For most casual viewers, the Kentucky Derby is nothing more than a two-minute horse race. Every year on the first Saturday of May, there is a new group of 20 horses ready to run at horse racing’s most iconic track, Churchill Downs. Some fans will learn the names of their favorite horses a couple of days out. Most will turn on the TV an hour before the race starts.
The excitement will grow as the race gets nearer and the jockeys descend down to the paddock to meet the horses and parade in front of the grandstands while “My Old Kentucky Home” plays in the background. The anticipation will grow further as the horses are loaded into the gates and culminates with Larry Collmus’ call of, “They’re off in the Kentucky Derby.” The casual viewers have placed their bets and cheer blindly for their favorite horse as they turn down the final stretch.
The Derby winner will be crowned with the garland of roses, and in an hour or two, all of the horses who did not win will be largely forgotten.
The winning horse may be remembered by the casual viewer if he goes on to win the Triple Crown like American Pharoah did in 2015, but that’s a long shot. The “greatest two minutes in sports” has ended, and it is time for the significant portion of viewers to return to the everyday world where horse racing is not even in the back of their minds.
For the city of Louisville, though, the Kentucky Derby is so much more than just two minutes.
For those who live in Louisville, the 2017 Kentucky Derby began way before May 6 at 6:52 p.m Eastern Standard Time. It unofficially started way back on April 22, when over 600,000 people lined the Louisville waterfront to watch the airshow and fireworks at Thunder Over Louisville. And the party rolled on from there.
The Kentucky Derby Festival packs as many events possible into the two weeks leading up to the race. Weekly concerts are performed at the Waterfront Jam, and there is a steamboat race between the Belle of Louisville and Belle of Cincinnati. A hot air balloon race, the annual bed races, the Pegasus Parade, a rubber duck race on the Ohio River, a marathon, a golf tournament, a bike race and a beer fest, among others, all take place prior to the weekend of the Derby itself.
The festivities really get going on the Thursday before the race, when locals journey to Churchill Downs for a day of races they call “Thurby.” The Kentucky Oaks, held on Friday, is the race for the fillies and in recent years has become an event in and of itself. Over 100,000 people show up dressed in pink at Churchill to support breast cancer awareness. The Oaks has grown so big, in fact, that Louisville schools are all cancelled for the day. On Derby Eve, parties pop up around the city, the most famous being the Barnstable-Brown Gala, where stars like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers appear annually.
This all leads up to the day of the Kentucky Derby, and if you’re just tuning in at 6 p.m., you have missed a lot.
While Louisville anxiously awaits the Derby during the slew events in the weeks leading up, the horses travel a different path. For this year’s Derby winner, Always Dreaming, his journey started long before he made his way to the starting gates. In fact, Always Dreaming’s run for the roses started before he was even born, when his sire, Bodemeister, finished second at the Derby in 2012.
Bodemeister spent a majority of the 2012 Kentucky Derby in the front, just like Always Dreaming did this past Saturday, but he faltered down the stretch, allowing I’ll Have Another to pass him. Always Dreaming was put in the same position Saturday but was able to survive and hold off the pack behind him. In a way, Always Dreaming provided redemption for his dad.
Only time will tell if Always Dreaming will go on to etch his name into the history books of the Preakness Stakes or the Belmont Stakes, too. Maybe he will go on to win the Triple Crown, becoming the 13th horse to join one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports.
For the city of Louisville, though, Always Dreaming does not have to win another race to be remembered. The winner of the Derby reminds fans of that year’s excitement and that horse becomes like family when his name gets placed alongside the other Derby winners in Churchill Downs. When the Preakness comes around, Always Dreaming will already have Louisville behind him cheering him on in the next leg of the Triple Crown.
The Kentucky Derby is not just about a two-minute race for those in Louisville. The brief running of the Kentucky Derby marks the finale of a month-long celebration that brings the whole community together. The events provide something for everyone and give the city an opportunity to share the history and the uniqueness of Louisville. Whether a local, a first-time visitor or a loyal Derby enthusiast, the memories made at the Kentucky Derby last longer than those two minutes.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_
