Derby Day

Derby Day

The Kentucky Derby has been run in Louisville at Churchill Downs since 1875 on the first Saturday in May. Derby Day is a time when men and women with Kentucky blood or in that absence a Kentucky kissin’ kinship celebrate their Kentucky roots and affinity.  The running of the Kentucky Derby, broadcast all over the world as the “greatest two minutes in sport,” allows us to remember our Kentucky home, the Kentucky folks we grew up with, have left behind or have lost.

 

When we hear the words and melody of the plantation ballad, My Old Kentucky Home, written by the bard Stephen Foster, we grow nostalgic for our Kentucky past. At the Federal Hill estate in Bardstown resides My Old Kentucky Home is a place that symbolizes our Kentucky heritage, our genteel way of life, our common ancestry. Every man, woman and child in the Commonwealth knows that My Old Kentucky Home is owned by the people of Kentucky and that knowledge is a point of fierce pride. For every Kentuckian knows that as long as My Old Kentucky Home stands, every Kentuckian, no matter how humble their station in life, owns a Kentucky mansion and a Kentucky home.

 

By the Saints that I appeal to and the Lord that created me, I am charmed by horse racing in Kentucky. Horses are Kentucky’s largest agricultural product employing thousands of our citizens. My wife, Margaret Sue and I could afford a seat in the clubhouse at Keeneland and Churchill Downs on most any day. Our preference,  however,  is to be out amongst the horse racing element rubbing shoulders with jockeys, farriers, groomsmen, trainers, owners, betters and bums. In other words we like to visit the race track backside, the horse barns, the paddock and the track rail at race time.

 

We also like to commune with horse racing in all the other ways too. When Margaret Sue and I go to Keeneland Race Course and Churchill Downs we often go with a small group or hook up with our Lexington and Louisville friends at the track. Several trips to the track will be to dine in their respective dining rooms, watching the racing panorama from the balcony of the clubhouse, eating rare roast beef and sampling their stock of liquor. Several trips will be to join the crowd in the grandstand, supping on homemade burgoo purchased at the track, drinking strong coffee and pouring Kentucky Bourbon sequestered discreetly in the side vent of my blazer.

 

There is no horse racing experience like the Kentucky Derby. Going to Churchill Downs on Friday Oaks Day or on Saturday for the Kentucky Derby is a treat almost without comparison. The alternative Kentucky Derby party at home is also a great experience. A Kentuckian convenes a Derby Day party with family and friends, wherever they might be. If alone in the world or surrounded by hostile forces, a Kentuckian takes a moment on Derby Day to salute Kentucky, dreaming of the day they might come home.

 

I like this Kentucky Derby weekend for the horses, no question. There are also other reasons.

 

Women look great on Derby Day, dressed in spring attire, adorned in broad brimmed hats and feeling the glamour of the occasion. I like the Derby pools where everyone pitches in a few dollars to take a chance on winning the pot when the horse they drew wins the race. I look forward to Kentucky Derby Day foods, the kind of food that has given Kentucky a world wide reputation for hospitality-Benedictine Spread, Pimento Cheese on Crackers, Country Ham on Yeast Rolls, Kentucky Bourbon in a glass come to mind.

 

Make a Mint Julep or pour a glass of sweet ice tea on Derby Day, no matter where you are in the world, no matter what circumstance you find yourself in. Raise a toast to Kentucky. Ask the Lord to bless your people with good fortune. Forgive a friend you have fallen out with. Make a promise to come back to Kentucky to visit your family and “the old folks back home.” Watch the Kentucky Derby, the greatest two minutes in sport, singing the plantation ballad, My Old Kentucky Home, just before the race whilst holding the hand of your sweetheart.

 

On Derby Day I feel a kinship with all Kentuckians, on Derby Day we are all cousins in our affection for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. All of this is part and parcel of the Kentucky Derby experience. I do love it so.

Colonel Michael Masters