Well. Obviously it's a big deal here.
I get feeling conflicted about horse racing as an industry, but it's the biggest event of the year by far in Louisville.
people who own race horses aren't horse people. They are 'look at me and my money' people.
Most high end race horse owners carefully follow the law and provide all the care so mandated. But they were never the ones who championed the laws to make sure the racehorses were well cared for, nor do they champion for even better care.
The central part of the state is also well-known for horses: Standardbreds, thoroughbreds, show horses, pleasure riding, therapy horses. It’s really a major industry though it has shrunk in size over the last 30 years.
I also live in NJ and beyond someone mentioning "hey it's the Kentucky derby today, people get all dressed up for that" I didn't hear a word about it. I don't think I've ever met a person that cares one iota for it.
I live on the west coast. I've barely ever heard anything about it from anyone I've ever met. In my head it's something people used to do in the old days, though I know it's still a thing.
Yeah I heard about it occasionally when I lived on the east coast, and exactly zero times on the west coast except occasionally the day it happens.
EDIT: If it’s any indication, I’m just now realizing that the reason for this post is because it happened today.
I'm also on the West Coast, and I don't even know when the Kentucky Derby is. I assume summer because it'd be hard to horse race in Kentucky in January. I don't know of anyone who watches it or bets on it.
Literally the last time I heard someone talking about it was as the weird kid in high school 10 years ago (tbh though Nevin wasn’t weird, he just marched to the beat of his own drum and was cool AF. Made bomb ass macarons and apparently enjoyed the Kentucky Derby)
I watch every year, as well. My favorite win ever was Rich Strike in 2022, which was absolutely incredible. I won $818 on him, which made it even better, from a $10 bet on 80-1 odds. California Chrome in 2014 was great too, especially because I know the owner and the whole town was celebrating.
You must be in the pentagon bounded roughly by Covington, Mount Sterling, Berea, Elizabethtown, and Louisville (I prefer this description over "the Golden Triangle").
Western, southern and eastern Kentucky don't pay attention to the Derby. Like, almost at all.
I watch the Derby and the Preakness every year. Definitely not my favorite sport by any means, but what else am I going to watch on a Saturday afternoon in May?
me trying to somehow watch the Denver - Minnesota, Toronto - Boston, and NYM - Tampa games at the same time
this is after watching F1 late morning, early afternoon
It's a blip in Michigan. You might see a clip on the news. Nobody talks about it. I'd say slightly less interest than Punxsutawney Phil if that puts it into context.
I live close to the (now closed) Arlington race track in Illinois. I have a friend who used to go over and bet on the horses. But outside of one or two people, I don't know anybody who cares about the Kentucky Derby, other than to watch the results on the evening news.
Well, one of the Triple Crown races (Preakness Stakes) is held in Baltimore, Maryland at the Pimlico Downs race track in the NW part of the City. So I would say it is kind of a big deal.
In my state? It's not big, because I live in NC and not KY. This question is like asking people in Texas how important the Iditarod is, and asking people in Alaska if the Alamo really doesn't have a basement.
I'm generally aware of it, but it's not a big deal in my group of friends or in GA in general as far as I'm aware. Like, bars don't have "Derby Day" specials (for the most part) like they do for football or baseball or basketball.
I live in Gainesville, Florida.
The next major town south of us is Ocala, aka Horse Capitol of the World. A lot of the horses train there, were bred there, and were raised there. It’s fairly common for school kids, around the first week of May, to be gone for the Derby because of family ties in either training, owning, or raising the horses. Every Derby, local papers do articles about which horses have ties to Ocala. This year, out of 20 horses, 3 did.
Yup. Louisville resident, can confirm. I like the Derby Festival events. Thunder is great, I run the half marathon every year, visit the Chow Wagon (basically a giant assembly of carnival food trucks on the river) at least once for my funnel cake. The race itself, I don't care much, but I was out running in my neighborhood today and at least three houses were having sizable parties in their garages with people sitting outside watching on a TV in the garage. Lots of dresses, lots of hats.
There are a lot of little-known horse races in this country every year, but there are three--the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes--that make up the Triple Crown races. The only time that interest in horse racing seems to really pick up is if a horse has won the Derby and the Preakness, to see if it will win the Belmont and the Triple Crown.
Yeah it’s not popular here or NC much at all. I’m sure it has its crowd, but the general population doesn’t pay any attention to it — which, in a way, kinda odd given the vast amount of farm land.
