Celebs and fashion flood Churchill Downs despite record rain at Kentucky Derby

After 144 years, the excitement and traditions of the Kentucky Derby are well-known across the world. But it’s hard to fully understand the splendor until you actually show up to Louisville and Churchill Downs, said actor Johnny Knoxville.

“It’s more grand than I expected. I thought it was grand but it seems like everyone really dials it up to 11,” Knoxville said, admitting that he was taking it easy early in the day after going perhaps too grand at the Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala the night before.

A rainy day couldn’t stop a slew of actors, singers, athletes and other celebrities from flocking to Churchill Downs for the 144th Kentucky Derby.

Read this: This is now the wettest Kentucky Derby ever – and more rain is coming

Newbies like Knoxville mingled with others who had multiple years of experience with the day that surrounds the fastest two minutes in sports.

Jordan Smith, a former winner on “The Voice” and a three-time Kentucky Derby veteran, sat at a table with Knoxville and others.

Smith isn’t a big gambler but enjoys making $2 bets and picking horses based on their names.

As for what he’d name his own Kentucky Derby horse if he had one? “Maybe something like Dave. Or Carl. I like the name Carl.” (Note: we asked him this in 2016 and he chose the name “Phillip” back then.)

Bob Guiney, who starred on the fourth season of “The Bachelor,” has been to the Kentucky Derby for 14 years.

He jokingly said he’d love to be a jockey — “If they allowed a 6-foot-3, 200-and-some-pound dude to be a jockey, I would want to be a jockey. I have a feeling my horse would be much slower” — but added that he’d enjoy getting to be the announcer for the races.

Read this: Which Kentucky Derby 2018 horses are the best mudders?

Gold medalist Olympic alpine skier Bode Miller said his yearly Kentucky Derby traditions include a dinner at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and a trip to Fourth Street Live.

He brought his brother this year and enjoyed showing him around, since Miller has been coming for more than a decade. They went to the backside at 5 a.m. Friday morning to get the full Churchill Downs experience.

As usual, stars rocked fun fashions for this Run for the Roses.

Actor Blair Underwood said he used the internet to create his red carpet style. “My wife and I Googled ‘Derby fashion’ and I think we did all right,” he said.

Eden Bridgeman, one of the co-hosts of The Trifecta party, may have created a new style trend with a stunning hat she wore to this year’s Kentucky Derby. Her cream-colored design was a regal headpiece based on the movie “Black Panther.”

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller strutted his stuff in a red, white and blue plaid suit with a straw hat.

“I made this out of my mom’s curtains,” he joked. He actually had his suit custom made for the horse race — and he looked like a winner.

Reporter Kirby Adams contributed to this report.

Reporter Allison Ross: [email protected]; 502-582-4241; Twitter: @AllisonSRoss. Reporter Matthew Glowicki: 502-582-4989. [email protected]. Support local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/allisonr.

Fun fashion brightens up a gloomy Kentucky Derby 2018

On a drizzly Kentucky Derby Day, most people were clad in plastic 99-cent ponchos outside and around the track. But inside it was like the runway at New York Fashion Week.

Undercover and safe from the rain, men were Southern gentlemen clad in pink and women slayed in neon dresses with coordinating insane millinery, brightening up the bleak skies.

Kentucky Derby 2018 men’s fashion

In the Turf Club at Churchill Downs, father Harry Lusk and son Michael Lusk spent the day paired in pink ensembles.

Harry said he has attended so many Kentucky Derbys that he’s lost count, but he was visibly excited to spend time with his adult son and try a bold color.

“I thought I’d do something different. Go a little more flashy,” Harry said.

Many men were adorned in pastels and bright colors. Grant Kassemos from Covington, Kentucky, wore a floral blue suit in Millionaire’s Row, tailored to his slim frame.

“The weather isn’t going to rain on anyone’s parade today,” Kassemos said. “I’m going to bring the sunshine.”

Bringing a unique spin to the fashion game, Sonal Arora, of Raleigh, North Carolina, wore one of six tailored vests he had custom made for him in Delhi.

“I wanted to blend east and west,” Arora said. “It’s a traditional Derby style in my own unique way.”

Impressive Kentucky Derby dresses

Asha Elias, of Miami, channeled Frida Kahlo, and Cinco de Mayo, with her floral Dolce & Gabbana skirt and custom hat with a huge red rose that was on theme for the 144th Run for the Roses.

