First Saturday in May

Those of you who were at Barbaro's birthday party last spring at Delaware Park may remember meeting brothers John and Brad Hennegan, the filmmakers who made the documentary about six horse who were on the road to the 2006 Kentucky Derby, including Barbaro. They showed the documentary, titled The First Saturday in May, in the tent after we saw the NBC documentary about Barbaro and the film has been making the rounds of the national film festival circuit.

Word came from Churchill Downs Inc, yesterday, that they had signed a deal with the Hennegans to promote their new "Kentucky Derby Party" web site through the film's trailers and screenings. Word also came that the Hennegens had inked a deal with a distributor, Truly Indie, a company that helps independent film makers find audiences for their work. According to the press release from Business First of Louisville, Truly Indie is owned by 2929 Entertainment (owners of the landmark Theater Chain) and is co-owned by Mark Cuban, the entrepreneurial owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

I am delighted for the Hennegans that they landed a distributor--the entertainment industry is every bit as tough to crack as the publishing world--and they seemed to have found an outlet that combines the indie film world with the high profile sports world. I wish them the best of luck. I am sure this deal took a lot of persistence, determination and just plain luck to complete based on the sheer number of parties involved!

The new Kentucky Derby website, by the way is designed to connect people who host annual parties (and supply them with officially licensed party goods, I am sure). I don't know how successful it will be but you can't fault Churchill Downs for milking the event from every angel. One week of attendance keeps the track afloat for the rest of the year.

You can view a trailer of the movie here and in case you are going to be in Louisville on Saturday, April 13, you can sign up for tickets here.

So what's the lesson here? Well, Barbaro is still clearly a draw and there's value in trying to keep connecting all the dots. As they say, "You never know..."