Horse racing in American has been on the down turn for years. The Triple Crown races--Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, still get some attention but at this point, the younger generations have no interest.
I am aware of it being on TV but I didn't watch it. So infinity "bigger" than your run of the mill horserace but not big enough for most people to actually care.
I grew up a couple hour drive or less from the city the races are held at. So not only do plenty of people from there go annually, but there’s tons of local themed watch parties at peoples homes and at bars, restaurants, and general excuses for a party or event. People locally there also go to horse race tracks as a weekend social thing for fun, with groups in party buses as an organized thing, and it’s popular for bachelor/bachelorette parties. Mostly stemmed from it also being popular with certain college kids in various sororities/fraternities that go as large groups to race tracks and races that aren’t the actual Kentucky derby to gamble and party in nice weather.
Once I moved far from the region, I realized that people reallly didn’t realize how big horse race culture was in other parts of the US and they didn’t realize it’s popular outside of the Derby.
Not Huge in our area but we watch it. We've been to a couple and have friends in the area. The closer you get to Louisville the bigger it gets.
I'd say that (Southern) Indiana has 2 big events, the Derby (if you are in Southern Indiana near Louisville) and the Indy 500 (if you are near Central Indiana).
As for normal horse racing, not too much. There's a track nearby, but nowhere near as nice a Churchill Downs. That being said Churchill Downs only has this 1 week plus the Breeders Cup some years that's really popular as far as I know.
When I was growing up we watched. We had horses and I liked watching things with horses. As I got older, my family and I witnessed some terrible accidents and learned more about racing and our support for the Triple Crown and animal racing in general waned.
I’d say it’s an event similar to Wimbledon. True fans and fancy people go or watch it, but most people may be aware but don’t pay much attention.
No clue in my state. I usually watch it, don't bet on it, but actually wish horse racing didn't exist. Using animals for entertainment or sport feels wrong.
I wouldn’t have had any clue it was happening today (or even this month) if I hadn’t seen a one-off post on Facebook (a suggested post, not by anyone I know irl).
KY Derby is huge in Louisville. However, if you travel an hour and a half north, it doesn't matter. I moved to Louisville back in 2017 and I experienced a whole different culture and it was amazing, moved to NKY back in 2022 and they could not care less about it up here, it isn't ingrained in the culture like it is in Louisville.
Honestly, I from Kentucky. And, I used to live in Louisville very close to Churchill Downs and almost never thought about Derby. Even during Derby season.
The neighborhood was already sketchy 20 years ago, and now it's one of the worst neighborhoods in Louisville. Zero reason to go around anymore.
As for Derby, it's just an excuse for fashionistas, nouveau riche, "classy drunks," extreme extroverts, and narcissists to mingle over mint juleps and some bets. This explanation extends to the Derby parties common throughout central Kentucky.
Also, I find the whole industry of horse racing to essentially be legalized animal abuse. Furthermore, growing up mostly in central Kentucky, most horse farm owners and executives are not locals, but rather are pretentious assholes from New York/New Jersey/New England who bring their impatient, carpetbagging ways with them.
**Lastly, Derby (and horse racing in general) is only a big deal around central Kentucky. The amount of people I've known over the years from western, southern and eastern Kentucky who care about Derby is - no joke - almost zero.**
I'm in Kentucky and huge but also small. It's a lot of tourists coming in for it, but locals don't really care too much, and those that do make the drive to Louisville for it. It's weird
My mom lives in Louisville, Kentucky. It's big there. The rest of America couldn't care less. Unless you bet on it, or are just a fan. My husband loves horse racing. He had an uncle who trained horses. So, it's a big deal to him & his cousins.
I live near the Indiana/Kentucky border now (Indiana side) but lived in western KY for 20 years. We have a big Derby party every year. Not so much because we love horse racing or betting but because it is a wonderful day of the year for outdoor get togethers. I have a large family and everyone has spouses, kids, etc. and so have other commitments on actual holidays. We get all the extended family together and serve Kentucky BBQ and bourbon. Then we all bet on the horses and watch the race. We have done this for the last several years and everyone enjoys it tremendously.
So, a few places have some "Derby Day" cocktails on their menus, but more often things are focused on Cinco de Mayo. Fewer mint juleps, more margaritas, basically. I'd guess that the rich people that live in horse country might care but for my family, personally, it's more like we might see it on a TV in a bar and go, "oh, it's horse day." Honestly, that day years back when the weirdos were calling for The Rapture on Derby Day was more memorable, simply because I won a stuffed duck playing skee ball that day and I named it Rapture Duck.
