coming storm darkens writer's room
outside the window—a hummingbird drinks

—JD, notes, haiku #4

Puppy as birdwatcher

The day before the Kentucky Derby, Opal saw her first horses. On television, two horses walking across the track at Churchill Downs, getting ready for the Kentucky Oaks. Her eyes wide and fixed, she stood watching the huge thoroughbreds on the screen. Was she wondering: Are they large dogs?

Opal’s current favorite beings are birds. When she gets up in the morning, her first ask is to visit the backyard, not to do her business, but to see where the birds are and what they are doing.

We have a bird bath and receive a number of visitors throughout the day. Opal will lay in the backyard and watch them for very long periods of time. When the birds leave our fenced area, there’s a run to the bird bath to check something-I-don’t-know-what-perhaps-to-make-sure-no-bird-was-left-behind. She doesn’t chase the birds. Unless they dive bomb her. Otherwise, she bird watches. She seems especially enamored of bigger birds, like Robins and Morning Doves. On her walks, she must stop to watch Ravens. Would she like to fly and sit high on rooftops as they do? Then there are hummingbirds who sometimes buzz her in the yard. They come and go so fast, she can only chase them with her eyes.

The wondering mind of a puppy! Opal watches and observes.

New Mexico in the Kentucky Derby

The first Saturday in May belongs to the Kentucky Derby. My own mind, as it does, turned to New Mexico’s connections to it.

Hall of Fame jockey, Mike Smith, who rode So Happy in this year’s Derby, was born in Dexter, New Mexico. In a sport where youth and athleticism prevail among jockeys, Mike is still strong at 60. He has won the Derby twice, first in 2005 on Giacomo, and then in 2018 on Justify. His first win, however, was at Santa Fe Downs when Mike was 17.

Santa Fe Downs, also known as the Downs at Santa Fe, was closed in 1997. The track owned by the Pojoaque Pueblo lay dormant until 2025 when it was razed. Driving on I-25 from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, there remains an exit sign, “Race Track,” to the race track that is no more.

New Mexico was also home to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. His 50-1 win in 2009 was one of the greatest upsets in Derby history. Born in Kentucky and trained initially in Canada, Mine That Bird was eventually bought for $400,000 by New Mexicans, Leonard Blach and Mark Allen of Roswell. They hired Chip Woolley, Jr.—born in Raton, New Mexico—to be his trainer. Mine That Bird retired to New Mexico at the end of his racing career in 2010.

The gelding is reportedly very sociable, enjoys visitors, and works charity events. As of this newsletter, Mine That Bird is 19 years old.

Around 2020, Mark Allen left New Mexico for Oklahoma and took Mine That Bird with him. Dr. Blach, a Roswell equine veterinarian, passed away in 2024. Chip Woolley Jr. still trains horses, working largely out of Turf Paradise in Arizona.

Mike Smith was Mine That Bird’s jockey more than once after the Kentucky Derby, but it was Calvin Borel, from Louisiana, who rode the thoroughbred across the Derby finish line. After the Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird would race nine more times. He never came in first again.

The film, 50 to 1, tells the story of Mine That Bird’s journey to the Kentucky Derby. We know he won the Derby, of course, but there’s more to how he got there.

Writing inspirations

Where at times I felt out of place living in Kentucky, here in New Mexico, I never do. Born in a western landscape, it’s in my blood.

One of the joys of Kentucky is horses. They live on beautiful farms with bluegrass, as opposed to western ranches with wild rye and dust. Horses that land in the Kentucky Derby have better health care than most Americans.

¹The first time I was at Churchill Downs it felt strange. A beautiful race track unlike the hardscrabble tracks I grew up around, courtesy of my gambling father. In Kentucky, all race tracks are gorgeous from the entrance to the track itself.

New Mexico, with its dirt roads, dust storms, strange monsoon season, dry heat, lizards, ravens, mountain lions, intense clouds, and deep blue sky, digs deep into my soul. This place doesn’t ask me who I am. I simply am. This place is the backdrop—the souldrop—for my current novel-in-progress.

Along with New Mexico as inspiration, lies a dog who left a major impression on me during her short life. She was a shelter dog who wanted to belong but loved too fiercely. She was a danger to others, who did not see that she saw all but one human as a threat. I hope to give her a better life in my story. All dogs deserve a good story.

Stay caring and curious, friends. See you anon.—JD

Currently

• Drinking: 2014 Da Hong Pao from Bana Tea Company

• Using: Edison Huron, inked with Platinum Mix Free “Olive Oil” recipe, Rhodia No 18

• Reading: Pendergast: The Beginning by Preston & Childs

• Sharing: 1st Woman Thoroughbred Trainer Wins Kentucky Derby