This was my week to suggest our topic, and knowing that we would be coming right off the heels of Kentucky Derby 138, I wanted us to discuss local events in our respective areas that have become tradition…part of our local culture…and more importantly, part of our lives. For me, this is the Kentucky Derby. Growing up in ‘Kentuckiana’ as we like to call it, the Kentucky Derby is engrained in me (for those living elsewhere, Kentuckiana encompasses the Southern Indiana counties that lie along the Ohio River across from the Louisville area as well as Louisville and its surrounding areas in Kentucky…I would consider Kentuckiana to be the places that pick up their local news coverage from our fair city). I could literally write a month’s worth of blogs about the Derby, so I apologize in advance if I fall into long-winded nostalgia.
The Kentucky Derby is THE biggest event of the year here. People travel from around the globe to come to the Derby. Here it is treated like a holiday, and I would argue that there is a sort of 'Kentucky Derby Culture' with the locals, especially for those of us who have grown up here.
The Kentucky Derby is THE biggest event of the year here. People travel from around the globe to come to the Derby. Here it is treated like a holiday, and I would argue that there is a sort of 'Kentucky Derby Culture' with the locals, especially for those of us who have grown up here.
Fast Facts About the Kentucky Derby
- ALWAYS the first Saturday in May
- ALWAYS ran in Louisville, Kentucky at Churchill Downs
- Churchill Downs is famous for the image of its Twin Spires located atop the spectator stands.
- The race has been dubbed ‘Run for the Roses’ as the winning horse always receives a blanket of roses in the Winner’s Circle after the race.
- The blanket of roses is made every year at a local Kroger store the night before each Derby, and you can go there and watch it be made by hand.
- The race has also been dubbed as ‘The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports’
- Is considered to be the 'First Jewel' of the Triple Crown.
- Saturday was the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby; 165,000 were in attendance at the track
- Queen Elizabeth II has attended the Kentucky Derby
- The weather is unpredictable…the ever-changing weather forecast leading up to the Derby each year drives us CRAZY!
- Mint Julep is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby (muddled mint, Bourbon, sugar syrup, and typically garnished with a fresh mint sprig)
- Honorable Mentions…The Who’s Who & What they Do of Horse Racing:
- Pat Day –Jockey (Retired)
- Bob Baffert –Trainer
- D. Wayne Lucas –Trainer
- Calvin Borel –Jockey
- Todd Pletcher – Trainer
- John Velasquez – Jockey
The Full Experience
Locally, Derby festivities actually kick off two weeks prior to the day of the actual race. The official Derby kick-off is Thunder Over Louisville, which is the largest fireworks display in North America. During the daytime you will enjoy an amazing air show and then the fireworks that night. If you have never been, you must go at least once. Thunder is an accurate description. You can literally feel the ground shake from the fireworks blasting off the Second Street Bridge and Ohio River barges. Between Thunder and Derby, there are literally HUNDREDS of Derby related events, including: the Great Steamboat Race, the Rush-hour Hot Air Balloon Race, the Chow Wagon, concerts, the Pegasus Parade, and of course the Oaks Day/Race on the day before, just to name a few!
Derby can be experienced in a multitude of ways...everything from home Derby parties to the infield to the box/stands to Millonaire's Row. This year, Mark and I decided that we were going to jump right in and do the Derby infield this year (for those not very familiar, the infield is exactly what it sounds...the grassy area inside the track). This is definitely the wildest way to experience Derby at Churchill Downs. You can get infield tickets on the cheap (this year tix were $40 per person in advance / $50 if still available at the gate the day of). You won’t see the race (unless you are near one of the big screens) but you CAN say you’ve been to the Kentucky Derby – and anything goes in the infield...you name it, it’s a huge drunken party. Maybe...someday...we would get lucky enough to be in a box in the stands, but I'm SURE we will NEVER watch the Kentucky Derby from Millionaire's Row! As a side note, we HAVE gone to Oaks in a box and we HAVE actually been to Millionaire's Row...on a regular race day...in the middle of the week...when Mark's company sponsored a race, the 'Radio Sound Classic' back in 2007 right after we moved down here.
