The Kentucky Derby is one of the world's premier horse races; it's also, as Hunter S. Thompson put it, "decadent and depraved." Derby Day itself is the first Saturday in May, at the end of the two-week Kentucky Derby Festival . Since 1875, the leading lights of Southern society have gathered for an annual orgy of betting, haute cuisine and mint juleps in the plush grandstand, while tens of thousands cram into the infield. Apart from the $40 infield tickets available on the day offering limited views, all seats are sold out months in advance. The actual race, traditionally preceded by a rendition of My Old Kentucky Home , is run over a distance of one and a quarter miles, lasts barely two minutes, and offers close to a million dollars in prize money. Only during the Superbowl do television commercials cost more. Thoroughbreds also race at Churchill Downs , three miles south of downtown at 700 Central Ave, from May to July, and October to November ($2; tel 502/636-4400).
The excellent hands-on Kentucky Derby Museum (daily 9am5pm; $7), next to Churchill Downs at 704 Central Ave (bus #4), will appeal to horse-racing enthusiasts and ignoramuses alike. Admission includes a tour of Churchill Downs, a magnificent audiovisual display that captures the Derby Day atmosphere on a 360 screen.