The Final Countdown! Gold Cup Tomorrow!

We've had huge response this year and we're so excited to see everyone tomorrow and get those mint juleps flowing! Not only do we have a record number of JMU alums attending our first solo event in over a decade, but we have a lot of friends of JMU coming as well! Shout out to our friends from Virginia Tech, George Mason, William and Mary, George Washington, Randolph Macon, Longwood, ODU, Pitt, Penn, Princeton, Harvard, UNC, UMass, West Point, WVU, Johns Hopkins, Florida Atlantic, Queens, Cornell, Bucknell, Baylor, Lycoming, South Carolina, Clemson, Michigan State, Tennesee, Tampa, Wilkes, Miami, Lehigh, UConn, Tufts, the College of Saint Rose, SUNY Cortland, and Nebraska! WOW! Welcome everyone!!

I'll Have What He's Having

More Cowbell!

In order to get everyone's attention on race day we decided that we needed to have a cowbell.  Of course.  We called around to several music stores (turns out they all carry them) and here is a conversation we just had:

"Hello do you carry cowbells?"
"Yes we do!  Who is the cowbell player?"
"Me."
"Are you an experienced cowbell player or just starting out?"
"This is my first cowbell."
"Will you need a two tone cowbell?"
"No I just need a basic cowbell to hit to herd people."
"Fantastic."

Shout out to Alexandria Music for giving us half off our cowbell!

The National Gallery of Art Explains the Drama of Steeplechase

The Virginia Gold Cup typically falls on the same weekend as the Kentucky Derby, and while it might not be quite as epic as The Run for the Roses, Gold Cup is just as exciting!  If you think we exaggerate, consider that steeplechase racing is one of the most dangerous sports out there.  The National Gallery of Art features this incredible painting by Degas and explains:

"Unlike horse racing on the flats, a steeplechase is a risky obstacle course. The French version is based on the English and Irish steeplechase, which is an informal race run in the countryside. A group of men on horseback would choose a steeple--a visible, fixed goal--and race toward it, riding over everything--bridges, fences, hedges, and streams--between the starting point and the end. People fell, frequently injuring or even killing themselves. In France "le steeplechase" was a somewhat more organized event, with a specific distance and course. It was very much a gentleman's race, designed for aristocrats, not for professional jockeys, and was a way for men to demonstrate their sangfroid, their ability to keep a cool head in dangerous circumstances. Certain places specialized in steeplechases, including Le-Pin, a racetrack in Normandy near the estate of the Valpinçons, friends whom Degas frequently visited. 

In the early 1860s there were a few paintings at the Salon showing the steeplechase, but no one had painted anything like this. Instead of a modest genre painting of "a gentleman's race," it is epic, ambitious, and full of high drama. Degas has taken an ordinary event--the steeplechase--and turned it into a history painting. It's Alexander and Bucephalus, but in reverse. In this battle between man and horse--man and nature--man has lost. A fallen jockey lies in the foreground while the race continues."

Perfect Weather Forecast!

We're one week out and so far the forecast is calling for partly cloudy sunny, highs in the 70s 80s 90s (!) heaven.  It's going to be a beautiful day at the races!  We still have tickets left, so if you haven't bought your tickets yet, you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself (yeah you heard that) and click on the sales link now!

New Bailey's pre-party and Best Dressed prize details!

Can't wait to get your Gold Cup party started?  Well Bailey's is here to help!  Bailey's is opening at 8 AM with a $5 breakfast buffet- just tell your server you're with JMU.  Of course, they aren't going to leave you thirsty - Bailey's is offering $4 bloody marys, $4 mimosas, and $4 mojitos!

Bailey's is also going all out for the Best Dressed contest winners - making those gift certificates we advertised earlier full-on VIP party packages!  What does that mean?  5 free apps ($40 average value), a free VIP starter (50 free wings, 3 cheese pizzas, and endless chips and salsa), and 5 free hours of pool ($60 value).  For VIP parties, 10 people must be present - good thing a hundred of your new best friends will be headed back to Bailey's with you at the end of the day, so there won't be any problem meeting that number if you want to turn your prize into a free post-party!  One more weekend left to get that perfect race outfit together to win!

