Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby Home Derby Trivia The Triple Crown Social Scene Watching the Race Recommended Reading Meet the Thoroughbred horsehobbyist.com horsehobbyist.com Horse Forums Horse Photo Gallery Horse Bookstore On the Web Official Kentucky Derby Site Kentucky Derby Museum The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Times Subscribe to Hoofbeats, the free email newsletter about equines & farm animals from horsehobbyist.com! Email Address:

Getting to the Derby is difficult, in several senses of the word. Tickets for the race are in high demand; there are 48,500 seats available, but only a few come open every year, and the Churchill Downs receives between eight and ten thousand letters every year requesting them.

Certain people have priority in Derby requests: Season box holders, members of the Downs' Turf Club, horsemen, and corporate sponsors. Ticket prices range from $42 to $65 for bleacher seats in the grandstand to $3990 for a six-seat table on the Eclipse and Turf Club Terraces, which covers both Oaks and Derby Days and includes a sit-down meal and a champagne toast before the feature race each day.

You never know, seats this good may fall into your lap. A distant relative may die and leave you his box. You may win seats in a contest. Or you may pay a scalper many times the face value of the ticket; some reports had 1997 boxes going for $3000-$9000. (By the way, scalping is illegal in Kentucky.)

But even after you have your tickets, reaching your seat is hardly an easy matter. Imagine 130,000 people converging on a facility with 4,500 parking spaces, all of them already spoken for, in a modest neighborhood of narrow streets where some major thoroughfares are closed.

And Derby Day weather is good evidence of just how variable Louisville's climate can be. Temperatures have ranged from 43 (in 1989) to 94 degrees (1959); as much as an inch of rain has fallen during the races (1918, when the day's total rainfall was 2.31 inches).

Treat the day like a minor military operation, even if you're dressed in linen and silk: Prepare ahead of time and pack light.

If you are lucky to go to the Derby, remember one fact: Everything takes more time in a crowd of 140,000, from moving ten feet to going to the bathroom to placing your bets. You might want to front-load your wagering: The computer system at Churchill Downs allows you to place bets on any of the day's races at any time (although if you're not betting the upcoming race, tell your cashier before you place your wager). Many people bet on the Derby when they arrive and forget about the cashiers for the rest of the afternoon.

If you can't wangle seats to the race, you have two choices: Pay $30 for admission to the Clubhouse Garden, where you will be able to spread a blanket on the bricks, watch the race on a monitor and maybe squeeze through the throng to get a glimpse of the Derby starters in the paddock.

Or you can brave ... Infield Madness.

The infield on Derby Day is something else, a cross between a company picnic, Woodstock and the infamous Snake Pit at the Indianapolis 500. One young observer looked around at the strutting, swilling, bellowing, lustful display and said, "Mankind at its lowest - by choice!"

The infield on Derby day is the sort of place where young men scream to young women, begging them to lift their shirts, and where a few young women comply; where a mud-wrestling man and woman may suddenly break their clinch with a kiss. But it has a softer side; many Derbies are graced by a marriage ceremony performed in the center of the Downs, and it draws many loyal fans who enjoy the raffish atmosphere without violating any of the laws of God or man.

Admission to the infield is $30. The preferred entrance is through the gate on Fourth Street; you may also enter through the main entrance to the Downs on Central Avenue. Both open at 8 AM. Glass containers, alcohol, cooking devices, umbrellas (seriously) and weapons are banned; lawns chairs, coolers and PARTY NAKED T-shirts are allowed (lawn chairs may only be brought through the Fourth Street gate).

If you're heading for the infield, bring a blanket or tarp, chairs, a cooler filled with beverages and food. Pack sunscreen, wear a hat and if there's any chance of rain, bring a poncho. Veterans suggest wearing layers of clothing, so you can adjust what you're wearing to the climate. Many people bring a radio or portable television set, so they can actually follow the race. .

If all this sounds too much to handle, do as millions across nations do, watch the Kentucky Derby on the television from the comfort of your own home! Care to join me?