What a fantastic weekend we had!!! My first trip to the Kentucky Derby was a success!!! There were a few bumps in the road on the way there and on the way back, but overall, it turned out great. On the way there, we didn't want to take our chances going I-40 because we weren't sure if it had opened back up due to the rockslides. We decided to go I-77 instead. We didn't even think about the tolls and didn't have any cash so yes, we were the ones holding up the line for 15 minutes while the lady copied down the info from my license. If anyone reading was held up at the WV Turnpike this weekend, I sincerely apologize! ;) On the way back, I received a lovely $160.00 speeding ticket. Boo. I’m rather lucky though because he got me once I had slowed down a little. LOL
I normally use my iPhone for directions and I'd have to say 9 out of 10 times it does just fine. Not this time. We finally get to Frankfort and my phone takes us to a nice little area and tells me my hotel is right in the middle of a field. No honey, there is no hotel here. It wouldn't budge. Turns out we were about 4 exits away from our hotel. It only took us about an hour to figure that out. We had had plans to eat some dinner and then head to downtown Louisville for a look around. But by the time we got settled and ate dinner, we were exhausted and ready for bed.
I had my alarm set for 6 and when I woke up, I could hear a heavy downpour and thunder outside. I was pretty disappointed. We turned on the news and they showed Churchill Downs, soaking wet and full of mud. Oh joy! They also made me feel so much better by telling me that the rain wouldn’t let up all day. Thankfully they were wrong! We walked around the infield when we got there and through a few mud puddles but the rain tapered off after an hour or so and it was bearable. My fabulous hat turned out to be a fabulous umbrella as well!
My favorite parts of the day were:
1) looking at all of the hats and outfits. Some were classy and beautiful, some were silly, and some were just crazy!! Hats, dresses and rain boots and ponchos were the trends of the day.
I wish I had gotten a picture when he turned around. He had a matching bowtie! :)
2) betting on the races! I had such a grand time reading the program and deciding who we would bet on then watching the race on the big screen and cheering for our horse!
3) seeing all of the horses, trainers and jockeys in the paddock area
4) getting to see a few celebrities! I was hoping to see Justin Timberlake because I heard he was there but no such luck! Check out these pictures though! Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz walked right by me. We also saw Bo Derek and Terry O’Quinn. We saw Mario Lopez as well but I couldn’t get my camera out quick enough.
If you’ve never been, I highly recommend going at least once!! We didn’t have seats of course, but to be honest, I wouldn’t have been in my seat very much anyway. I would have loved to have a seat just to see the race on the actual track…but my experience was darn near perfect. We did put $5.00 on Super Saver!! That was exciting. I know…I’m cheap. The odds were 8 to 1 so we actually came out pretty good on that one. We also won a few other races but my bets were usually only $2.00. We had such a blast though! Hope ya'll enjoyed my pictures! Have a great day!!