On a personal note, I would like to throw out props to my sister Cathy & her husband James. They throw a spectacular Derby party every year. Typically, this is where we go for Derby, but we decided to go to Churchill Downs this year. Cathy & James' Derby party is EASILY the best food day of the year for us! As far as food goes, it actually trumps Thanksgiving and Christmas. If I listed all the foods, this blog would never end! Their hard work every year is certainly appreciated by all who are fed and entertained.
Growing Up Derby
When I think about the Kentucky Derby, I don't just think of how I have experienced as an adult. Having grown up in the 'Kentucky Derby Culture' I immediately think of all the years of spending Derby with my family as a kid. During Derby season, I often think of my Dad, because Derby day was a day that he always enjoyed SO much. I do not remember a year of my childhood that my family didn't spend the day together enjoying the time together as well as watching local news coverage and then the race itself. Just hearing the names of the Derby winners from the 80's and 90's evokes memories from those days.
I also have fond memories of selling homeade 'Derby Tickets' to my parents. We would make up little pieces of paper with all the horses' names...we would usually pick out the horses WE wanted first...and then con our parents into buying the rest from us before the race. Of course this was always a losing bet for Mom & Dad...regardless of who had the winning horse's name we always seemed to keep the 'winnings'...funny how that worked out!
These are childhood memories that I cherish, and wouldn't trade for anything...not even for a Derby day on Millionaire's Row!
Controversy, Scandal & Tragedy
Horseracing as an industry evokes controversy. There are animal activist groups that protest the industry due to what they consider abuse to the horses. PETA has publicly denounced the horseracing industry and this type of outcry is tyically strongest after a public injury or public death of a racehorse (and by public, I mean televised...these things happen...but they typically only make news when the camera crews were around). Most recently was the tragic loss of Eight Belles moments after she placed second in the Kentucky Derby in 2008. Within moments of finsishing the race, Eight Belles collapsed from having suffered broken bones in both front legs. She was euthanized on the track due to the severity of her injuries.
Another notable tragedy was Barbaro who won the Derby in 2006. Barbaro suffered career-ending leg fractures in the Preakness that year. Following his injuries, Barbaro underwent extensive surgeries and rehibilitation. However, due to further complications from his Preakness injuries, he was later euthanized.
In addition to equine tragedy, there has also been human tragedy. Unfortunately, this year included. To be totally honest, I had not even planned to put this section in the blog until yesterday when I learned of the murder that occured at Churchill Downs in the hours following the race. In the very early hours of Sunday morning, the body of stable worker Adan Fabian Perez was discovered at Churchill Downs near the horse barns. Police have not released the cause of death, but have ruled it as homicide. They have not yet named any supects.
For this particular topic, it seemed appropriate to end my blog by quoting something that I heard retired and famed Jockey Pat Day say during a local radio interview last week. When asked, “now that you have had since 1992 to reflect on your Derby win on Lil’ E. Tee, how would you describe the feeling of winning the Kentucky Derby?” Mr. Day simply replied, “there is only one word to describe the feeling of winning the Kentucky Derby: indescribable.”
Another notable tragedy was Barbaro who won the Derby in 2006. Barbaro suffered career-ending leg fractures in the Preakness that year. Following his injuries, Barbaro underwent extensive surgeries and rehibilitation. However, due to further complications from his Preakness injuries, he was later euthanized.
In addition to equine tragedy, there has also been human tragedy. Unfortunately, this year included. To be totally honest, I had not even planned to put this section in the blog until yesterday when I learned of the murder that occured at Churchill Downs in the hours following the race. In the very early hours of Sunday morning, the body of stable worker Adan Fabian Perez was discovered at Churchill Downs near the horse barns. Police have not released the cause of death, but have ruled it as homicide. They have not yet named any supects.
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For this particular topic, it seemed appropriate to end my blog by quoting something that I heard retired and famed Jockey Pat Day say during a local radio interview last week. When asked, “now that you have had since 1992 to reflect on your Derby win on Lil’ E. Tee, how would you describe the feeling of winning the Kentucky Derby?” Mr. Day simply replied, “there is only one word to describe the feeling of winning the Kentucky Derby: indescribable.”
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