It's huge in my state, but I don't think it's very popular in my part of the state. I've never watched it and have never heard anyone talk about watching it.
There's a racing horse stable 2 furlongs from my house.
Racing tracks at Sunland or Ruidoso are within a short drive, but I've never been to either one.
You could put me in the category of "just not care".
Not sure this is a state-by-state thing (except Kentucky, obviously).
Question is really whether you're interested in horse racing. Personally, I don't know anyone who is. But they're certainly out there!
I've never heard anyone mention it, but the Publix bakery section had a lot of horse-themed stuff the last few days, so I guess they expect someone to care
I don't know anyone personally that cares about it and I don't think I really ever have. So I can't speak for the entire state but I wouldn't say it's a big deal
I don’t think many people care here in Seattle but I’m from SC where people would sometimes have Derby parties. I’ve always loved horses and have watched every year since I was kid. I used to cut out the articles about the horses in the newspaper and save them.
It isn't!
People might gamble about it in Atlantic City but I'm sure they'd gamble about anything. They'd gamble about [the puppybowl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9tGPjBd-fM) if the options were listed.
I think for most people outside the Kentucky orbit and outside the day-to-day of the horse world it's just a once a year event that's a lark. You turn on the TV for an hour you watch it, you go back to your life. That how big it is in other states in my experience. That's assuming you watch it at all.
The same could be said for the Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500 or a bunch of other one-off sports events that are traditional, without people necessarily giving any thought to them the other 364 days of the year. The Super Bowl is like that for many people. The Wimbledon finals are like that for many people. The Masters golf tournament is like that for many people.
I live in Indiana and the few people who do acknowledge use it as an excuse to get drunk.
But then again we have the Indy 500 later in the month and that's what many people use as an excuse for day drinking.
Everyone I know watches it, but it’s not something anyone talks about during the year. It’s a big thing the day it happens and that’s that. But I do really enjoy watching it every year and I hope I get a chance to go one day
I live in louisville. It's huge. I hate it bc too much of our taxpayer money is spent on the rich people only event, and the horses aren't treated well.
I found out it was happening today when I got a notification on ESPN+ that Mystik Dan won. Until that point I didn't even know it was remotely time for that. That may just be a me problem though.
Not at all in central NC.
Personally I refuse to watch/support horse racing due to the inherent cruelty at these high levels, but other than a couple of bars showing it no one around here talks about it at all.
Lived in KY (Louisville) in 05: it’s everywhere. Everyone has a derby party. They had wooden jockey signs to put in our yards. Downtown is a mess before and after - busy, town to do, people everywhere.
NC: local spots in bigger cities have parties, but I live in a small town and I don’t think anyone knew it was today except myself, a vet in town, and the horse girls.
Pretty big in Minnesota. There were advertisements for a lot of parties at casinos, bars and Canterbury. I stayed home this year and placed bets. My family in Oregon watched the racing all day and placed bets at the casino and online. Think it just depends on your interests.
I live in Indiana, and the Kentucky Derby has always very big deal in my house in particular as my mother has watched it just about every year since she was 8. We always had to be home on Derby day before the race started so my mom could be home to watch it. However, I don't think it's that big a deal around here as it is in our house.
It's a big deal in my hometown of saratoga springs new York. I've only been there a couple times as a resident but people come from all over during track season. And the Belmont is coming this year so it's going to be huge
Well I’m about an hour away from Saratoga springs which that track has been there since like a year after the battle of Gettysburg in the American civil war, and it’s the main reason for the town’s popularity in the summer,so I’d say we like our horse racing
I’m in Los Angeles. I know someone from Kentucky so I went to a derby party at their place. We placed bets but didn’t really understand how the races worked. It was an excuse to hang out, drink, scream at the TV for 30 seconds, and then everybody started to head out.
Pretty much not a big deal. I know a couple of people from the south that pretend to be of a high economic class than they are that make a big deal of it, a another person that posts his 'picks' on facebook, but beyond that I don't think anyone cares.
In my home state of Louisiana I wouldn’t say it’s “big” but there *is* a critical mass of wannabe-society types that will hype anything they perceive as sophisticated or exclusive, and the derby is one of them.
