'Happy to be here': Revelers bring the party to the 2023 Kentucky Derby infield
Bettors got an early start in the Churchill Downs infield Saturday, hours before the 2023 Kentucky Derby was scheduled to take off.
Holding a program outside a wagering window, Audrey Webb from Austin, Texas, said a scratched horse threw off her pick for the first race. But she was looking forward to putting $2 on Sir Alfred James later in the day.
The contender had the same name as Webb's father, and even with 50-1 odds, she couldn't help but root for him.
"I'm hoping Dad comes through," she said.
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This was Webb's first time attending the Derby, and she looked forward to "the excitement of seeing some supreme athletes. The jockeys and horses together. It gives me a tingle just watching them perform like that."
Not everyone had luck early on.
"I hate it here," one man yelled after the second race, won by Quatermion.
Elsewhere in the infield, it was the fashion, people-watching, and overall experience that drew revelers from near and far.
Lewis Grant, dressed as Fred Flinstone, said he's attended the Kentucky Derby since 1998 and always looks forward to meeting new people.
It's easy to do with his rotating list of costumes ― including a pirate and the world's largest leprechaun ― which tend to attract strangers' attention.
"I've come as Fred before and came with my aunt," said Grant, who was joined by his wife, Connie, as Wilma. "She recently passed away, right before Derby. We came in honor of her."
The Derby infield has changed through the years, Grant said. Guests with more expensive tickets in the stands, for instance, no longer come mingle with the "common folk." And infield ticket-holders are no longer allowed to enter the paddock plaza, where they could previously view horses ahead of their races.
"But it's still great," said Grant, just before he was stopped for yet another picture.
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Rob Ruffin has been to Derby at least 30 times."The beauty of the infield is its slow enough pace that you can make friends,” he said. "We have common ground here."
Princetes Cotton and Jakki Deas, from Jackson, Mississippi, and Charleston, South Carolina, respectively, said they weren't sure what to expect at their first Derby. But they were looking forward to "betting and winning," Cotton said.
The two women were at Churchill Downs as part of a travel group called Go Girls, which organizes trips around the globe.
Cotton said she met Deas on a recent trip to Cuba, and after mentioning she wanted to attend the Derby, Deas immediately got to work signing them up.
"It's been on my list to come," Deas said. "I'm happy to be here."
At a cocktail tent, Tara and Bri Little said they were also enjoying their first Derby as volunteers with the athletic program at Eastern High School in Pekin, Indiana.
Bri Little coaches the school's junior varsity girls basketball team and said funds raised through volunteering will go toward purchasing shoes, uniforms and other items for her players.
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"We're a really small school, so it's really helpful," she said.
As temperatures rose through the day, the infield crowd steadily grew, with some celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's historic Triple Crown win.
John Cibulski wore a baseball jersey with the famous horse's name emblazoned on the back, while Haley James wore a towering monument of a hat honoring the racing giant.
"It's pretty heavy," James said, struggling to keep her head up under the weight.
Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 2023 Kentucky Derby infield: Revelers bring party to Churchill Downs
