Kentucky Derby 2010

The first Saturday in May is considered a national holiday to most Kentuckians! It is when the Kentucky Derby is run every year.  It started with “two minutes” and became two weeks of celebration! In fact, now it is called the “Kentucky Derby Festival” !

The Festival is one of the premier events of its kind in the world.  It brings fun, excitement, international recognition and a spirit that is unmatched anywhere.  The Festival blasted off this past Saturday, April 17th with “Thunder Over Louisville”. “Thunder “ (as it is called for short) is one of the nation’s largest annual fireworks shows which follows a day of watching a spectacular air show! 

This year is the 136th Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is the finale of the two week celebration and is held at famous Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Also known as, “Run for the Roses”, the winning horse is draped in a garland of 554 red roses that are sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the twin spires of Churchill Downs and the number of the running at the other end. Each garland is also adorned with a ‘Crown” of roses, green fern and ribbon. The “Crown”, a single rose pointing upward in the center of the garland, symbolizes the struggle and heart necessary to reach the winners’ circle.

There are several ways to attend the Kentucky Derby! If you are fortunate enough, you can mix with many of the rich and famous, including a stream of celebrities on “ Millionaire’s Row”.  Or……..there is always the infamous “Infield” where you are likely to see anything BUT  a horse race! 

The Kentucky Derby is noted for it’s legendary drink, the  “Mint Julep”.  The Mint Julep is a tradition as old as the Kentucky Derby itself. Rarely seen the rest of the year, even inside local Louisville houses, this potent concoction is the national drink for a few hours every first weekend in May.

But the Derby is not all about horse racing and drinking Mint Juleps…… there is of course, the Derby Hat!  Men and women alike are donned in a variety of hat styles for the Derby.  You will see some of the most beautiful and expensive hats in the world that day!  You will also see some of the “tackiest” hats in the world that day!

As Kentuckians, we wait for it all year and it promises to be one of the greatest celebrations in horse racing.  If you can’t be here, be sure to celebrate wherever you are!