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Hopes for a 20-story Louisville building
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There are some big commercial real estate projects on the horizon around town and we go over them on the Access Louisville podcast this week.
LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett starts us off with an update on the 20-story Kentucky Home Life building. The historic Downtown building located at 237 S. Fifth St. was purchased at auction recently by Thrash Group. The 112-year-old building is one of the more high-profile vacant properties Downtown, sitting directly across Fifth Street from Metro Hall.
The sale news comes after Business First reported last year that Thrash Group and an unnamed local partner were planning to convert the Kentucky Home Life Building into a mixed-use development with residential units, a hotel and first floor retail, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the project.
After that, we chat about the latest with the Mid City Mall in the Highlands, including the closure of ValuMarket. And we discuss the Girl Scouts putting its office building on the market, a new Downtown health sciences building for UofL building and some updates to the Apple store at Oxmoor Center.
After that, we share some Kentucky Derby advice as well as favorite stories (spoiler: Stinnett has some banger stories, including selling a Mint Julep to an infamous celebrity.)
Access Louisville, sponsored by Baird, is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can also follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
We have a whole list of big redevelopments, including a few downtown. That's up next on Access Louable. Thanks for joining us. My name is David Mann, and joining me today are Shea Man Hoy, KBux, and Joel Sorry. Access Louable is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. Each week we bring you the latest news and plenty of sharp opinions on what's going on here in Louisville, Kentucky. Of course, this podcast is sponsored by Baird. Discover the difference Baird can make in your financial life at rwbaird.com slash Louisville. We'll hear more from Baird later in the show. But for now, let's get into those big redevelopment projects. Let's see here. Joel, you just did a story on the Kentucky Home Life building. It just uh just got a new owner. Uh so what's the plan for that one?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was bought last week by the Thrash Group, which is a Mississippi-based uh hotel developer. They also developed some restaurants and and other retail properties as well. But they purchased it at auction for$4.67 million. Um, they're the only bidder. Um, but yeah, their plan is to turn the 112-year-old building into a mixed-use development. Um, they're also with a hotel with a little bit of retail and probably some apartments as well. Uh, we know this because they filed a plan with uh the uh mayor's office for redevival revitalization funds that they've been giving out for different projects in downtown Louisville.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So that's yeah, the city's kind of incentivizing people to take old buildings and uh and re-rehab them. This is actually a particularly historic building, but it's had a troubling recent history, right?
SPEAKER_01It was purchased a few years ago by a company in Texas who uh basically was unable they did they had a lot of similar plans actually. They were planning to do another mixed-use type of project with that building, but they uh unfortunately weren't able to make the payments on the building and kind of left it in disrepair. I've had a bit of a lot of problems with uh people going in and stealing copper, uh looking at the photos that they had with the auction, um, the inside of it was kind of torn up everywhere. Yeah. And there's even, I think, from result of uh people stealing that copper, there were some gas leaks. Yeah, this was last summer or year before.
SPEAKER_02Yeah to evacuate because it's across from City Hall.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I mean a lot of businesses in the area were closed because of that. Yeah. Uh so yeah, it's bit had a lot of issues for a while, but it's uh from what I've told, it's really pretty inside once it's fixed up. Yeah. And it's yeah, I mean, you can't have a more uh a better location in terms of just being right there at uh Fifth and Jefferson and across from City Hall.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. I mean it's uh uh and it's a pretty building on the outside too. It's uh what what did we determine earlier? About 20 stories, something like that, 22 stories. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Reminds me too of like when we've done back when we got inside the Starks building and just how pretty it is on the inside, if something ever could, you know, come of that and then sort of you know re show that off again to the public.
