Why I Celebrate the Kentucky Derby

10 Reasons Why I Celebrate the Kentucky Derby

My Old Kentucky Home

I weep when the crowd stands and sings My Old Kentucky Home before the race no matter where I am celebrating. I stand and sway when the crowd sings, “Weep no more my lady. Oh, weep no more today. We will sing one song for my old Kentucky home. For my old Kentucky home far away.” My father played My Old Kentucky Home on his harmonica at our wedding reception. Everyone, especially the folks from Kentucky, sang along.

Resolutions

I always make a resolution on Derby Day. (Why should we reserve resolutions for the New Year?) The first Saturday in May is a perfect time to think again about necessary changes, tweaks, turns, and twists: to think about what has worked and what has not. A Derby resolution this year feels particularly timely and important, as life has profundly changed over the last few months.

My Uncle Sam

I always think of Uncle Sam at Derby time. Uncle Sam (my grandmother’s mother’s brother, I think) owned a bar several blocks from Churchill Downs on Taylor Boulevard where he kept a book. He always told grandpa jokes with a glimmer in his eye. Married 4 or 5 times, charm surrounded him. He never let you sit at his counter without one of those little bottles of Coke.

Hats

Elegance is never wrong. Hats make Derby Day, Derby Day. Whether at the track, a Derby Party, or in your living room simply watching the race, tradition dictates you find a Derby hat. This year hats are being paired with masks to achieve the height of style.

Spring

Enough said.

Bluegrass

Yes, the grass in Kentucky is blue when you look at it at sunrise, sideways, in May, framed by white picket fences in the morning dew. The pastoral scene of a mare with her foal running on rolling hills allows everyone to understand the bluegrass for a minute. Bluegrass is also about music: banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and lyrics that break your heart. I took fiddle lessons when I was little. I was never any good, but learned to love bluegrass.

Mint Juleps

The mint julep is the signature Derby cocktail made with bourbon, simple syrup, crushed ice, and mint. I have loved mint juleps a long time. I learned to appreciate the artistry of a good mint julep when I tried to make them for a Derby party I hosted one year many moons ago. They were so bad people politely asked for their bourbon straight.

The Starting Gate

If the Derby has a philosophy, it could be: Show up. Prepare with courage. Train with consistency. Learn your pace. Hear the call to the post. Run your race.

The Homestretch

The homestretch is the portion of the race right before the finish line. Success in the race is about success in the homestretch. Chomp at the bit, lean into your stride, and give it everything you’ve got. As my Dad said at mile 17 of the marathon we ran together, “Don’t leave any hay in the barn.” Building the strength needed to have enough power left to finish the race is a life lesson. The homestretch separates the winner from the rest.

The Odds

The odds are a simple statement of your chances of winning: the lower the odds, the better your chance. Even the long shot, a horse with the high odds, has a chance to win the Kentucky Derby. That is pretty amazing. The horses that enter the Derby are the best three-year-old horses in the world, and on that day any horse that enters can win. The odds tell one story, but the race tells another. The odds declare the profoundly optimistic notion that we can all be winners.