golfkat Travel Blog

We went to the Kentucky Derby for the first time last year (2008).  We spent Friday just getting familiar with downtown Louisville.  During our breakfast downtown at the Marriott, the waitresses told us they were selling Derby hats upstairs.  Off we went just for a look.  A few dollars later, and Sheri had the neatest/fanciest Derby hat you can imagine, made from a man’s fedora!!  Little did we know about this VERY important Derby tradition.
 
The lady running the boutique on the mezzanine of the Marriott was a big time business woman.  She said she designs the hats, then has them made over in Europe.  The prices ranged from about $200 on up to $850.00.  Now I understand why the overhead storage bins on the plane were filled with hat boxes.
 
We also looked around the revived downtown area, highlighted by Fourth Street Live, an area with clubs and restaurants.  We strolled Muhammed Ali Blvd, and had a bourbon at Maker’s Mark Lounge.  A big storm was headed our way, so we went back to the hotel.  It thundered and showered all afternoon, night, and into Derby Day morning.
 
But we arrived at Churchill Downs around 11am Derby Day to bright sun, dry track conditions, and a real experience.  We saw so many women with fancy hats and outfits. The hats almost overshadowed the Derby itself.  How do these women walk around for 10 hours in high heels on a cement floor?  The parade of horses paled in comparison to the parade of stylishly dressed ladies.  Needless to say, it is a real party atmosphere.  Lots of beer, mint juleps, champagne, and wine, along with southern BBQ meats, and lobster sandwiches.  Most of the lines for booze were longer than the ones for food.
 
Beside the parade of outrageous hats were several men who seemed to have stolen the show.  One guy from Brazil was wearing an inflatable horse, and said he rode all the way from Rio for the race.  Another man was on TV several times, since he actually had a few plastic horses running around the rim of his hat.  He actually looked like that fat news guy(Willard?) who did not get along with Bryant Gumbel.
 

 
 
The heat actually started to bother Sheri a little.  So we parked her in the infirmary for a little while.  After she began to feel better, we went back to our seats.  But when she went back a second time, the nurse would not let her in.  She told Sheri to go home, as if to assume she had been drinking too much.  So much for southern hospitality at the Derby Infirmary.
 
The really hearty partiers sit/stand/pass out in the infield, where admission is $40.  We saw a bunch of guys bring an old couch into the infield, just so they would have a place to sit!!  The local TV stations broadcast live the entire day, both Friday and Saturday.  All local businesses run Derby promos of some sort all week long.  We met a nice lady on the plane who was going to sit in a luxury box with her boyfriend and his business clients.  Seats and boxes are handed down several generations. 
 
As the big moment got closer, most people got to their assigned seats.  When the horses walked by the first time, everybody stood on their seats to get a good look.  With twenty horses, it was a very large parade.  It seemed like it took an hour.  I decided to bet the favorite, Big Brown, and two long shots, just in case. The handle just on the Derby was $26 million at the track, plus another $15 million for the exacta. No wonder the lines at the ATM’s were longer than the beer and food lines.
 
It turns out Big Brown won the Preakness, and was severely injured prior to his attempt at the Triple Crown.  Too bad, as he is a great horse.  It was fun cheering him to victory and cashing in my winning ticket.
 
We were sitting/standing about where Big Brown made his BIG move past the leaders, and on to the stretch run.  We fortunately missed the tragic breakdown of the filly down the backstretch.  It was a sad ending to a really exciting day.  The bus ride back to the hotel was rather subdued.
 
We did not see any big sports or movie stars.  But the VIP’s are led to their seats by a guy carrying a sign on a long pole.  Everybody wants to know who they are, but nobody seems to know (or care).  I just cannot see standing or sitting in the heat in a suit or sport coat.  Who care how you look?  Not me.
 
If you ever get the chance, we would recommend going, wear a fancy hat, and enjoy a very friendly and gracious part of the south.  The food is not the greatest, but the bourbon is smooth and plentiful.  People everywhere are helpful and friendly, even the rednecks.  The only down side is that Kentucky seems to have the largest percentage of smokers I have ever seen, outside of North Carolina.  Our friend James recommended going to a stud farm to observe the activities.  We ran out of time.
 
It really is the most exciting two minutes in all of sports.  I would compare it to the start of the Indy 500, Tiger making that ridiculous birdie chip on #16 at Augusta a few years ago, or the kickoff to a Super Bowl.  Go Big Brown, of course, he is now retired to stud.