SPEAKER_02As far as I know, they've managed to secure that building, at least the Starks building. This one has had a problem with uh people sneaking in it. But uh anyway, yeah. That's it. I'm glad to see there's some progress there, and it could be moving forward. Um, all right, uh switching over to the Highlands. Shay, you hadn't written all these stories, but uh, you're kind of uh Mr. Hollands, I guess. You live in the Hollands and follow this project pretty closely, the Mid-City Mall Redevelopment. Uh there's been a couple of recent developments there. One, the uh building or a demolition permit for it, and then the other is uh uh the the grocery store, which Michael Jones wrote about uh getting ready to close.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, I um yeah, I think we've all written about mid-city market or mid-city mall at some point, but uh I just actually walked down there to get pick up stuff for dinner on Sunday, uh, and obviously a few things have closed and moved out already. Uh but the Baxter Road, uh Bardstown Road, Baxter Avenue Overlay Committee approved the design and demo request this week uh for mid-city, or I think it was last week now. Um Branch properties, which is based out of Georgia, is planning to transform the market into Mid-City Market. It'll be a$60 million development. It sounds like there's going to be a Publix there and some other building. So pretty much now the the demo can start. Uh they have not set a demo date, but once uh construction starts, it's expected to take about 15 months. So developers are hoping to have it open by early 2028. Joel's written a lot about this. Um, but as part of that, I was in value market, and it's obvious the shelves are starting to get a little bit more bare. Um I'd seen a post on social media they were closing soon. So Michael went over there this week and talked to the general manager who's been the GM there for like two decades and has worked for the company. It's a Louisville company for 30 plus years. Um they said it's not very soon, but uh in six, eight weeks they're gonna be closing down. They're looking at mid-June, and then they'll kind of do a liquidation sale. Um, they have about 50 employees there. Some are gonna take jobs at other value markets. I think there are three others in town. But one of the issues there, the manager said, and I see this from from walking and driving to there, is you know, a good amount of their employees take the bus or walk there. So they might not have a car. And um, so hoping to get uh some of those folks' uh jobs landed. And as part of this, Mike, Michael kind of talked to them about so what's their future plans? And they're like, well, we probably wouldn't go into an area with this much competition. Yeah, and so we're you know, especially you add publics in. So they're looking at more uh ring cities like Etown Mount Mawasha, you know, those, yeah, Bardstown. So uh that's kind of their future. But uh you know, if you if you are nostalgic for the value market at Mid City Mall, you've got probably till early June at the latest to get over there.
SPEAKER_02Rip, man, that was a good place.
SPEAKER_03Like Yeah, I'm there a lot because it's near my house. And and um, you know, like I said before, uh it's a cool spot, but the current structures seen better days, and um, you know, definitely uh makes sense that business owners aren't really putting money into the existing companies businesses right now because they're uh gonna be torn down. So uh, but sounds like we're pretty certain to be getting a supermarket there, and it's probably gonna be public's.
SPEAKER_02Back before craft beer was everywhere like it is now. Uh I remember I lived in the Highlands. I would go there, they had a great beer selection. They probably still do, but now there's lots of places with great craft beer selections.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they haven't done the taps for quite some time um there, but they start their beer cave's still great. They still have a really nice like can selection.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and my wife had asked me, Oh, I guess they're gonna walk away from that store. I'm like, yeah, I mean, it kind of looks like Publix is moving in, so that'd be tough for a value market to compete with Kroger down the road and Publix uh right there in uh mid-city mall. So yeah, that'll be uh it'll be uh you know sad to see them go, but obviously there's a big plan for that whole development. Some people like it, some people don't. Um there's some you know there was some talk I think we talked about on the show of you know it becoming a kind of a higher rise built building there instead of what kind of looks more like uh Westport Village kind of development where it's just like retail buildings that are two stories tall.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, how it's played out, I think that everyone, or not everyone, a lot of people in the Highlands, including at the the outset of this, Ben Reno Weber, who's the councilman for District 8 for the Highlands, was like, you know, it has to have a residential, it has to have this residential. And I even talked to uh, you know, a CRE person about this. And the problem was that there was no developer willing to like take that chance or make that work, or the dollars wouldn't work. So it's kind of it is what it is. And I think some of the folks in the neighborhood now have said, you know, agree it looks really nice and it's a big improvement on what's there. Um I think at the overlay hearing, like the main concern now is the folks that live along the edge of that being able to get in and out of their garages because they back up to that alley that comes in on, I guess it would be sort of the east northeast side of the property. So now it's become more smaller individual complaints or not maybe even complaints, just concerns rather than this bigger, like we don't want that here if it doesn't have housing type of thing. And I still really wish it had housing, but like I said, the current iteration of Mid-City Mall was has run its course. Yeah. And so progress happens, and here we are. And hopefully, hopefully, you know, they fill it up, it's really nice and adds um traffic to the area in terms of walk, walk traffic and that sort of thing.