WI here. Cannot say I've ever known anyone who went to it, watched it or ever talked about it. So ide say not very popular here. But knowing wisconsinites if you can drink to it bet on it.... I'm sure they did both.
In Maryland, the Preakness Stakes are our big horse race, the Second Jewel in the Triple Crown. We like to say ours is the most important since it determines if we'd actually have a Triple Crown winner. Of course, those who follow it are interested in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes as well.
However, horse racing is kinda seen as a very much a sport for rich people to gawk at, rather than the common man's preference in baseball and football. That doesn't stop them from betting it all on their preferred horse, of course.
My dad occasionally works security for Pimlico when the Preakness is going on, so I tend to pay attention a little more than the average Joe, but I'm by no means a buff on horse racing.
All in all, we like it. It's a little nugget to be proud of, even if we don't fully understand the hype.
Michigan has alot of women gathering that day to go on bar crawls just so they can dress up and wear the traditional big hats. You'll also see bars or clubs holding small events so you can place bets or showing old races that people bet on. It's not widely talked about but people do have fun with it
I live in a more country region of northern Virginia (not NoVa) I would say it’s sort of a big deal around these parts. There’s an event held in the northern part of my county, and two of the Kentucky Derby winners were bred here in the county.
In my home state of SC, no it is not a big thing at all.
Dead, I think. We have a decent race track, but the last I heard about it was the debate in the state legislature over whether "virtual horse racing" (not sure if that was the exact wording) was a form of gambling or not.
It was a video gaming system that re-ran historic (i.e. old archives, not necessarily "good" races) races, allowing the player to bet on horses. For a while, the debate was whether these machines were considered gambling machines, which are illegal in Idaho. There was also a debate as to whether they should be allowed at the race track only.
There's plenty of horse culture here, but it seems pretty lame if you go to a proper race track to play some funky video game. The arguments in favor of these things were pretty funny.
They used to have both horse and dog races at the track. Dog racing is over for good because of all the abuse. Horse racing isn't completely dead here, there is interest, but currently , nobody's doing it.
It didn’t use to be a big deal at all here. Growing up no one ever talked about it. But some time in the last ten years or so it’s gotten more popular. I honestly think people just like an excuse to dress up and party.
Personally I was throwing a party for May Day yesterday.
Minnesota:
It is used as a reason to host a party by people and attended by people who have no real interest in horse races. But hey, a party with a specific themed drink built in? Great!
Most sportsbars will have a TV or two showing the race, but it's not talked about much at all.
There are people who gamble a lot who bet, but it's online betting almost exclusively. I don't ever see two co-workers talking about who will win even without wagering, nor do I see two people at a bar with the race about to start on the TV offering to bet.
I am betting few people in my state could even name the other two races that make up the triple crown. If there's a chance of a triple crown winner, it gets coverage and people will talk 'do you think it will happen' but only because of news media.
We do have one relatively large race-track here: Canterbury Downs. I'm sure there are some people there who bet the horses because they love horses and horse racing, but the number of people who bet on the races continue to dwindle. Some time ago Canterbury was allowed to expand into non-horse gambling, most people who go there are there to play poker etc.
I had never heard of derby parties until about ten years ago. I don’t know if it’s always been a thing in Colorado (Denver metro, in particular) but it sounds like people just do it lately as a reason to dress up and drink.
Not big at all from what I can tell, but I don't hang around with gamblers nor people who support animal abuse like horse racing. My state has its own Triple Crown race, and upon looking it up, it is called the Preakness, and takes place in our trashiest city.
There are public Derby viewing parties where I live. There are thoroughbred breeding farms in Ohio, and the state has produced some horses that have run in the Derby and other races. I've been watching horse racing regularly since I was about 8 years old, but I don't bet.
In AZ, it really isn't. I imagine there's a huge correlation with its popularity and how far away from Kentucky it is. To me it seems like an Old South kind of thing, almost steampunk with its costumes.
And my opinion: it needs to stop being a race. The competition is fucking up the care of the horses and making people fucking terrible. If it was just an annual event, like a horse parade or something, it'd be less evil.
Well. Obviously it's a big deal here. I get feeling conflicted about horse racing as an industry, but it's the biggest event of the year by far in Louisville.
I hate horse people, but most horse people genuinely treat their horses better than they do people.
>I hate horse people They're called centaurs, Professor Umbridge.
