firmly behind her. The field began to creep up as they headed toward the wire, but Calleigh’s Delight shot forward like a cannonball to fly under the wire a length and a half ahead of the field completing the race in 1:50:30.

  The announcer called the race. Calleigh’s Delight by a length and a half, Icy Girl to place, and Improper Lady, Matt Jackson’s horse, to show. Eden Creek Farm had another long shot winner at twenty to one, and the stands erupted. Ross picked Maddie up and twirled her around as Nickie jumped up and down in excitement. Calleigh and Jason Steele hugged tightly with Emily Rose and Victoria Rose squashed in their arms. They had been dinner guests at Eden Creek Farm the day Calleigh’s Delight had been born, and Mike had named her after the newly pregnant Calleigh.

  The group from Ocala made their way to the Winner’s Circle for the presentation of the trophy and the placing of the blanket of gorgeous pink and white lilies across Belinda’s lap—Lilies for the Fillies! It was a very auspicious start to the Derby festivities. A million dollar purse and the attendant side bets had already made it a very profitable weekend for Eden Creek Farm and all of the Ocala participants.

  * * * *

  Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky—First Saturday in May, 2013—The Kentucky Derby

  It was still dark when Ross and his crew arrived at the shed row containing their stalls on the backside of Churchill Downs at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the day of the 139th Kentucky Derby. The mist was still hugging the ground as the grooms saddled Rockstar and got him ready for Belinda to mount. They were going to work him lightly as a warm-up for the Derby that afternoon. He was as ready as they could make him, and they didn’t want to have a mishap or wear him out prior to the race.

  “Just breeze him, Belinda. Don’t take any chances. We also don’t want to give the handicappers any more information for the morning line than they already have. Matt Jackson can have the favorite’s position. I’d rather Rockstar be the frontrunner in the race.”

  “Right, Ross. Nice and easy.” Ross walked beside her, and she proceeded through the gap in the rail. She turned Rockstar onto the track and began a nice gallop in hand for half a mile. She let him stretch out handily for a few furlongs more and then brought him back down to a controlled pace. She let him settle down to a canter, and standing in the stirrups, she finally trotted him back to the rail where Ross waited.

  “How’s he feel?” Ross asked, looking Rockstar over with a practiced eye.

  “He felt fabulous—ready to go! I could feel that he wanted to shift into passing gear and take off. I had to hold him back to keep him at a moderate speed.”

  “Okay. Let’s bring him in. Let Grady bathe him, give him some hay, and let him rest. I’m really pleased. Tell Grady not to leave him alone, even for a minute. One of the guys is to be with him at all times—no exceptions. After what happened on Thursday, we don’t want to take even the slightest chance.” The Eden Creek grooms had been taking turns sleeping on a cot outside the Eden Creek stalls since they had arrived in Louisville, and still they had had a problem. Thank goodness the Achilles guys were still in jail unable to make bail.

  Ross met Maddie, Nickie, Mike, and Robbie for breakfast at the track, and they watched the other horses’ morning workouts while they ate. “Perfidy seems hyper and overexcited. He has a tendency to run hot,” Ross said as he watched Matt Jackson’s horse w
arm up on the track.

  “That could be good for us,” Mike replied. “Once Rockstar gets out on the track, he settles down to business.”

  As they were finishing their second cups of coffee, they were approached by two sports reporters wanting interviews. Ross was hesitant to talk with them prior to the race, being sensitive to all of the traditional racetrack superstitions. It made him feel ridiculous, but who knew? One of them might have a package of peanuts in his pocket, or worse, a fifty dollar bill. But Mike, being an old hand at Derby politics, knew they had to give the media something to chew on, or they’d eat them alive. It was common knowledge that Rockstar was blind in one eye. When asked about the accident that caused the blindness, Mike told the story with a good deal of showmanship and melodrama, praising Rockstar’s heart and courage. But he kept details of his workout times and training regimen to the bare minimum. The newspapers and sports magazines had been full of stories about the hard-luck horse that made it to the Derby, but Mike and Ross really did not want the publicity to influence the odds. If Rockstar managed the pull it off, the mystique of a half-blind long shot winning the Derby would add to his cache and increase his stud fees exponentially.

