CHURCHILL `AWESOME'.

Byline: Jenine Sahadi Derby Diary

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - I've been at Churchill Downs with The Deputy for most of the past 3 1/2 weeks, but I'm not sure I really believe yet that I'm here with a horse in the Kentucky Derby.

I don't mean to sound nonchalant about it, but I keep trying to think I'm training like its any other race. I'm not usually this relaxed in the days before a big race. Maybe The Deputy's composure is rubbing off on me.

If there's one word to describe the Churchill Downs grandstand and the famous Twin Spires, it's ``awesome.'' I usually hate that word, but it fits. I went to the box seats to clock The Deputy when he had his first workout here April 19, and I stopped to read the nameplates on the boxes. It seems like they all belong to famous people who have been in racing for decades.

Unfortunately, I haven't had time to visit the Kentucky Derby Museum and really soak up the history of the track and the race.

As a trainer, my main concern about Churchill Downs is how my horse is taking to it. Again, the word is ``awesome.''

This is obviously a racetrack that's truly designed for horses. There are a lot of things we don't have at home at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park. There's grass to graze on right outside the barn where The Deputy is living. I've been taking him out to graze for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. At home, he's a very picky eater, but here he's cleaning out his feed tub. People say the water is better here. Maybe that's why he's eating so well.

The backstretch here is very aesthetic - roomy barns, big stalls. And the racing surface itself has been pretty good, although it gets faster and slower from day to day, and it probably will keep changing right up to Derby Day.

My one concern is cars and trucks on the roads between the barns. At home, they limit the traffic during training hours. That makes for a lot of peace and quiet. I like that when I train. Here, you have to weave through cars just to get your horse to the track.

This morning I called Don Richardson, the head of the Churchill Downs racing department, and said, ``Can't you do something about these garbage trucks? Can't they wait until 10:30 or something - after training hours?'' The trucks make for more commotion than is necessary.

It's just a different environment here. It seems as if fans can just walk on the backside. You get people you've never met coming by to take pictures of your horse. Of course, it's only going to get more crowded in the barn area as more fans and reporters arrive.

There are probably four local television channels going live from the backside at 6 o'clock every morning. I've trained horses at Churchill for the Breeders' Cup - but the excitement level has already matched that a week before the Derby.

I'm trying not to let the excitement get to me. I know I'm here, and I know what I'm here for, but I can't say I'm overly emotional - yet.