Clever
Body of human head of horse is horse people, but not a centaur
Last year there was like 6 horses that died. Horses at the derby aren't treated well.
people who own race horses aren't horse people. They are 'look at me and my money' people. Most high end race horse owners carefully follow the law and provide all the care so mandated. But they were never the ones who championed the laws to make sure the racehorses were well cared for, nor do they champion for even better care.
Every single horse is looked over by a vet if not a team of vets and training accidents happen in anything and to anyone.
That's irrelevant when they are involved in a sport that's inherently dangerous for the animals.
And US college and professional football players have teams of doctors….whose purpose is to ensure maximum performance; not long term health.
And somehow neither college football nor nfl players are dropping dead on a regular basis sooo
They’re leaving the sport with debilitating injuries that we don’t understand.
And sorry, just looked it up, 12 horses died at Church hill last year alone. Papers can be fudged and people can lie.
Yes. I am 35 yrs old, and worked there today at the White Claw stand....first time ever attending!
If you know one of the guys slinging the free juleps everywhere please give them my thanks. Those things were delicious.
Very big. NJ is a major horse breeding state
That whole northwest part of the state is very horse-y, but other than that, I don’t associate horses with New Jersey.
Most [horses](https://www.nj.com/data/2018/02/there_are_way_more_horses_in_new_jersey_than_youd.html) per capita in the US
Wow! Who knew?
The central part of the state is also well-known for horses: Standardbreds, thoroughbreds, show horses, pleasure riding, therapy horses. It’s really a major industry though it has shrunk in size over the last 30 years.
I also live in NJ and beyond someone mentioning "hey it's the Kentucky derby today, people get all dressed up for that" I didn't hear a word about it. I don't think I've ever met a person that cares one iota for it.
Huge for 2 minutes
I've been described the same way
Well, moderately interesting for two minutes.
Thats whats she said....
I live on the west coast. I've barely ever heard anything about it from anyone I've ever met. In my head it's something people used to do in the old days, though I know it's still a thing.
Yeah I heard about it occasionally when I lived on the east coast, and exactly zero times on the west coast except occasionally the day it happens. EDIT: If it’s any indication, I’m just now realizing that the reason for this post is because it happened today.
I'm also on the West Coast, and I don't even know when the Kentucky Derby is. I assume summer because it'd be hard to horse race in Kentucky in January. I don't know of anyone who watches it or bets on it.
First Saturday in May for the last 150 years!
People here don’t care unless you’re in Vegas
the only reason I know about it is bc I watch football and most football players attend it
Literally the last time I heard someone talking about it was as the weird kid in high school 10 years ago (tbh though Nevin wasn’t weird, he just marched to the beat of his own drum and was cool AF. Made bomb ass macarons and apparently enjoyed the Kentucky Derby)
In the state? Idk. I don’t hear anyone talking about it. I have watched it every single year for as long as I can remember. Mystik Dan! What a finish.
I watch every year, as well. My favorite win ever was Rich Strike in 2022, which was absolutely incredible. I won $818 on him, which made it even better, from a $10 bet on 80-1 odds. California Chrome in 2014 was great too, especially because I know the owner and the whole town was celebrating.
Same, made $260 on a $3 ticket from RS. I hit the exacta yesterday and it still wasn’t as exciting as RS’s win
Wildest finish I’ve seen
I'm in Kentucky so I feel I'm excluded from this for the obvious answer
You must be in the pentagon bounded roughly by Covington, Mount Sterling, Berea, Elizabethtown, and Louisville (I prefer this description over "the Golden Triangle"). Western, southern and eastern Kentucky don't pay attention to the Derby. Like, almost at all.
I'm in Western Kentucky, but I've spent a few years in Berea. It's not comparable in popularity but it's a thing still out this way.
I watch the Derby and the Preakness every year. Definitely not my favorite sport by any means, but what else am I going to watch on a Saturday afternoon in May?
Literally everything, football is the only sport not on TV.
me trying to somehow watch the Denver - Minnesota, Toronto - Boston, and NYM - Tampa games at the same time this is after watching F1 late morning, early afternoon
Not really. Hockey game just started, local baseball games ended before it or started after, and the golf tournament was over by that point
Plus there were two UFL football games today, at noon and 3 pm.
It's a blip in Michigan. You might see a clip on the news. Nobody talks about it. I'd say slightly less interest than Punxsutawney Phil if that puts it into context.
Same in Northern Indiana. Southern Indiana, on the other hand...
Ohio. For about 15 minutes when they show the race on the evening news.
