Dubai Diaries, Day 1: Destination Dubai

I started out about as excited as you could imagine; I left my little studio apartment at about 12:30 in the afternoon (I’m one of those super annoying people who has to be at the airport 4 hours before an international flight) and arrived at JFK three-and-a-half hours before my scheduled departure.
That left me just enough time to leave my passport with the nice man at the check-in desk at Emirates, and for me to make a completely frazzled sprint back to said man’s workspace, and then board the flight.
I realized early into the flight that the Internet wouldn’t work, so I definitely did not watch the latest edition of the Hunger Games Trilogy. I was absolutely more involved with work than with Katniss and her struggles with the Capitol. I swear. Really. I toiled on this blog the whole time. I can prove it: here’s Katniss and me ignoring each other:

Proof. Right?
There were fantastic things about flying on Emirates, though. I loved the fact that they greeted us with steamy-warm towels as soon as we reached cruising altitude; I loved that the air hosts and hostesses were so accommodating when it came to any question I had; and I loved how simple it was to just get on a flight in New York City and arrive thirteen hours later in paradise.
When I landed, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Dubai. The Burj Khalifa is an amazing building, and it demanded my attention as soon as I landed.

Unfortunately, my flight was a little late, so I had to boogie to the racetrack on almost no sleep with 30 minutes between my arrival time and the start of the World Cup draw. Somehow, I got my teeth brushed, my face washed and my camera bag ready in time. When I arrived, the draw was just kicking off, and the audience was in place.

Um, look at those trophies. Shiny. Want. Want shiny trophies.

I also got to see the hall of champions, a line of statues that commemorated the past winners of the World Cup. Some of my favorite horses, from Cigar to Curlin, were memorialized there, and it was a thrill to see them.

When the draw (when post positions, aka the number on the saddle towel and the gate they’ll break from) happened, the room became silent. Representatives from Emirates airlines picked numbers from a bowl, and the horses were assigned their running numbers.

The first American horse to be called up was Lea, winner of the 2014 Donn Handicap. His trainer Billy Mott took the honors of talking about his charge, and seemed thrilled to be there.

Of course, the next American connections were those of California Chrome. His trainer Art Sherman and owner Steve Coburn took the stage, and talked about the amazing hospitality that Meydan and the Dubai Racing Club had shown them.

After the draw, I ended up in a taxi heading back to the press hotel, jetlagged, overexcited and in awe of the fact that I get to see this:

I had a nice dinner with some good American-based friends: Dave Zenner, Simon Bray, Joe Kristufek and Pat Cummings.

It’s been a great start to my Dubai saga, and there will be so much more to come!