It’s been a foregone conclusion that the Kentucky Derby — the pinnacle of horseracing established in 1875 — is for whites, celebrities and the otherwise rich. Few African Americans who aren’t from Louisville, Ky., where the historic event is held, have any idea that there’s much more to it than the media has revealed. Surrounding an event that’s big enough to provoke the near-untouchable Queen of England to trek across the pond and show her face, there has to be something for everybody.
I grew up in Louisville, affectionately known as the “Da Ville” to its residents, and to us the “Derby” was like the Super Bowl or the NBA championship game. Not because we were attending the actual race, but because of the crowds and festive energy it would bring to the city.
True enough, horseracing is an activity of means that seems to leave those that are behind on the economic curve kind of shut out, so blacks in the city always stepped around the exclusive stigma of the annual event to get our slice of the pie – the derby pie, that is, which is a signature dessert that can be found during the week, but I digress. We created our own derby culture, which includes throwing big parties, barbecues, or just cruising, checking out the street corner entrepreneurs that come out of the woodwork with hustles to make a buck in “Derby City.”
On top of that, official events such as the Pegasus parade, the steamboat race, the hot air balloon race, the Chow Wagon, the recently added “Thunder over Louisville” mega-fireworks show, and the gazillion celebrity-filled parties being held in every nook and cranny of the city always gave us something to look forward to during the week (really two) of the Kentucky Derby.
This week has been no different and, again, I did it all.
Today is the day of the actual horse race. It’s a rainy one, but I’ll still be checking it out, as ragged as I may be. My purposed experiences leading up to today have given me a new perspective and helped me remember just why I always loved this time of year so much. My mission is to take you on a tour to let you know just how it’s done during derby in “Da Ville” and hopefully expose you to the fact that there are indeed blacks in Kentucky — and we do wear shoes. Check back for my exhausted … er, exhaustive coverage. –gerald radford