SPEAKER_02And we always talk about how grocers aren't building inside the Waterson. So that there is that silver lining. You're getting a public potentially inside the Waterson, which you know that'll be more competition against Kroger. So um or Krogers, as we say in southern Indiana. Um speaking of the Highlands, um well Highlands, adjacent, I guess we'll say. Uh Joel, you had a story about the Girl Scouts putting their building up for sale. What was behind uh that move?
SPEAKER_01They put their Lexington Road headquarters on the market for 4.875 million dollars. Uh spoke to their CEO and they said this was built about 20 years ago when the world was obviously a little bit of a different place. The plan, uh I guess the idea back then was that you know different troops from around the state and uh in the city of Indiana could come there, have uh sleepovers, there's um or activities, there's a rock wall, there's a kitchen, and just this kind of be a just a hub for the entire um I think it was a 64 county or you know, organization. Um that never really got quite off the mat, she said. You know, it was used a lot, uh it was used some, but not a lot. And then with the pandemic happening, just habits especially changed after that. Yeah. Um, and so that along with you know the increase in remote work has allowed them to be able to actually hire people um in those counties um that they otherwise maybe would not have hired. So they just don't need as much of an office footprint, they don't need as much of an activity footprint, just everything just kind of didn't make sense anymore. And so they're putting it up on the market and uh have not found a new place yet uh for their offices, uh, but it looks like they're they're gonna start looking here soon.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Uh it seems like a big change for them. And yeah, like you said, it's only a 20-year-old building, nice space. Um, but uh, I guess we'll see how that one plays out.
SPEAKER_03And if one park you know does come through nearby, that could become extremely valuable. So yeah, I think someone, even if was prospecting, maybe, uh, that doesn't really have a use for the building. Yeah. Uh, and I'm sure that uh conversely, the Girl Scouts are probably getting calls uh from real estate and landlords after your story, because uh that's kind of what happens when we write about someone looking for new space.
SPEAKER_02They get they get a lot of outreach. If one park is a big if, because I think we've been talking about that that on this show for a long time. All right, let's see here. Back downtown. We're just taking a tour of the city. Um Shay, you wrote about U of L building a new they they're getting started on a new health sciences building, uh just east of downtown or the eastern part of downtown. Uh this is a project we've been watching for a long time now, and it's kind of kind of starting now, it sounds like.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I feel like an imposter because I'm now talking about stories that Joel wrote originally that I did updates on because of like just a person.
SPEAKER_02Actually, I think you're not. I may have broke the original story on it.
SPEAKER_03I think you did. I think we'd heard about it way back and uh back when Kim Shatzel was president.
SPEAKER_01We did went on to that cover story, I think she the about Uvel's innovation or something. I think she mentioned this.
