We come every year as soon as the gate opens on Derby Day with just general admission and we run straight over and grab a bench (in the Aristides Garden) and camp out for the whole day. We bring our food and from 8 o’clock in the morning until 7 o’clock at night, we camp out all day long. We love coming to Derby. We sit there all day. We get boxes, we make little tables out of the boxes and we call it our “box seats”.

A gentleman ran to the Winners’ Circle and gave a great (flash) to the crowd, receiving a standing ovation from all the ladies, half the men and three horses winked at him. Then he ran off towards the U of L’s marching band and the ladies in the band used their instruments to block the police and he got away.

The last time I was in the infield was probably my favorite Derby memory. I think it’s still a record for the Derby (100th running) and I was actually sitting near the flagpole the streaker went up. So I got to see the guy climb the flagpole, drop his drawers then get arrested.

It was 2004. My family had tickets to the Derby and they had their box and I said no. I’m going to the infield, I’m in college and I’m going to be with my friends. I am going to be a hooligan… all of a sudden the sky just opens up, probably after the 5th or 6th race and the sky just opens up and it just starts pouring raining and everybody’s running for cover and finally it’s like… this is a lost cause and everybody just went with it. We’re getting drenched and it’s just disgusting- people are having mudfights Read more »

Soon as those gates open 8 o’clock in the mornin’ we’re there and gotta find that spot where you can actually spot a horse every once in a while and see a big screen to keep up with your horses. After awhile there, bettin’ on the horses becomes the second thought and you’re just there for the party, just leading up to the anticipation of the Kentucky Derby. You’re always very excited- it’s like Christmas. You’ve got all these tickets and you really want to cash on the Derby and most of the time you don’t but you’ve got that chance. And you just feel like if you could hit it- you could brag about that for years to come sayin’ ‘Hey, I had the Kentucky Derby Winner!’

Growing up in south Louisville, I could hear the track announcer from my back yard. Also, my father was on duty for every Oaks and Derby day as a fire inspector for the Louisville Fire Dept. My favorite Derby horse of all time was Native Dancer. I was devastated when he lost his only race, the Derby, after being bumped. 1953… It’s my Derby.

Traveling to Kentucky for my first Derby and betting a $1 pick four all-all-all with Big Brown in the last leg. The ticket cost around $400 and paid about $8,000.

My sister took me to my first Kentucky Derby when I was 14. We went to the infield and one of the first sights was a naked guy climbing the flagpole. Of course, police officers were waiting at the bottom for him to come down. I thought this was just wild, and at 14 it was wild! I wondered why I had never come to the Derby before. My father took us to the races, but he never went to the Derby. The whole day was just wonderful. We took the bus home and transferred at 4th and Broadway. We went into the drugstore on that corner, Read more »

After forty-two consecutive Derbies, I obviously have many great Derby memories. Frankly tho, none is as strange as the one in 2005. I am going to tell you right now that some may read this and doubt it’s authenticity. The great part of THAT is- you need only check the races on the ’05 Derby Day card to see that it is true.

Since we have always gone to the races all day Thursday and Friday, we generally don’t get to CD (on Derby Day) until after the 5ht race. By that time, I had made most of my Derby bets and (like many) I believed that Bellamy Road would b Read more »

For 40 years, my husband and I had tickets to the Derby. In those early days, we came with our umbrellas and sometimes coats! Taking a huge cooler with our lunch for our guests, we walked from our parking spot- probably over a mile in high heels, to our seats in Section #128- probably the worst seats ever! We saw Secretariat win, we saw the 100th Derby, with a wait over an hour to use the restroom. It was all fun!