  * * * *

  Maddie and Ross decided to take a short rest at their hotel before the afternoon’s festivities began. When they got back to their suite, Maddie said, “I don’t know if I can settle down long enough to rest. After Delight’s win yesterday, I am so wired. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the afternoon.”

  Ross pulled her into his arms for a long, stirring kiss. He had been through pre-race jitters many times. “Come and snuggle with me then. I’ll see what I can do to calm you down.”

  “I don’t know if what you have in mind will calm me down or rev me up.” She giggled as he pulled her toward the bed.

  “Just cuddling, I promise,” he said, not meaning a word of it, she knew. Nickie had been overexcited as well and was presently playing video games with his older cousins, who had been warned of dire consequences should they lose him, so Maddie and Ross had a little private time to enjoy. Ross and Madison had gotten married at the farm the previous Christmas, much to everyone’s delight—especially Nickie’s. Maddie had worn Grammatha’s wedding dress and veil and had looked stunning in the wonderful, old-fashioned, cream-colored gown with a bodice covered in seed pearls. Nickie now had a mom and dad, and they all lived in the same house.

  Ross gathered her into his arms for a smoldering kiss, and she slid into the delight of his demanding mouth. Her pulse quickened, and her panties dampened. He ran his hands up her chest and hurriedly began unfastening the buttons of her shirt and pushing her jeans down, as she did the same for him. She was ready for him, as always, and they fell onto the bed. She quickly found herself on her back with her legs wrapped around his waist. She had found Ross to be a patient and passionate lover sometimes, and as impatient and impulsive as he had ever been at twenty other times. She always found him to be wonderful. As he slid his rigid cock into her needy channel, she could tell that this time was going to be hard and fast. She opened to welcome him as he began the rhythmic rocking that escalated into rapid pounding and culminated in pulsing release as she spiraled over the top. Breathless from the quick but intense encounter, he collapsed on her chest. He turned her into his embrace and pulled her back up against his chest as they spooned into their favorite position.

  “Ah…much better,” she sighed as her heart returned to its normal pace. She never took this feeling of peace for granted, and she smiled as she drifted off for a short nap in her husband’s arms. She had never been happier, and she appreciated each and every day.

  They arose after their nap and began to dress for the afternoon. Ross looked handsome in a black three-piece suit with a white silk shirt and yellow silk tie patterned with black horse shoes. The tie was the same colors as their racing silks. Maddie had shopped high and low for the tie and had finally found it online.

  It was Maddie’s first Kentucky Derby, and the new Mrs. Hamilton was very excited. The Derby Week’s social events had been more than Maddie had expected, and she was a little on edge. She wanted desperately for Rockstar to win, but she knew long shots were long shots for a reason, despite Delight’s stunning win in the Oaks the day before. She tried to keep her expectations under control. She had planned her clothes for the week’s events carefully with the help of Robbie, Kelly, and her other friends at the club. They had made several shopping trips to South Florida to visit the designer shops in Bal Harbor and Coral Gables. Their designer gowns, dresses, and hats had all been carefully chosen and coordinated so that no accidental duplications occurred. It would be a disaster if there were two outfits the same in their box on Millionaire’s Row.

  Nonetheless, today Maddie dressed in the yellow silk suit piped in black she had found at an exclusive little dress shop in Ocala. She really wanted a home town outfit for this special day. It was not exactly the same color as their silks. She thought that would be just too cute. The matching black shoes and handbag were complemented by a big, wide-brimmed black straw hat. She carefully applied a judicious amount of makeup. She had had a stylish haircut and makeup consultation the week before in anticipation of the many photographs that would be taken over the Derby week. The only jewelry she wore was her emerald-cut diamond engagement ring and matching canary and white diamond eternity wedding band and diamond stud earrings. She looked stunning.