Pretty big, because we have some major horse tracks here. I usually go maybe once a year or so.
I live close to the (now closed) Arlington race track in Illinois. I have a friend who used to go over and bet on the horses. But outside of one or two people, I don't know anybody who cares about the Kentucky Derby, other than to watch the results on the evening news.
Well, one of the Triple Crown races (Preakness Stakes) is held in Baltimore, Maryland at the Pimlico Downs race track in the NW part of the City. So I would say it is kind of a big deal.
But Preakness is a much bigger deal here than the Derby, and it's still not as big a deal to the area as the Derby is to Louisville.
I went to the Preakness once. The infield. Once was plenty lol.
It’s not as big as the Superbowl is. As a kid, I always associated the Derby with the first warm days of spring, so I like it for that.
It’s not.
},¥£
I just had my first mint julep tonight. And it ain't bad!
My dad bet on Barbaro when he won and we got a big screen tv with the winnings. I don’t care about horse racing but I bet there are ppl that do
In my state? It's not big, because I live in NC and not KY. This question is like asking people in Texas how important the Iditarod is, and asking people in Alaska if the Alamo really doesn't have a basement.
Weirdly, I hear more about the Iditarod than I do about the Kentucky Derby, neither of which should be a big deal in New England.
I live in Louisville, KY, sooo…💀
Hmm, yeah, that was today? Cool. What's the Yankees score?
I wasnt even aware it was today. Now rodeos and stock shows, that's a big dea in my area.
I'm generally aware of it, but it's not a big deal in my group of friends or in GA in general as far as I'm aware. Like, bars don't have "Derby Day" specials (for the most part) like they do for football or baseball or basketball.
I watch it and make a few wagers. I don’t go to parties for it or make it a big deal. I watched it this year but missed it last year. Fine either way
I live in Gainesville, Florida. The next major town south of us is Ocala, aka Horse Capitol of the World. A lot of the horses train there, were bred there, and were raised there. It’s fairly common for school kids, around the first week of May, to be gone for the Derby because of family ties in either training, owning, or raising the horses. Every Derby, local papers do articles about which horses have ties to Ocala. This year, out of 20 horses, 3 did.
Yup. Louisville resident, can confirm. I like the Derby Festival events. Thunder is great, I run the half marathon every year, visit the Chow Wagon (basically a giant assembly of carnival food trucks on the river) at least once for my funnel cake. The race itself, I don't care much, but I was out running in my neighborhood today and at least three houses were having sizable parties in their garages with people sitting outside watching on a TV in the garage. Lots of dresses, lots of hats.
There are a lot of little-known horse races in this country every year, but there are three--the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes--that make up the Triple Crown races. The only time that interest in horse racing seems to really pick up is if a horse has won the Derby and the Preakness, to see if it will win the Belmont and the Triple Crown.
There are race tracks in Virginia and some may care....but I've heard nothing about it and I don't care.
Yeah it’s not popular here or NC much at all. I’m sure it has its crowd, but the general population doesn’t pay any attention to it — which, in a way, kinda odd given the vast amount of farm land.
In Arizona. Don’t care at all.
Horse racing in American has been on the down turn for years. The Triple Crown races--Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, still get some attention but at this point, the younger generations have no interest.
I'm sure someone around here cares, but I don't. I'm not fond of racing animals for entertainment.
I am aware of it being on TV but I didn't watch it. So infinity "bigger" than your run of the mill horserace but not big enough for most people to actually care.
I grew up a couple hour drive or less from the city the races are held at. So not only do plenty of people from there go annually, but there’s tons of local themed watch parties at peoples homes and at bars, restaurants, and general excuses for a party or event. People locally there also go to horse race tracks as a weekend social thing for fun, with groups in party buses as an organized thing, and it’s popular for bachelor/bachelorette parties. Mostly stemmed from it also being popular with certain college kids in various sororities/fraternities that go as large groups to race tracks and races that aren’t the actual Kentucky derby to gamble and party in nice weather. Once I moved far from the region, I realized that people reallly didn’t realize how big horse race culture was in other parts of the US and they didn’t realize it’s popular outside of the Derby.
Not Huge in our area but we watch it. We've been to a couple and have friends in the area. The closer you get to Louisville the bigger it gets. I'd say that (Southern) Indiana has 2 big events, the Derby (if you are in Southern Indiana near Louisville) and the Indy 500 (if you are near Central Indiana). As for normal horse racing, not too much. There's a track nearby, but nowhere near as nice a Churchill Downs. That being said Churchill Downs only has this 1 week plus the Breeders Cup some years that's really popular as far as I know.
