Passion for racing, photography merge at Kentucky Derby
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Some places, like Old Friends in Georgetown, Ky., provides homes for retired race horses where their fans can visit and get up close and personal with their favorites. Star Plus is one of the many horses that will gladly say hello to visitors.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Size dances about in the walking ring before running in the 2014 Pin Oak Valley View Stakes in Lexington, Ky. Those planning to bet and fans stand outside the fence to watch the horses. Those making last-minute decisions on their picks to win the race could be influenced by this viewing.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The field breaks in the Breeders’ Cup 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland Racecourse on Oct. 31, 2015. Time almost seems to stand still or move in slow motion as the horses leave the starting gate and run to the finish line. Every second between those two points is critical.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva celebrates a win on Noholdingback Bear in the Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx Racing in Bensalem on Sept. 24, 2016.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
A horse and rider backtrack around Keeneland Racecourse, Lexington, Ky., in the early hours of a May morning in 2011. Horses exercise and work during the early morning hours because racing occurs in the afternoons and evenings. Horses are conditioned almost daily between races. Races are usually several weeks apart and, like with human runners, the type and style of workout depends on the condition of the horse and the time frame of the potential race scheduled.
The ringing of a bell, the clang of opening gates and the thunder of quickly moving hooves urged by a cheering crowd are the sounds most associate with the sport of horse racing.
Photographers like to capture those sounds and the emotions they create.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Trainer Bob Baffert leads Triple Crown winner American Pharoah around to greet media and fans who gathered outside his barn at Keeneland the morning after the horse won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, securing the first-ever Grand Slam win by a horse (winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Classic in one year) in November 2015. It was a special moment in the sport.
The serene, almost peaceful moments as a horse gallops around a track in the early morning light, the anticipation of pre-race jitters, the jubilation of a win or the sorrow of a loss are just some of the emotions surrounding the sport.
I fell in love with the sport at a very early age. I also fell in love with taking photographs. In 2003, those passions merged when my family surprised me with a trip to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Fioretti is given a loving touch by her groom after placing 13th in a field of 14 in the TwinSpires Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Oct. 31, 2015.
Our seats were in the back, near the starting gate – the cheapest seats that weren’t standing-room only. My 18-year-old self snuck down to the rail with my kit Nikon film camera. I was bound and determined to get a photo of the start of the race I had always dreamed of attending.
Before the start, a professional photographer waiting to capture the moment himself noticed me, and asked if I wanted to switch lenses for a couple of minutes. He had a behemoth of a lens, and couldn’t believe I could actually hold it up long enough to get a photo of the finish line, which wasn’t visible to my naked eyes or through the Nikon lens I let him borrow.
I was hooked. That moment set me on my current life path.
I have made it a challenge to photograph the sounds, the smells and the emotions of those race days, as well as the animals and the people that make up the historic sport.
Racing occurs all year, but spring signifies the most celebrated races, including the Kentucky Derby on May 5, the first Saturday in May.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Shackleford, with jockey Jesus Castanon aboard, leads the charge around the first turn of the 2011 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Ky. Animal Kingdom would go on to win the race. Experiencing the thundering noise from the backside, or barn area, with 165,000 people as the horses charge around the turn is almost overwhelming.