Reds and pinks were also popular. Terry Thomas from Louisville was the host to friends, Cassaundra Hefner from North Carolina and Katie Kilfoil from Montana.

While they did not plan to color coordinate, the threesome showed up in the same red, coral and pink theme.

Fabulous fashion also walked the red carpet at Churchill Downs. Olympics figure skater turned NBC correspondent Tara Lipinski wore a navy and white lace dress and a tiny navy fascinator, which off set her co-host’s Triple Crown headpiece. We won’t say Johnny Weir’s hat — made of three rhinestone crowns — was high fashion, but he continues to surprise and delight with his daring choices.

You may like: She’s the hat maker for the stars. She gets her inspiration from Louisville’s women

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Olympic figure skater turned television commentator Johnny Weir talked to Courier Journal’s Kirby Adams on the red carpet at Churchill Downs at Kentucky Derby 2018.
Frankie Steele/Special to Courier Journal

Kentucky Derby hats had pizzazz

Hats were classy but also creative in the Turf Club. Madeline and Delilah McMahan and their mother, Laura, wore feathery creations inspired by Audrey Hepburn. Laura made sure she, her daughters and friend, Lynn Puana of Hawaii, had the most outrageous headpieces from her favorite Louisville designer, Hatrageous.

Courtney Barr from New York City was inspired by the Statue of Liberty with her spiky topper. She finished her outfit with a beautiful designer dress with horses made out of burlap.

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A group of women from Miami, who have each respectively won the Longines Fashion Contests held annually during the Kentucky Oaks, had their hats custom made.

“We love hats” in Miami, Meghana Rajadhyaksha said. “It’s our first time at the Derby, so we’re really excited to wear them.”

Reach Taylor Riley at [email protected]; Twitter: @TaylorRileyCJ. Reach Kirby Adams at [email protected]; Twitter @kirbylouisville. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/kirbya.

Kentucky Derby diehards keep infield alive at Churchill Downs

Clear ponchos were the fashion accessory of choice for hundreds hunkering down in the infield at the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Sunny the day was not. And as rain dampened the ground through the afternoon, intrepid infield guests sought shelter beneath wagering windows, makeshift tarp tents and even dumpster lids.

Three Army friends visiting Churchill Downs from Tennessee, however, couldn’t care less about the wet weather.

“The rain adds more personality to the day,” said Tim Drahokoupio, dressed as a “Dumb and Dumber” character for his first Kentucky Derby. “I hoped there’d be more rain so we could get closer to the track.”

More: Everything you need to know about Kentucky Derby 2018

Colt Kinder, 28, meanwhile was having some trouble finding the turf.

Clad in a red-white-and-blue suit, Kinder walked through the tunnel leading to the infield, where he stopped a passerby to ask, “Where is the track?”

The response: “Dude, you’re in it!”

The infield is a place for camaraderie and joy, and despite the dark clouds, many found reason to return for another year.

Doug Knight, 38, of St. Louis, joined the infield as a “walking taco.” He’d purchased the costume in October, knowing that the 2018 Run for the Roses would land on Cinco de Mayo — and he wouldn’t let the rain stop him from using it.

“It’s just an all out party, man,” Knight said. “It’s been my eighth one, and I just keep coming back.”

Knight’s advice for newcomers: “Don’t throw mud at cops.” (Not that he’s tried that himself. He just knows a friend who had a little too much fun one year.)

First time Derby-goers Sarah and Steve Reuss seemed to already have the hang of the infield spirit.

The couple from New Athens, Illinois, had no idea what to expect from the event but came prepared with matching flamingo hats — or straw hats decorated in plastic flamingos attached with drywall screws.

“Flamingos like to party,” Sarah Reuss said. “And so do we.”

The couple was a little surprised to see the infield as tame as it was around noon, with much of the grass open and few lines stretching from drink and food booths.

But Sarah Reuss said they wouldn’t let the rain ruin their first Derby.

“We’re campers,” Sarah Reuss said. “We’re used to roughing it.”

Derek Moore came with friends to Churchill Downs from Michigan for his first Derby. He said he borrowed his brightly colored, comic-inspired suit from his dad for the day.

Moore said he’s never really been a horse racing fan, but witnessing “the people, the debauchery, the outfits, the whole spectacle” in the infield was bringing him around to the equestrian sport.

“I’m becoming one,” he said. “I think I’m already sold.”

Thomas Novelly and Emma Austin contributed reporting. Bailey Loosemore: 502-582-4646; [email protected]; Twitter: @bloosemore.

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