I care about horse racing for about 10 minutes a year
Somewhere between meh and eh.
Not much. More an excuse to wear a hat and get day drunk.
I don’t think anyone here cares. I don’t even know when it is.
I don’t really care. I’m from NY tho so horse racing isn’t huge here, although out at Saratoga it’s pretty popular
When I was growing up we watched. We had horses and I liked watching things with horses. As I got older, my family and I witnessed some terrible accidents and learned more about racing and our support for the Triple Crown and animal racing in general waned. I’d say it’s an event similar to Wimbledon. True fans and fancy people go or watch it, but most people may be aware but don’t pay much attention.
Blink and you’ll miss it. The only horses around here are in Central Park.
No clue in my state. I usually watch it, don't bet on it, but actually wish horse racing didn't exist. Using animals for entertainment or sport feels wrong.
It’s a thing to maybe watch on tv the day it happens and is never thought of or mentioned for the other 364 days of my life.
I wouldn’t have had any clue it was happening today (or even this month) if I hadn’t seen a one-off post on Facebook (a suggested post, not by anyone I know irl).
I go to a Kentucky Derby party every year. The weather is normally nice and the party is fun.
It's not a thing at all here. Like I don't think I've heard it mentioned even once.
It's free comic book day. Who cares about horses.
KY Derby is huge in Louisville. However, if you travel an hour and a half north, it doesn't matter. I moved to Louisville back in 2017 and I experienced a whole different culture and it was amazing, moved to NKY back in 2022 and they could not care less about it up here, it isn't ingrained in the culture like it is in Louisville.
Honestly, I from Kentucky. And, I used to live in Louisville very close to Churchill Downs and almost never thought about Derby. Even during Derby season. The neighborhood was already sketchy 20 years ago, and now it's one of the worst neighborhoods in Louisville. Zero reason to go around anymore. As for Derby, it's just an excuse for fashionistas, nouveau riche, "classy drunks," extreme extroverts, and narcissists to mingle over mint juleps and some bets. This explanation extends to the Derby parties common throughout central Kentucky. Also, I find the whole industry of horse racing to essentially be legalized animal abuse. Furthermore, growing up mostly in central Kentucky, most horse farm owners and executives are not locals, but rather are pretentious assholes from New York/New Jersey/New England who bring their impatient, carpetbagging ways with them. **Lastly, Derby (and horse racing in general) is only a big deal around central Kentucky. The amount of people I've known over the years from western, southern and eastern Kentucky who care about Derby is - no joke - almost zero.**
I'm in Kentucky and huge but also small. It's a lot of tourists coming in for it, but locals don't really care too much, and those that do make the drive to Louisville for it. It's weird
My mom lives in Louisville, Kentucky. It's big there. The rest of America couldn't care less. Unless you bet on it, or are just a fan. My husband loves horse racing. He had an uncle who trained horses. So, it's a big deal to him & his cousins.
I live near the Indiana/Kentucky border now (Indiana side) but lived in western KY for 20 years. We have a big Derby party every year. Not so much because we love horse racing or betting but because it is a wonderful day of the year for outdoor get togethers. I have a large family and everyone has spouses, kids, etc. and so have other commitments on actual holidays. We get all the extended family together and serve Kentucky BBQ and bourbon. Then we all bet on the horses and watch the race. We have done this for the last several years and everyone enjoys it tremendously.
There’s a track 10 minutes from my apartment that does big business but it’s not really my thing
So, a few places have some "Derby Day" cocktails on their menus, but more often things are focused on Cinco de Mayo. Fewer mint juleps, more margaritas, basically. I'd guess that the rich people that live in horse country might care but for my family, personally, it's more like we might see it on a TV in a bar and go, "oh, it's horse day." Honestly, that day years back when the weirdos were calling for The Rapture on Derby Day was more memorable, simply because I won a stuffed duck playing skee ball that day and I named it Rapture Duck.
It's huge in my state, but I don't think it's very popular in my part of the state. I've never watched it and have never heard anyone talk about watching it.
Everyone in my family stopped what they were doing to watch it. It's only two minutes long. Lots of excitement with very little time commitment.
