Also my only live Derby. We were also among the first into the infield. We took a position right by the rail at the 1/8 pole (just in front of the Derby start.) Now that position is completely unavailable. They had to put in a chain link fence to contain @$$holes who might run onto the track. Then they added the turf course, and now there are temporary stands all along the stretch in the infield so no one in the infield has any chance to actually see a horse running through the stretch.
I bet Jim French who ran second. It may have been the only race my then wife to be ever handicapped. She bet Twist the Ax.
ML/NJ
WOW! That is about exactly where we were. We had to be within 10-15 ft of each other. IIRC, I bet (and lost) on Eastern Fleet. It was also my one and only live Derby. I highly recommend it. It was a very enjoyable memory of my youth. The atmosphere was fantastic. The folks I met that weekend in and out of the Derby were very hospitable. It was a great feeling...being in Kentucky...my first time visiting that state (commonwealth).
Come to think of it...I have a super-8 movie of as much as I could see from that area. I took my camera with me. Sheesh, I forgot all about that. I’ll have to dig it up.