For Christmas last year one of my gifts from Dave was a big hat with two tickets to the Kentucky Derby included. I had told him a while back that it was on my bucket list and he allowed me to check it off.
We flew to Indianapolis on Thursday night May 3rd. We arrived at 1am local time and left the next morning to drive to Louisville so we didn't have much time in Indy.
Downtown Indianapolis
We stopped at this cute little coffee shop in Columbus, Indiana (thank goodness for Google maps).
My first time in Kentucky.
On Friday at Churchill Downs was the Kentucky Oaks, which is a race for 3-year-old fillies. This was included as part of the derby ticket so we decided to go to the race. I'm so glad we did - it was a perfect day weather-wise and it wasn't too crowded.
Right before the race they had a parade of breast cancer survivors so pink was the color of the day.
We were staying in Lexington and we found this local, grass-fed burger place for dinner.
Saturday was Derby Day! The weather app had been going back and forth all week between, sunny, cloudy and rain. Well, rain is what it ended up being. And it wasn't just a light drizzle - it was a steady rain. The entire day. This was leaving the parking lot...fortunately there was a guy walking around selling ponchos because we had not read the rules that umbrellas were not permitted through the gates. I also didn't even mess with heels - wore my reefs all day.
At the main entrance.
We started the day in the infield - these turf races were so fun to watch from the infield because the horses were so close. You could hear how loud they were when they ran by and feel the ground shake.
After walking around the infield for a while we saw a tunnel that took us out to the paddock area (where the horses prep for the race). It was much more civilized out in this area so we spent the remainder of the day here.
We wagered $20 each on two horses - I picked Magnum Moon and Dave picked My Boy Jack.
We stood in the rain and watched a few races and then we decided to go under cover for a while.
We had a mint julep while we were waiting...couldn't do the Derby without one.
We lined up here a couple of hours before the Derby race (there were a series of races that day and the Derby was one of the last).
Justify before he went out to race. At this point he is on his way to a Triple Crown if he wins at Belmont in a few weeks.
Dave's horse My Boy Jack
This was my horse, Magnum Moon.
The screen that can be seen in the picture above is where they broadcast the actual race for those in this viewing area. It was so much fun to watch with everyone and hear the crowds cheering for the horses. Even though it was the wettest Derby day on record it was still a fun time...when we got back to the car our pants were soaked (even with the poncho) and mine had mud spots all over them (which fortunately came out in the wash).
This was our horse farm Airbnb in Lexington.
It was beautiful and I loved all the horses.
We did breakfast in Lexington Sunday morning and stopped here for a coffee for the road.
We drove from Lexington, through Cincinnati and then to Indianapolis. As we were approaching the airport we got a notification that our flight was delayed. So...Dave drove us here.
We toured the Indy Museum and then headed to the airport.
This was such a fun weekend of pageantry, horses and tradition. And I got to experience it all with my best friend - thanks to DH for making it all happen!
