Windsorwood Place has own version of Kentucky Derby
COSHOCTON – The Kentucky Derby was held Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. But the residents at Windsorwood Place had their own version of the Kentucky Derby on Friday. That afternoon, many ladies dressed in their best hats, assembled in the dining area to watch as six horses competed in the Windsorwood Derby. Six horses with jockeys had been cut out of paper and attached to a felt board. Each of the six tables had a set of dice and with each roll of the dice, their horse moved forward to the number that was rolled.
The previous day, Hopewell had come and helped the residents make hats to wear for the special occasion.
“They were really excited about wearing their hats today and coming for the race,” said Marla Myers, activities director at the facility for 23 years.
This was the first year that Windsorwood held a horse derby. They also had a surprise for their residents that day. Miniature horses visited the building later in the day to make the residents’ derby day complete.
“With the Kentucky Derby happening, we try to incorporate things that are going on in our activities,” said Betsy Crossley, executive director of Windsorwood Place. “We definitely wanted to celebrate this with them today. We thought it would be fun to do with all of them. They absolutely love their hats. A lot of them made their own. We also watched ‘Seabiscuit’ and ‘Secretariat’, so we’ve been building up to this.”
It was definitely a close race. After only a few rolls, horses one, two, and three were neck-and-neck. Near the end, horse six took the lead, but horse two quickly caught up and then took the lead for a while, only to be ousted by horse six in the very last roll by one point. Table two rolled a six while table six rolled a seven, sending horse six into lead for the win.
Myers handed out small trophies with flowers to the winning table. A photographer was also available to take pictures of the ladies in their hats and the facility had made special treats for the residents to enjoy while watching the race.
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