After the Crowds Leave the Track, Who Keeps You Company? When I wrote my first short story, I used my cat Moses as a muse. I created a world where he was a wise old tabby barn cat wearing a leather collar with a brass nameplate who interacted with everyone at the track and bettered their lives. Imagine my surprise when I walked past Security Gate 5 at Churchill Downs the week before this year's Kentucky Derby and was greeted by Bill, an old tabby cat wearing the same exact collar. I stopped to return his affection and the security guards proudly told me that he "ran Churchill Downs, and in his day, probably fathered most of the kittens around." It was easy to see how beloved Bill is from all the friendly greetings he received. Throughout the week, I could see Bill watching the Derby traffic from underneath parked cars or near the guard shack. Finally for his own safety, he was secured in the back room as traffic intensified. I asked about the other Churchill Downs cats and was told I could meet ladies who knew all about the local cats if I showed up at 6 a.m. the next morning. The sun hadn't even thought about coming up, and I was at Churchill Downs waiting for the "cat ladies." I was not disappointed. In the dark, I caught up with Marion Timilty, 79, with her daughter Beth Pearl and friend Renae DeGrave heading toward Lynn Whiting's Barn. Lynn is one of Churchill Downs's leading trainers and well known in Derby history as the trainer of the 1992 Kentucky Derby winner Lil E. Tee. Timilty's son, Craig Pearl, is his assistant trainer. Along the way, the women stopped and pointed out each cat. At first I did not see them, but under their guidance, I started to notice cats hiding under cars or sitting outside barns. There is a healthy kitty colony at the Whiting Barn. They have shelter and their own Adirondack wood chair for lounging in the sun. Some of the cats commute with the barn each year to Oak Lawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. The ladies have names for all the cats they meet and most receive treats. Timilty has been friends with Bill the cat for the past 15 years. He greets them every morning in the parking lot, and they love to spoil the old fellow. Timilty said that what she loved about the barn cats was "that they are friendly, and that they just love to have attention. Once you get to know them, they are alright. I asked her if she had any favorites and she said "Oh No! I can't do that! While I was talking with her, she had two cats on her lap enjoying her attention. Later in the day after the morning workouts and baths, I caught up with Craig Pearl, Whiting's assistant trainer. Despite his busy schedule, he patiently introduced me to the local kitties including Stella Della, Oreo, Fluffy, Frankie and and his special big black cat who he said found him in New Orleans. He was sitting under a hot walker and grabbing pigeons. I didn't need a cat, but I couldn't get rid of him. He needed me," Pearl said. Pearl said that cats give important companionship. Most people live here above the tack rooms in the barn by themselves, and cats fill the void of not having anything but a TV and a radio. As for Bill the Security cat, Pearl smiled and said, "He is something else." I mentioned that earlier in the day, I had noticed his black cat had headed directly into the crowd that had gathered to watch the Derby horses train and was holding court as friendly hands reached down to pet him. Pearl smiled proudly and gave his cat a rub. As I wandered the backside, I noticed that most of the resident cats at Churchill Downs had the tell-tale tipped ear indicating they had been spayed or neutered by a feral cat organization. I contacted Karen Little of Louisville's Alley Cat Advocates. She confirmed that their organization had been responsible for spaying and neutering of cats within the Churchill Downs backside. She said they have intentionally worked the area for the past two years since receiving a government grant involving the two local zip codes. They enjoy a close relationship with Churchill Downs management and many residents of the backside. Alley Cats Advocates uses the national model of "trap, neuter and return." Little said that it could be a very hard life for a cat if they are not cared for. Complaints about cats moving into the neighborhood when the track is off-season have been significantly reduced since they began their program. "These cats are part of our community, and they are better citizens once they are spayed and neutered," she said. They are great mousers and serve as loving companions. They are healthier and happier once they are spayed and neutered. Thoroughbred horses are also known to have companion animals. I have read that War Admiral had a rabbit and that Seabiscuit had a spider monkey named Jo Jo, a pony named Pumpkin and a dog named Pocatell. Exterminator had a series of well-known ponies named Peanuts. Mucho Macho Man's trainer, Kathy Ritvo, has a miniature horse friend named Roxy (owned by the trainer John Parisella). Goats are also common as companions for nervous horses. In California, Wemissfrankie is well known for her relationship with her goat Pickles, and a goat was featured in the HBO series on horse racing "Luck." Knowing this, I decided to set out in quest of finding a goat on the Churchill Downs backside. As I walked from barn to barn, I didn't find a goat but heard stories about the rather large sheep in the Angel Montano barn. Regretfully, Montano informed me that he had been sent to the farm for Derby week but did agree that he was unusually large. As I finally turned for home goatless, I was startled to see a group of people at the Helen Pitts barn trying to cajole a goat into going to the barn next door. The goat, Lily, was not having anything to do with it. It turns out that Lily is the companion of a nervous filly who was also sent away during Derby week. The trainer next door, Rowdy Werner, was going to borrow Lily to see if she calmed his nervous filly down, and if it worked, he was going to buy the filly her own goat. Goats, ponies, monkeys, dogs, sheep, rats, roosters, rabbits and cats have all been known to be companions of thoroughbreds throughout the nation. But at Churchill Downs, it is the cats who serve as ambassadors and companions for the humans who sometimes need a friend. From the friendly greeting by Bill the cat at Security Gate 5 to the calming influence of the cats at Whiting's barn, it is easy to see the role that they fill is an important and appreciative one. In a bucket-list moment, Julie June Stewart bought a ticket to the 2008 Belmont. She hasn't stopped going to the races since. That is when she isn't taking on a wildfire, hurricane, volcano or oil spill as the nation's leading expert in disaster airspace coordination. She recently won third place in the 2012 Thoroughbred Times fiction contest with her suicide prevention story "Moses Finds A Jockey."