SPEAKER_03Like she just said a downtown health hub. So then it all got announced like on a Friday and no one was around, and I ended up ready. Yeah, this is behind yeah, behind the scenes of sometimes when uh a Friday when people are off, right? Uh so but the great news is that ground has been broken as of last week on this facility. And I don't think we knew this or realized it then, uh, but at$280 million, it'll be the largest single uh funded or single, I guess it's how do they refer to it, single project funding package in U of L's history. So basically the most single funding expensive thing they've ever built. That's a really intelligent way of saying it, I think. So uh the interesting thing too is the state has allocated almost all of that, 260 million, and the university's providing the remaining 20 million. Uh so this will basically the whole gist of it is to grow the healthcare workforce. Um as we all know, healthcare jobs are uh employers need healthcare workers, uh, the community needs healthcare workers. So the definition of this is you know to provide an environment for uh education that will equip the future healthcare workers to provide great care in our city. So obviously Louisville has a long-rich history of healthcare, health innovation. Uh, this is gonna point toward that. It's uh kind of near the medical near in Lumed uh on the east end of downtown there. So uh work started, it'll be six stories and almost 260,000 square feet uh when it's all done. And I think it's supposed to wrap up in 2029 uh is when that's done. So we still have three years before we see that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and U of L, you know, to understand the organization, there's U of L Health, which runs those with the hospital and and the Cancer Center and many other uh facilities. And then this is actually part of U of L, which so this is a teaching space. This isn't a hospital or anything like that.
SPEAKER_03And they kind of work all in concert, obviously, like you know, a lot of U of L medical professionals and work at Norton. Or yeah, or Norton uh seems to be a lot of Norton instructor or uh medical professionals were teaching at U of L. And then at the same time, Joel you know reported this just a couple months ago, uh kind of the a major milestone in the U of L Health Tower, which is their project, which is close to 200 million, I think. So a lot of UL money pumping into downtown and obviously and not this wasn't in kind of our our uh script to talk about today, but uh you know Michael just reported uh Lumed's economic impact, which is like a billion and a half. So that kind of all seems to be coming together pretty well with what Lumed's doing and then the investments that the health uh the health companies are making downtown for sure.
SPEAKER_02All right, uh Joel, one more story on the development front here for us. Uh the Apple store in in uh Louisville at the uh Oxmore Center. That's getting an update, right?
SPEAKER_01They're doing a one million dollar renovation of the store. Uh Apple wouldn't respond to us with exactly what they're doing. Uh, but the permit kind of talks about uh replacement of the exterior cladding in the Apple store courtyard, which is very vague. Uh don't know exactly what that means.
SPEAKER_02I like the cladding so much the way it is.
SPEAKER_01Uh so yeah, not sure exactly what that means, but it talks about improvements to uh a very specific 659 square foot portion of the store. So it sounds like maybe the patio is getting the most of this this one million dollar renovation. Um and it comes just not too long after they did a whole big$12 million renovation of the store just a few years ago. Yeah. Uh that uh I guess included uh some of the the patio things as well as uh an upgrade to the forum with a video wall and seating.
SPEAKER_02So yeah. It's a beautiful space, you know. All these Apple stores are so pristine and everything. So um I guess they gotta keep it updated though.
SPEAKER_03I'm uh like I have I've only ever used a Mac at work, so I like I love my Mac and I have an iPhone. I just got a new iPhone and I love it. But I went into an Apple store once, and I about three seconds later, I turned around and went right back out. Like, I will do all my stuff online. I mean, I'm not a big tech geek type of person, but like I guess that's you go in and geek out and try over stuff. But I was like, this is too busy. I'm out of here. I'll just order online.
SPEAKER_02I the only time I've ever been in there is when I was picking up something that I ordered online. And like, I don't know, there was 10 billion children in there, and I was like, get me out of here. You know, so I understand. Um, all right, let's see. Uh, with that, let's go ahead and take a break. We'll get a word from our sponsors at Baird. We'll be right back. We'll talk a little Kentucky Derby up next.
SPEAKER_00I'm Jim Allen, Vice Chair of Baird. For over a century, Louisville families have relied on Baird to provide customized financial solutions. In addition to wealth planning and trust services, Baird also offers extensive investment banking capabilities to clients ranging from large corporations to family-owned businesses. Finally, our public finance team provides valuable advice to municipalities, school districts, and academic institutions in need of capital. Yes, Louisville, Baird has you covered.
