Derby Day
Some of you may be asking, “Derby Day? What’s that?”
I was asking the same question several years ago. But then I married a man from Kentucky. So, now I know: Derby Day is the first Saturday in May every year. Well… most years. With 2020 being what it was, things were a bit off schedule.
This year, with vaccines well underway, and with a strong desire to stimulate the economy, the 147th annual Kentucky Derby was held on May 1.
But, alas. We did not visit Churchill Downs on Saturday.
We did, however, hold our own annual Derby party. To me, Derby Day is just a celebration of pure fun and good food. We don’t bother with fancy hats and dresses or suits. Our celebration of the “fastest two minutes in sports” goes something like this.
The invited guests arrive in the mid-afternoon and nosh on a charcuterie board, crudités, and fun drinks appropriate for the occasion. The kids decorate paper versions of jockey silks and horses. Then, horse and rider are pasted to popsicle sticks in preparation for our Home Derby. The Home Derby consists of a foot race, horse-on-popsicle-stick in hand, around our house… which is significantly less than the mile and a quarter that the real horses run! It takes the kids less than two minutes to complete our race but everyone, from 3 to 93, enjoys the event.
After the Home Derby, it’s time to choose a real horse by drawing the name and number from a hat… this is the horse you’ll cheer for during the Derby. But, because the Kentucky Derby is almost the last race of the day at Churchill Downs, we’ve got plenty of time for more food!
Most years, we grill burgers and hot dogs. We take time to relish being together, enjoying the slower pace of the day. Usually, the weather here in Georgia is just about perfect on Derby Day, so we like to have the doors open and move freely in and out of the house for food, drinks, and company.
Then, late in the day, it’s finally time for the main event. And they’re off! As I said, it’s the fastest two minutes in sports so you don’t need a long attention span to see the whole thing! Sometimes the winning guest receives a prize, sometimes it’s just bragging rights. Somehow, my kids are still able to remember who won our home Derby drawing for the last four years, even though the guest list changes every time!
Even my 90-year-old grandmother joined us in in 2017 !
And finally, the REAL main event: DERBY PIE. If you’ve never had one, Derby Pie is basically a chocolate chip cookie made with bourbon and walnuts, in a pie crust. If you know me, you know that I prefer fruit-y desserts. But warm Derby Pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream might surpass even a key lime pie… maybe.