“Run for the Roses,” Jerry Garcia’s third solo album cover.
By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
According to “The Kentucky Derby Tradition and the Evolution of Derby Parties,” Derby parties evolved from elite 19th-century Louisville social gatherings into a nationwide tradition. Popularized by themed food, mint juleps and elaborate hats, these parties grew from intimate gatherings into, as described, into a significant cultural celebration . . . all revolving around the first Saturday in May.
Anyone living in Central Kentucky in the second half of the 20th century knew all about the famous dueling parties held at the famous Thoroughbred breeding and racing farms in Fayette County.
The Derby Eve Party thrown by Preston and Anita Madden was the definition of glitz. Beginning in 1958 and continuing until 1999, Hollywood stars and starlets, University of Kentucky athletes, coal barons, Kentucky and national politicos, members of the Jet Set were thrown together at annual bacchanalian extravaganzas, reported on by not just the Lexington Herald-Leader, but papers from Palm Beach, Saratoga Springs, and New York City.
The Maddens competed with the more staid, aristocratic parties hosted by C.V. and Mary Lou Whitney at their Derby Eve Party, where the crème of the nation’s social order enjoyed themselves. For those in the know, it was her annual party at Saratoga where her circle really let their hair down, as described in a famous Vanity Fair article in the mid-1980s. But, on Derby Eve, the Whitneys were the must-attend event for the elite of Bluegrass equine royalty.
However, an invitation to the Madden or Whitney party was hardly a requirement for Kentuckians and Woodford Countians to bask in the state’s annual BIG holiday. Whether at someone’s home with a Derby pool, a cooler full of beer and Ale 8 One, beer cheese and overly sweet Mint Juleps, with real mint bought from Kroger, or at a local tavern—or the more modern version of tailgating at Keeneland, Kentuckians will know, innately, what to do this coming Saturday. It is in our bones.
Here at the Sun, we want our readers to show off their version of a great Derby Party! Send a photo of your party to scott@woodfordsun.com, and we will publish the best ones. Just remember, we are a family newspaper, and unlike the internet, you can’t erase a newspaper page.
The best party picture selected by our team, will receive a six-month free subscription to the Sun, and second place will get a three-month subscription.
Happy Derby!