LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The first sign that the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby would be a wet one actually came on Friday.
The day before the race, a severe thunderstorm rolled into Louisville, soaking fans or sending them for cover during the Kentucky Oaks. Heavy winds blew over temporary rent-a-fences onto surrounding roads, bringing traffic to a halt around Churchill Downs.
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“The police stopped the bus!” one elderly woman trying to leave the racetrack Friday said on the phone in an angry southern drawl. “Whoever heard of such?”
Stopping or slowing down, after all, isn’t part of the race, and that goes for both the horses and the people at the Derby. On Saturday, even as the rain began in the morning and continued through the afternoon in a steady downpour, the party raged in kind.
“If you’re with the right people, and you’re enjoying the time and the atmosphere, the rain doesn’t matter at all,” said Tom Flynn, 48, who was attending his 15th Derby on Saturday.
The hours leading up the race were still action packed.
Dignitaries ranging from retired NFL players to influencers to Kentucky governor Andy Beshear walked the red carpet. Serious bettors and the people who heard a tip from a friend alike were heavily invested in the day’s earlier races, watching intently on TVs above the wager window and cheering or groaning as horses made their way down the homestretch. All the while, countless people walked by often holding one (and nearly as often two) of the race’s signature drinks, the mint julep and the lily.
And the outfits somehow managed to maintain their essence amid the rain, safely tucked away under large, clear ponchos so as not to be fully muted.
To see the suits and dresses of the Derby is to be frozen in a specific time and place. No matter what fashion trend may be taking over the outside world, inside the gates of Churchill Downs you will always see colorful suits with crisp, single-pleated, slim-fit pants, floral dresses and elaborate headwear, with hats tilted to just the perfect angle.
“I started planning my outfit four months ago,” Kimberly Booth, 54, said. She started with her headwear first, finding a hat maker she liked on Etsy, then finding matching dresses from there.
Booth was attending her first Derby. After years of playing the lottery for tickets, she finally received one from a friend. Traveling all the way from Louisiana, the party exceeded her expectations.
“It’s even more [exciting] than I thought,” Booth said. “Especially because, being from just outside New Orleans we do Mardi Gras every single year, this is just spectacular. I love it.”
As for the actual race, the rain doesn’t necessarily level the playing field, with the conventional wisdom being a good horse is a good horse. That doesn’t mean people won’t be looking for an edge, though.
“Is it Sovereign? Oh, Sovereignty,” said Johnnie Rominger, a 48-year-old from West Virginia when asked who he would bet on for Derby. “It was a tip from a girl I know that knows horses. She said put money on him. I’ll try.”
Attending his second Derby, Rominger kept it simple when asked what he’s most excited about.
“I tell you what, I like drinking alcohol, I like relaxing, and I’m here with some buddies so that makes it nice.”