SPEAKER_02All right. So I just titled this section of the show, Derby Fun. Um, we are Derby Pros, us three. We I don't know how many derbies we've been to, at least ten for me, um, in a row.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, this year will be nine in a row for me.
SPEAKER_02Nine in a row, Joel. Any guesses?
SPEAKER_01I've probably been to eight or nine, I would say, somewhere around there in my life.
SPEAKER_02And in different roles. So you probably have the most uh the most derby experience of of all of us. But uh uh what what can you say about Derby? It's a big uh it's a big festival or a big party here in Louisville, and then we're doing the festival this week. Uh if you're watching the video, we have festival pins on because we took mine off.
SPEAKER_00And I got a gold one.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the gold one. Um we went to the chow wagon, um, you know, getting getting into the festivities that are taking place around town. Um, and so there's just a lot going on around town. So I thought we'd just have a little fun here and I would uh ask you guys for some derby advice. Let's say you're coming to Louisville or friends coming to Louisville and they've never been here. What how would you design your perfect derby experience? What would you do? What hotel might you stay at? What other activity might you do, like a bourbon tour or something? And uh what area of the track would you like to sit at?
SPEAKER_01I mean, I would tell them to get in a time machine, go back 20 years and go to the infield.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh what's my best advice?
SPEAKER_02No, why do you say 20 years? It's definitely changed, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's definitely changed. I mean, before the you know, uh Churchill's definitely done a lot to try and maximize its income, its revenue over this this week period. Yeah. Uh in the last, I'd say, especially last 10 years. Yeah. But you know, when I was, I guess, 18, 20, uh 22, that around that age, I mean, the infield was um super fun. You get in for like 30 or 40 bucks on Derby Day, like 20 bucks on Oaks Day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And um It was just a wild party. It was just a it wasn't just a wild party, but it was, you know, it was definitely, you know, you didn't get to get dressed up, you didn't have to um, you know, spend a whole lot of money, you didn't have to uh you know just it was just a little bit different, totally different experiences.
SPEAKER_02The beer was probably cheap, the food was cheap, like yeah, you saw all your friends, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and you know, uh nowadays you go down the track on Derby Day, you're likely not to see, you know, unless you're yeah sort of coming with friends, and it's mostly out of towners.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, yeah, that's true. You know, post-COVID or COVID, and then post-COVID, the track went to all inclusive if you're in anywhere but the infield, uh, which is not cheap for sure, but that means that the lines are even if they're you're a few people deep, you're through the line in 30 seconds or a minute because no money's changing hands. Uh my experience, the poor tend to be pretty generous because yeah, like everyone's like, who cares? Here you go. Um, so yeah, I do think that if you can afford it, which you know is the argument among locals and stuff, is well, the problem is it used to be for locals or especially Oaks, and now it used to be what Joel was talking about.
SPEAKER_02Everybody'd go out there, it'd be a big day for everybody, and now it's like a bucket list thing.
SPEAKER_03But the once you were in in you know a seated area, the experience I think is great with the all-inclusive. Um, where would I stay? You know, I don't know, boutique hotel type of situation, something like the Grady or the Bellwether or Genevieve. Genevieve, yeah. Um, and then just try to walk our many neighborhoods, um, especially if it's nice, like it's gonna be supposed to be this week, weekend, nice and cool, um, you know, and just pop into local stores and restaurants and um kind of do that sort of thing. I mean, just you know, if you haven't planned ahead, distillery tours are not probably gonna be possible. Rest uh some reservations at high-end restaurants aren't gonna be possible. So check out the place, the bar, you can just walk in, sit at the bar, you know, have a beer or whatever.
SPEAKER_02I think I sorry to all the wood Woodford or well, I think sorry for all the bourbon brands in Louisville. I think I would go to Woodford because it's all the way out in horse country and you're there seeing horses race, so you go out to horse country, and that Joel's looking at me like, God, why do you go into Lexington for uh but uh but uh yeah, I think like you get that into the experience too. I'd probably do the boutique hotel thing too.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I bet though I I bet tours out like on you know Friday or set like what are out in the state are probably pretty bad.
