Friday was the beginning of our derby experience. As I mentioned in the previous post, after we booked our stay in Louisville we realized we would be there during the Kentucky Derby. Totally unplanned. So about 3 weeks before the derby we researched tickets for the derby and found they were still available! Not only that but they had VIP tickets that included good seats and access to a clubhouse that included open bar, lots of food, and live entertainment. This all came at a pretty good cost but hey, our motto is we’re spending our kid’s inheritance, right? Sorry kids.

Anyway, the derby basically takes place over two days. Friday is their Derby Oaks, which is a very respected race taking place the day before the derby and is only open to female horses, or fillies. Like the derby, the horse must be 3 years old. We didn’t know either of these facts before attending the derby.

As is tradition, Jamie dressed us up both days in appropriate derby attire. This will be the last time you see Jim dressed up like this so savor. In fact, the only time you’ll see him in other than shorts and flip flops is at a wedding or funeral. We made our way in and were amazed how nice our deal was. They set up the museum that we went to a couple days ago as a clubhouse with over a dozen bars, about a half dozen food stations, betting machines all over the place, and 2 rooms with live entertainment. It was fantastic. We filled our bellies, had a few drinks, made many bets, then finally headed out to our seats to watch a few races. It was very electric. Jamie had never been to a horse race before so it was really special for her. After the last race we headed home ready for bed, thanks to Uber.