Kentucky

The state we took off for the day after we got home from Hawaii was Kentucky for the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby! Odd sequence of events? Maybe. But in truth, this trip to Kentucky was planned long before the Hawaii trip came into being. We decided several years ago to attend the Kentucky Derby the same month as our seventh wedding anniversary (Lucky #7!) and we purchased our tickets well in advance of even considering a two-week cruise to the islands.

So after only one night in our own cozy bed, we hit the road for the 14 hour roadtrip to the Gold Vault Inn in Radcliff, Kentucky. 

Where we promptly crashed. We decided to let our jet-lagged, road-weary bodies take it easy all day on Friday at the hotel. We had the huge indoor pool and hot tub to ourselves. We made a couple last-minute Wal*Mart runs for things like rain ponchos (weather forecasts predicted a muddy Derby day) and ate at the lunch buffet at the Pizza Hut next door to our hotel.

Saturday morning we rose with the sun, dressed to the nines, and donned our big hats then made the 45 minute drive from Radcliff to Louisville and Churchill Downs. 

(Note my cute dress and hat paired with sensible footwear because no way was I spending a 12-hour day trekking around in heels or sandals.) We spent the first few hours of the day exploring Churchill Downs then staked out a good bench. I'll tell you something: Churchill Downs on Derby day is possibly the best people-watching venue I've ever experienced in my life. We literally saw it all, from people in cutoff jeans and ratty tank tops, to celebrities being escorted by security to their private boxes, to Miss America in her dress made out of real red roses. We watched people cheer in excitement when their horses won or curse and tear their betting slips in half when their horses lost. By the end of the day, the terminal was littered with torn betting slips. I nursed my mint julep (because you have to drink a mint julep at the Kentucky Derby) and watched people for hours. 

When the big race (the 12th race of the day) finally came, we placed our bets and waited with bated breath through the National Anthem and all the other preliminary stuff that comes with each race. Y'all, I kid you not when I tell you I watched and researched these horses for the full year leading up to this race. I was pulling for Game Winner and Cody liked Improbable. 

~yes, I pinned my button to my fancy hat~

We lost. Improbable came in 4th and Game Winner was right behind him in 5th. But it was a record-setting Derby and when people say it's the greatest two minutes in sports, they're right. My heart was pounding and adrenaline was at an all-time high. Maximum Security crossed the finish line first but ended up being disqualified making him the first horse in Derby history to be removed from first place for an on-track infraction and leaving Country House (the long shot with 65-1 odds) the big winner. 

We trekked back to our car in the mud with the other 150,000+ people that showed up for the big day. When we made it back to the Gold Vault Inn, I promptly threw my shoes away (there was no salvaging them after all that mud) and Cody and I got a good night of sleep before checking out in the morning to make the 14 hour drive back home. It was a whirlwind of a weekend but one I'll never forget.

Kentucky : done. 

Have you ever been to the Kentucky Derby? What's the most exciting sporting event you've ever witnessed?