Most Louisville natives don't attend the Kentucky Derby because it's so touristy and crowded. But since Trent and I figured this was probably the only time in our life we'd live there, YOLO! I suppose we were long-term tourists anyways.
Before I begin talking about our derby experiences I should mention....we didn't actually attend THE derby; we went to the Kentucky Oaks! It's the derby the day before the Derby and the fillies race. There are a TON of benefits to going to Oaks over derby:
- seated tickets are about 1/3rd of the cost (that's over $100 a pop),
- everyone wears PINK,
- you can compete in a fashion contest,
- and...GIRL POWER DUH!
As you could imagine, Derby tickets are rather difficult to find at a reasonable price. The seated tickets sell out way before the event and we were stuck to online vendors. I actually got my identity stolen in the process of getting these babies!
A little more information, there are several tiers to the seating and with that the class of the people who come: The infield where everyone drinks and bets but doesn't really get the see the races, various levels of bleacher seating and the higher you were the more expensive. Then of course the SUITES that only corporations and celebrities afford. We managed to snag tickets from craigslist on the first floor 1/8 of a mile from the finish line. All things considered, these tickets were pretty good for us!
Like noobs, we arrived much earlier than most attendees. But it was awesome because it gave me the chance to snag some pictures close to the track and with a horsey!
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| Pretty big eh? That's probably about 1/3 of the downs since I'm not showing the infield or back side. |
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| Oaks got crowded by about 12pm. Trent and I were going crazy. I can't even imagine how busy the actual Derby day is! |
So it's like what I said: Oaks is themed for the ladies and what better way to cater to us than a FASHION CONTEST?! It was so fun/weird. You got a real mix of Avante Garde, Southern sophisticated, and well...white trash. But the fun part was that anyone could participate. So of course I had to take my shot at the winnings!
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| a very typical derby hat. Clearly I missed the memo here... |
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| So excited for my cat walk debut! Also, the girl in front of me got to the callbacks...so close! |
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| strutting after the interview with Miss America! |
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| studly Trent with bow tie and Sperries. |
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| Found all out swag online: Craigslist, Amazon, Etsy, and Ebay! |
Oaks was the highlight of my 2015. I had a freaking blast! I'm so glad Trent humored me by wearing a bow tie and good attitude.
Also, I'm clearly pining for my next adventure as I type away the details of our fun Louisville experiences. I don't think it's sunk in that we're not moving every six months anymore...who wants to travel with us?!
Fun!!!
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