Saturday, May 5 in Louisville, KY...The Kentucky Derby!

"The most important two minutes in sports history," "The fastest two minutes in sports history," "The run for the roses," are some of the phrases that people use to describe the Kentucky Derby.
Held every first Saturday in May in my city (Louisville, KY) the Kentucky Derby is the most famous horse race in the United States.  It's been run every consecutive year since 1875.
That was a little history, so now I'll tell you a little bit about what it's really like.
As a Louisvillian who lived very close to Churchill Downs (the track where the Derby is held) for a couple of years, I can tell you that there is A LOT of traffic and that the city is filled with people from all over the country who come to Kentucky to watch the Derby.
Usually, when people go to the Kentucky Derby, they either go to the "infield" or they get "box seats."  These are two very different places...here's an illustration...

As you can see, the "infield" is in the middle of the racetrack and it can be described as "informal."  An average of 80,000 attend this "derby party" and do exactly that...party.  People drink, celebrate, and watch the races.  I've never been to the infield, but I've heard it's fun (and crazy).

Now, a different side of the Kentucky Derby...box seats

To go to box seats, people dress up and, most notably, women wear big hats, which is a Kentucky Derby tradition.  People tend to dress in light, Springy colors.  As you can see, several famous people also attend the Kentucky Derby (which I have a story about to come...).
Now, some Kentucky Derby foods and traditions...the famous drink of the Kentucky Derby is the mint julep.  It's made of bourbon, mint, and a sugar syrup.

Another traditional (and DELICIOUS) Kentucky Derby food is Derby pie.  Here's a good description of it:
"The pie is a chocolate and walnut tart in a pie shell usually with a pastry dough crust.  It is also commonly made with pecans, chocolate chips, and Kentucky bourbon.  Popular additions are butterscotch, caramel, and other types of nuts."
YUM...
To make your mouth water even more, here's a picture:

Now, I've never been to the infield or to box seats for the Kentucky Derby, but people usually have Derby parties at their houses and serve typical food, drink, and watch the races.  It's also common to bet on a horse of your choosing (just for fun).
I'll tell you a little bit about my most memorable Derby experience.  A little background information first:  every year, there is a party in Louisville on the night before Derby called the Barnstable Brown party.  Basically, it's a fancy, lavish party where famous people and rich/powerful people from Kentucky go.  A couple of years ago, I went to a party NEXT DOOR to the Barnstable Brown party (aaahhh!!!).  As part of this party, we walked to the Barnstable Brown party to see the famous people walking in.  This was by far my favorite sight from that experience:

For all you Lost fans, the man in the suit in this picture is John Locke (actor Terry O'Quinn) from Lost. If you look at the bottom left corner of this picture, you will see about a fourth of my face.  Which means, that I'm in a picture with John Locke!  I was so excited to see him!  I love that show!
So, a little bit about Derby and my most memorable Derby experience (which unfortunately, has nothing to do with the actual horse race).
Do any Louisvillians have anything to add?