SPEAKER_02I'm sure, yeah. I'm sure you go to Woodford Maker's Mark, any of the the big ones out in the state, it's gonna be like yeah, hard to get to those.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, no, I'd uh as far as the track, I'd want to go, I'd want to go to the backside if I could get in there at some point in the morning. That's cool because a few times. Um wouldn't necessarily want to watch the Derby from there, but it's great to go check out. And then yeah, I would check out some of our restaurants while I was in town. I mean, um you know, we got two James Beard nominated chefs. Um you know, Red the Red Yeti, place like that is where I go check out. Hell yeah, go to Red Yeti, man.
SPEAKER_03I love that place. And also to you're talking about where to sit, and I've not seen Set at a lot of places. But we walk around the track a lot because we're trying to talk to people and just see. And you, David, you and I, two years ago, I think we to the new first turn area. I thought that was really awesome. Yeah. That that part of the track that they've redone. And of course they're redoing parts every year. Joel did a story this year on the um some of the suites and the mansion being renovated, obviously high, high dollar. But um yeah, I like some of the just covered but open air seating.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. A lot of the celebrities and local celebrities go to the turf club, which is nice, but man, it's hard to move in there. Yeah. Uh I imagine the A-listers probably go to the mansion or something like that, which we've I've never been to. I don't think any of us have ever been to. We did try to get in there. So if you can get us into the mansion, we'll take it. Uh let us know. Get in touch with us. Uh all right. Uh, and then I thought I'd ask, what has been your best Kentucky Derby story that you share with people who've never been? Did you guys have one? Do you have a good two?
SPEAKER_03Mine's Joel's better than mine, so I'll go first. Uh I just, you know, I am not a betting expert. I don't gamble much in general. I'm not a big sports better. So uh but I won 800-ish dollars on Rich Strike, which was one of the long second longest, second longest shot ever, I think. Yeah. Uh what was it, whatever, a few years ago. Maybe we bet 10 bucks to win. And that was a fun, that was fun cashing in. Oh, you know, then you're the only regret is wow, why didn't I bet$100?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I didn't think about that. Yeah. Now, Joel, you had an interesting story about the uh what was it, the son of the founder of Penthouse?
SPEAKER_01I think it was the son of the founder of Penthouse, yeah. This is many years ago. But I was uh bartending wedding tables at Mott's, um, which is now what I was gonna consider newer. Uh and he came in the night before Derby on Oaks Night and said he was putting down a hundred grand on a horse the next day, and that if it won, he would come in and buy champagne for every table in the restaurant. Sure enough, he put$100,000 on this horse and it won. So he came in that next night, bought champagne for every table. Um, and what we were doing that night was we were working in groups of four, uh servers and bartenders or our servers. And uh so he basically came in with a lot of women that looked like they were in the industry. I guess is how I'd put it. It's a polite way too much. As well as a few other people. It was probably a table of 15 or 16 people, and so we let uh a couple of our other servers take the lead. He was handing out hundreds to them uh as he as they'd refill his water or their people's waters. He just had the hundreds spread out on the table, so anyone could hand a hundred to his server at any point. Um and at the end of the night, he tipped us ten thousand dollars on the check. I can't remember how much the check was for. It was not ten thousand wasn't twenty percent, that was for sure. It was way more. Uh and so we ended up giving uh a thousand dollars to the bartenders and a thousand dollars to the kitchen and kept two thousand dollars apiece uh each. And so yeah, that was a great one. Um, I also have worked the track uh selling mint julips, like walking up and down the stands back before it's all inclusive. Oh, you had the little tray the trays and you would deal with mint juleps, yeah. Did that have seen you know several celebrities? I never I didn't sell them to Tom Brady or Michael Jordan, but you know, Michael Jordan had to come through our area where we were getting refills of the mint juleps and saw him. But the uh most surreal person I met doing that was I actually sold one a mint julep to OJ Simpson.
unknownOh my.