  When they were dressed, they went right to Rockstar’s stall. Ross was anxious to oversee the saddling procedure for the Eleventh Race under the watchful eye of the paddock judge. Rockstar’s dark bay coat gleamed as the saddle pad and saddle cloth with his name and program number were placed on his back, topped off by the racing saddle that weighted only two pounds. The bit, bridle, and racing hood with blinkers and earmuffs were added. Finally the lead weights determined by the track handicapper were added to the pockets on either side of the saddle to make up the difference between the actual weight of Rockstar’s jockey and equipment and the 126 pounds he had been assigned to carry during the race. Belinda Jones, a tiny, red-haired pixie of a woman with sparkling green eyes, was attired in the Eden Creek racing silks of bright-yellow with a black stripe. Ross gave Belinda a leg up into the saddle as Mike held the horse’s head and gave final words of instruction and encouragement. Maddie kissed Rockstar on the nose for good luck.

  When all had been checked and doubled-checked, Belinda Jones rode around the saddling enclosure in anticipation of the post parade, which went from the paddock to the starting gate and past the stands, holding approximately one hundred and sixty thousand screaming race fans. The noise, even muffled on the backside, was a dull roar.

  Ross, Maddie, Mike, and Robbie and the rest of their group headed for their box on Millionaire’s Row where they were served mint juleps and hors d’oeuvres. Maddie was too excited to eat and could barely swallow the sweet, icy mint julep in the ice-frosted silver julep cup. She held Ross’s hand like a lifeline and hung onto Nickie for dear life.

  The horses were led out past the grandstands to the starting gate by track ponies to the strains of “My Old Kentucky Home” played by the University of Louisville Marching Band. Some of the horses were fractious and excited, and others were calm and businesslike. Perfidy was prancing sideways, and his outriders had a hard time directing him toward the gate. Rockstar walked at a fast but steady pace. He seemed eager but not uncontrolled. The track condition was fast—dry, even, and resilient. Rockstar had drawn post position nine out of a field of nineteen horses, toward the center of the starting gate. Maddie knew that Ross and Mike were pleased. Perfidy had drawn post position two, almost on the rail, and not traditionally an advantageous position.

  As the horses were loaded into the starting gate, the horn blew, and the odds on the tote board were finalized. Perfidy was going off at two to one, and Rockstar, despite his immense crowd appeal was going off at forty to one.

  The trumpeter played the traditional
call to post. The announcer said, “Welcome to the longest running sporting event in United States history. They’re in the gates.” The gates crashed open. “And…they’re off in the 139th Kentucky Derby.”

  The field of nineteen horses broke from the starting gate with a loud crash and began to gather onto the rail. Rockstar surged forward with the pack on the straightaway from his post position near the center of the gate. Perfidy took an early lead from his post position almost on the rail and was the pace setter for the first half mile. The number nineteen horse took a bobble step coming out of the gate, almost going to its knees, but managed to recover and join the field in last position. He slowly worked his way up into the pack. Rockstar moved out of the pocket in the center of the field and started to advance, catching up to Perfidy, who was still running in first place, and Presidential, who was running in second place on the backstretch.

  The two favorites and Rockstar were in front of the pack by several lengths as they rounded the far turn. As they came into the final quarter mile, Rockstar began to slip up into second place. Presidential brushed him lightly on his blind side, but Belinda managed to keep him focused, and it did not throw him off his stride. Coming down the final straightaway, Rockstar surged ahead and made a move on the outside, pushing Presidential into third place. He began creeping up on Perfidy at the head of the stretch and passed him on the outside moving into first place. He lengthened his lead and poured on all the power in his arsenal. He pounded down the homestretch and under the wire, finishing two full lengths ahead of Perfidy.

  “And it’s Rockstar by two lengths. Perfidy in second, and Presidential in third. Amazing. The hard luck horse pulls it off!” The crowd went wild.