You can throw a rock from the Cincinnati airport to Turfway Park. OK, Ichiro can. Or John Elway. Anyway, the facility is convenient for anyone with time to burn while waiting for a flight.

I had plenty of time a year ago. The plan was to wake up in Louisville the morning after the Derby in time to drive to the Cincinnati airport for a 7 a.m flight. Instead of waking up at 4 a.m. I arose at 10 a.m. I missed P.J. Ramsey's second birthday party. This was a bad thing because I didn't get to drink from the keg of apple juice or sing "Farmer in the Dell" with the kids. This was a good thing because by missing my flight -- and the next five on standby -- I had plenty of time.

I didn't throw a rock. I threw money at a simulcast from Hollywood. P.J. will never remember I missed his party. But one day "Uncle Kenny" can relate to P.J. how he had to fill out government tax forms after a successful four-horse trifecta box.

P.J.'s third birthday party was moved until the weekend after the Derby this year, meaning I should be there on time unless I oversleep for seven days.

I'm not superstitious, but upon arriving at the Cincinnati airport on Friday, I returned to Turfway, this time only to secure Racing Forms for the weekend. I've considered becoming superstitious after what happened last summer at the Major League All-Star event. There, I purposely stepped on the third baseline before the All-Star weekend softball game to mock that cardinal rule. Over the next 24 hours, I suffered a knee injury, a minor concussion and my hair dryer caught fire. Trifecta.

Where was I? I was leaving Turfway, plugging my cell phone into that mysterious gadget that goes into the cigarette lighter. This is a great contraption if you want to smoke your cell phone.

I cruised down I-71, past one of those other contraptions that tells motorists how fast they're driving. On Derby weekend it could be that these contraptions actually encourage people to drive faster, racing being foremost on the mind. I saw that I was doing 68 in a 65. A mile or so later when another contraption gave me my Beyer figure, I knew I was headed in the right direction.

And they're off.

I learned Buddha won't be one of them. As well as he was going, the name Buddha wasn't exactly suggestive of raw speed. As in: "They're into the lane and Fat Bastard draws off by two."

Then again several of the 19 who remain seem to be entered because their trainers found out all the "non winners of two" races were filled this week.

I asked Bob Baffert if Danthebluegrassman was entered because owner Mike Pegram already had hotel space booked. Baffert corrected me. "No. We needed extra paddock passes."

It'll be crowded down there. It'll be crowded on the track. Buddha's withdrawal moves everyone outside of his former ten hole -- one space to the left. This doesn't impact Johannesburg on the rail but his connections would probably support a rule that would allow him to move over one space also. He'd then be on the grass.

Familiarity won't be established between Johannesburg's stablemate, Castle Gandolfo and rider Jerry Bailey until the thing is over. "I don't know him and he doesn't know me," said Bailey. "It's going to be like a blind date."

But if several of them rush through the early stages blindly, Jorge Chavez thinks his 20-1 Easy Grades will see his way clearly. "If they're going very fast," last year's winning jockey said," I got a chance to win."

All sorts of people believe they have a chance to win. The hidden talent their animals possess is waiting to emerge. That, or they needed paddock passes.

Back on I-71, back when it all seemed so clear about the fact I wouldn't miss P.J.'s birthday party this year, I saw a sign. I passed a garbage truck which was carrying a bicycle up top on the back. A garbage man had found it in some disrepair and decided not to throw it away. He'd decided to bring it home, fix it, and gift it to his children. A beautiful thing, this reclamation project. It reminded me of the love owners and trainers have for their horses in the 128th Kentucky Derby. They see something in their animals that others don't see. They see the potential.

I was struck by the symbolism.

But then I smoked my cell phone. And it was then I realized the garbage man was actually throwing the bike away. He had the bike on top because it wouldn't compact very well in the back of the truck.

We're left now to make our own judgements.

Editor's note: Since Kenny submitted this column, Danthebluegrassman scratched out of the Derby. Kenny slept though Friday's announcement that with Buddha's scratch, horses No. 1 through No. 9 would actually move one space to their right. Nevertheless, he still maintains that Johannesburg starts closest to the grass.

As for the scratch of Danthebluegrassman, it's been decided that the horses who were in Posts 18 through 20 will move one space to the left. Ultimately, Posts 1 and 20 will be vacant (unless there's another scratch).