SPEAKER_01And that was just like his kids were you know in the in the box behind him, and I was just like, this is just the weirdest experience in my life.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it was quite controversial when OJ went to the uh to the Derby because he got kicked. Well, he wanted to go to Jeff Ruby and then Jeff Ruby wouldn't serve him, and it turned into a whole thing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. How so how sticky were you at the end of the day carrying around the mint julep tray?
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, I mean it was it was uh not a not a clean job, covered mint juleps. You kind of quit whenever you wanted. And so I did it two years in a row. Yeah. I can't remember if this is the first year or second year, but I quit like right before Derby, uh, right before the Derby. I was like, I'm tired, whatever. Got my money, um, went down to a betting booth. I was so busy I didn't even have time to look at a you know, any of the programs or anything like that. So 10's my lucky number. So I was like, I want just 10 on 10 to win. Yeah. And that was the year that Giacomo, who went off at 50 to 1, won the derby. So on top of making uh you know a few thousand dollars telling that Julio won a$500 bet. And um, I'd seen uh uh I think it was a Jewish hospital executive that I knew that was like went to the same uh his kids went to the same school as me. And I had gone down to watch the race with him in his box like right up on the track. So I got the pet Giacomo after he won.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god. Okay, you win. You've got the best derby stories. We could have started the whole show and just did Joel's derby. Just Joel's derby.
SPEAKER_03Joel's time at Derby. Well, hopefully there's some good stories from this year too. Yeah. Joel's managed to to talk to the governor the last two years at the track.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, yeah. That's been interesting. I think last year you went up to his uh handlers and you were they were like, You're not gonna ask about running for president. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Which I'm sure. Yeah, that's gonna happen that that'll that's gonna increase this year. Yeah, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01No, uh hopefully we'll get the governor again. Um made friends with his his security team the last couple years.
SPEAKER_02Nice. Well, um, I looked up the founder of Penthouse while we were talking here. It is Bob Guccione. He has two sons. One of them is Bob Guccione Jr., who founded Spin Magazine and Gear Magazine, and the other one's Anthony Guccioni, and I don't know which one was the nice one that gave you the no, he was wearing like a Viking helmet or part of the night.
SPEAKER_01So I don't know about recognizable. Maybe that's a family helmet.
SPEAKER_02Who knows? But uh yeah, but yeah. Um anyway, uh yeah, and uh also he was uh Anthony Guccioni was also a uh media mogul as well. So a big big media family.
SPEAKER_03Um I remember Gear magazine now. I mean, of course I remember Spin because of a big music. It was a big, yeah, but I do remember Gear. Gear was came out in the time when all those men's magazines came out, like Maxim stuff, stuff, yeah. Maybe gear was more like techie. Yeah stuff was also kind of techie, but there yeah, it was just a flood. Now there's hardly magazines, but back in the like circa 2000, they were everywhere.
SPEAKER_02Probably when Joel was doing this, that those were uh those were big deals.
SPEAKER_03That was gear money he was throwing around, maybe. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02All right, well, that's our show. Try and top that. No one can. Um, before we go, we'll uh sign off the way we always do here. You guys can uh let folks know your social media handles and um uh I'll start with you on that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, on LinkedIn, Shay Van Hoy, and also I'm fairly active on Blue Sky and under my name as well.
SPEAKER_01Okay, and Joel?
SPEAKER_02You can find me on LinkedIn under my name. All right, and you can find me on LinkedIn under my name, David A. Man. If you like this podcast, you can find it on all the popular podcast services, including Apple and Spotify. Thank you very much, Shay and Joel, and uh thank you, Barry, for the support. Of course, thank you guys out there for listening to us, and we'll see you next time. Bye-bye, we're gonna be able to do that.