We arrive a little before 11:00. We're entranced immediately upon entry. Roses everywhere, women in hats of every size, shape and color....Art abounds. Men are also dressed in every way imaginable, with a prevelance of light suits and ties.
MNM (Mona and Moet) |
And for the record...I wore a hat too. Here's a picture to prove it. And yes, I'm smiling in the pic...on the inside! :-) We must have taken 50 pictures of hats and whatnot...and could have taken 1000 without scatching the surface of what was there to see.
We spent a lot of time around the paddock...this is normally one of our favorite spots at the track and where we decide whether the horse is pretty enough to bet on. (What can I say...we have a system and the horse's physical appearance is very important!)
However, looking at all these pictures you will note one thing in common.....not a single pic of a horse! That's because even though we are in the paddock area there are simply so many people that we can't see a horse. This won't do!
We decide to head for the infield...after all, that's where our tickets are for. This wasn't as easy as it might sound as there is only one way to the infield and it's not well marked. Luckily, we are able to locate a stand selling Mint Julips so we are well libated during our search!
At last we find the way....it's all the way behind the paddock...not an easy path since there are thousands of people in our way...but we struggle through.
Infield Horses |
We wander and ogle, but decide that we're more the paddock sort so off we go! We get back and "discover" about 20,000 more people are there. Lots and lots more hats and outfits....and people. Who would have thought that more people could fit in, but they did!
Now we're hungry...we stand in line for literally 40 minutes to get Carolina BBQ. Got to talk to some people from Miami so the time wasn't a total waste. Got our food and found a corner of the patio to sit and eat. There are about 53 benches for about 100,000 people so you can't be choosy where you sit!
Back to the paddock....more people!
Back to the infield.....way more people! It's amazing, Churchill Downs is never sold out. So long as you show up with money you are allowed in. Today a new attendance record of about 168,000 was set. I think we got to touch them all!
Okay...now here's the big reveal! We were at Churchill Downs for about 5 hours and we barely got a glimpse of a horse....much less smell a horse or hear the pounding of horses coming down the homestretch. We did get to enjoy the spectacle, spectacular....and that was in itself totally cool. But damn it, we wanted to see the Derby! So we did it....we left. Yep, took forever to wade through all those people to gate 10, but we did. Walked back to our car and drove in minimal traffic back to Bardsville. Changed into dry clothes and headed to Old Talbott Tavern....established in 1782.
5 local bourbons |
We loved going to Churchill Downs on Derby Day...especially the first few hours. However, this is a bucket list item we have no desire to repeat. (Unlike Bucket Item #17!) We will continue to go to tracks on "normal days" and immerse ourselves in the track culture. We will also watch the Kentucky Derby.....but always somewhere where we can actually see the horses run!
Next up, Asheville, North Carolina!
Love the couple in red!
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