Gold Cup Fashion for the Ladies

Finding the perfect outfit for Gold Cup is a dilemma.  You've got to find the perfect dress, at the right price, and figure out how to avoid wearing the same dress as someone else.  Invite-only online designer sample sale boutiques can be fun places to prowl for something the other ladies might not find.  If you aren't already a member of one or more of these sites, invitations to a few are pasted below.  And gentlemen, there are some sales for you as well!  Happy hunting!

Ideeli
Gilt
RueLaLa
Beyond the Rack
Haute Look

Port-A-Jumping

Some horse racing traditions JMU does NOT encourage at Gold Cup.  Admire the race-inspired enthusiasm though!

Cake Walk Contest with Chef Duff, "Ace of Cakes"

Are you always watching Ace of Cakes and thinking, "I could do that"? Yeah neither are we, but if you think your cake decorating skills are at least enough to match anyone else in the DC area, Chef Duff is helping to host a cake decorating contest at this year's 85th running of the Virginia Gold Cup. The theme of the contest is 'Happy Birthday Gold Cup." You can find all of the rules here. Given that the rules barring store bought sheet cakes and cakes in "poor taste" would knock out any entry we might come up with, another JMUer will have to represent. Applications are being accepted now!

The Tale of Saluter

Gather round to hear the tale of "the undisputed greatest horse in the long history of the Virginia Gold Cup and International Cup" - Saluter. In the spring of 1994, owners Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stern and Jack Fisher entered the five-year-old gelding in the Virginia Gold Cup where he became the youngest Virginia Gold Cup winner since 1953. Saluter started off as a what you might call a Flat Track FAIL and a Jumper FAIL. He was also apparently a mean S.O.B. But Saluter wowed the crowds with amazing come-from-behind finishes, making him a fan favorite. Saluter won 6 consecutive Virginia Gold Cup races and 2 International Cup races. Saluter's course record for the Gold Cup stood for 11 years until 2006 when Kinross Farm's Miles Ahead's time of 8:19 came in just 8 seconds faster. Saluter's rider, Jack Fisher, in turn became the top winning rider at Virginia Gold Cup with nine wins.

“Around the barn, he has always been just a regular horse,” Fisher explains and then points out the “love-hate” relationship the two have always had. “It was like this on the course too,” says Fisher, “I’d ask him to move out and he would sort of snarl for a while, then when he was ready to move ahead, he’d go. And boy, did he move ahead!”

Saluter is now retired, golfing in Florida no doubt (or maybe dead? he would be 21 now so it's hard to say). But in 2008 he made a guest appearance at the races to check out the bronze statue of him erected beside the Great Meadow race course in 2007. Check out this post in the Virginia Thoroughbred Blog for a great article about Steeplechasing's Seabiscuit. Amaze your friends with your steeplechase history saavy!

Holly Morris at Virginia Gold Cup

How to Make a Mint Julep

Can't wait till May? Check out this how-to video to make your own mint juleps at home!

Gold Cup Fashion for Men

Virginia Blog Cup has this great take on Gold Cup fashion for men. Gotta love the dig on UVA and W&L frat guys! Go Dukes!

Bailey's Best Dressed Contest

You've got your ticket, next step is getting together the outfit! Bailey's is offering $50 gift cards to the Best Dressed Male and Best Dressed Female, so if you dress to impress, your post-party at Bailey's could be comped!

Legends Catering

Our event caterer is Legends Catering. Legends is the official caterer Virginia Gold Cup uses to run the Tavern Tents, but they weren't the best choice for our event just because they have such great Gold Cup experience. The owner of Legends Catering, Angela Smith, is a JMU alum! Next time you're looking for a caterer, call up Angela!

2010 JMU at Virginia Gold Cup Party Less than a Month Away!

For our 13th year at Virginia Gold Cup, we're going all out to celebrate by getting our own railside tent party! This extremely popular event couldn't accommodate all the interest we had from our alums in years past when we participated in a group event. Before alums had to compete in a race to get tickets with alums from many other schools. Not anymore! Now we have a party just for JMU alums and their friends! If you've always wanted to go in the past, but couldn't get tickets before they sold out, this is your year to mingle at the races with your mint julep in hand and see what all the fuss was about!