At Greyhound Track, it's a sure bet Derby crowd put dollars on 'Sense'

Beep Jones held court at three round tables this evening.

But there was no room for King Arthur or his knights.

These were Kentucky Derby tables, baby.

Jones, a native of Louisville, and his buddies had premium seats in front of the large televisions at the Naples Fort Myers Greyhound Track, where the oldest horse race in North America was simulcast live from Churchill Downs in Kentucky.

“It’s like Christmas, baby,” said Jones, who has been to the race about 35 times.

The Naples Fort Myers track — where the mint juleps flow freely and pork barbecue perfumes the air — is a good substitute, he said.

“Everybody here has got the Derby spirit,” he said.

In an area where you are as likely to hear a New York accent as a southern drawl, dozens of the 4,655 people at the track rose to their feet during the playing of, “My Old Kentucky Home,” just before the start of the race. For most, it is a nod to their home state, said Larry Baldwin, general manager of the track.

The Naples-Fort Myers track has been allowed to take bets on the Kentucky Derby since 1991, he said. Track employees take pains to create an ambiance similar to the race, which is known as much for its wide-brimmed hats and pearls as for its prized horseflesh.

“This is the premium racing day in the country,” he said.

The greyhound track took about $470,000 in bets on the Kentucky Derby won by Street Sense, and bets will likely top $800,000 for all of the horse races on Saturday, he said.

Joy and Wendell Hammond of Naples lived in Kentucky for several years, and they have been watching the Derby — the first leg of the United States Triple Crown — at the race track in Bonita Springs for the past six or seven years.

Joy Hammond chose to watch the 133rd Derby in a bubble gum green jumpsuit with puffy sleeves and a matching straw hat. It’s a get-up similar to her daily clothes, but without the hat, she said.

“She probably has 20 of those jump suits,” said her husband, smiling.

It’s not just the ensemble that draws Joy Hammond to the race. She has a system before she lays down her money on favorite horses.

“It’s the speed, jockeys and the names,” she said, adding she’s probably broken even or come out a little ahead from her bets in past years.

“She knows how to pick ‘em,” Wendell Hammond said.

The general favorite at their table seemed to be Scat Daddy.

Darlene Brooks of Fort Myers Beach donned a straw wide-brimmed hat adorned with flowers and a flowy skirt for her first trip to the race track during the Kentucky Derby. Watching the race is tradition, she said.

“Even when we watch at home, we make a mint julep and put on hats,” she said before the race.

Brooks said she didn’t have a favorite horse, but that didn’t stop her from placing a few bets.

“We bet on several, I’m afraid,” she said with a laugh. “One of them has got to win.”