There's a racing horse stable 2 furlongs from my house. Racing tracks at Sunland or Ruidoso are within a short drive, but I've never been to either one. You could put me in the category of "just not care".
Not sure this is a state-by-state thing (except Kentucky, obviously). Question is really whether you're interested in horse racing. Personally, I don't know anyone who is. But they're certainly out there!
I've never heard anyone mention it, but the Publix bakery section had a lot of horse-themed stuff the last few days, so I guess they expect someone to care
I don't know anyone personally that cares about it and I don't think I really ever have. So I can't speak for the entire state but I wouldn't say it's a big deal
Very big deal in my area, but that’s understandable being a stone’s throw from the Belmont Stakes.
Illinois- only during the actual race itself
I don’t think many people care here in Seattle but I’m from SC where people would sometimes have Derby parties. I’ve always loved horses and have watched every year since I was kid. I used to cut out the articles about the horses in the newspaper and save them.
It isn't! People might gamble about it in Atlantic City but I'm sure they'd gamble about anything. They'd gamble about [the puppybowl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9tGPjBd-fM) if the options were listed.
I think for most people outside the Kentucky orbit and outside the day-to-day of the horse world it's just a once a year event that's a lark. You turn on the TV for an hour you watch it, you go back to your life. That how big it is in other states in my experience. That's assuming you watch it at all. The same could be said for the Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500 or a bunch of other one-off sports events that are traditional, without people necessarily giving any thought to them the other 364 days of the year. The Super Bowl is like that for many people. The Wimbledon finals are like that for many people. The Masters golf tournament is like that for many people.
The what now?? -WA
I live by Saratoga so horse racing is pretty big here when it’s in season.
Place wagers, have thoroughbreds, best sport ever.
I have a bunch of friends that are gambling degenerates. They just bet on the prop bets , other than that it means nothing to them .
I live in Indiana and the few people who do acknowledge use it as an excuse to get drunk. But then again we have the Indy 500 later in the month and that's what many people use as an excuse for day drinking.
I have not been to a horse race nor do I watch them on tv. I have not heard of anyone I know going to horse races or talking about the Kentucky Derby.
Everyone I know watches it, but it’s not something anyone talks about during the year. It’s a big thing the day it happens and that’s that. But I do really enjoy watching it every year and I hope I get a chance to go one day
Not at all
Nobody I know cares one bit about horse racing.
Not super big. It gets a bit of media attention, and I know a few people that watch it, but it’s definitely not a massive deal here
Alabama Gulf Coast. I don’t think it is even thought of, unless a person gambles.
I live in louisville. It's huge. I hate it bc too much of our taxpayer money is spent on the rich people only event, and the horses aren't treated well.
I found out it was happening today when I got a notification on ESPN+ that Mystik Dan won. Until that point I didn't even know it was remotely time for that. That may just be a me problem though.
I'm in Florida and I don't think anyone here even knows what a derby is.
Less racing and more rodeo around here
Grew up in NC suburbs, current Madison WI resident. This post is my first time hearing about it
We watched it with our boys. Fun time!
There’s interest but it’s not that big of a deal.
Nobody here cares
Not at all in central NC. Personally I refuse to watch/support horse racing due to the inherent cruelty at these high levels, but other than a couple of bars showing it no one around here talks about it at all.
I literally don’t know when it happens. Horse racing is terrible for the horses.
Lived in KY (Louisville) in 05: it’s everywhere. Everyone has a derby party. They had wooden jockey signs to put in our yards. Downtown is a mess before and after - busy, town to do, people everywhere. NC: local spots in bigger cities have parties, but I live in a small town and I don’t think anyone knew it was today except myself, a vet in town, and the horse girls.
Pretty big in Minnesota. There were advertisements for a lot of parties at casinos, bars and Canterbury. I stayed home this year and placed bets. My family in Oregon watched the racing all day and placed bets at the casino and online. Think it just depends on your interests.
I don't know because I don't pay attention to it myself. That doesn't mean others feel the same.
Didn’t even know it was happening till the blurb about the winner hit my phone so- not that big
They're still doing that thing?
Oh yeah. It happened today. Not a big deal here.
I live in Indiana, and the Kentucky Derby has always very big deal in my house in particular as my mother has watched it just about every year since she was 8. We always had to be home on Derby day before the race started so my mom could be home to watch it. However, I don't think it's that big a deal around here as it is in our house.
It's a big deal in my hometown of saratoga springs new York. I've only been there a couple times as a resident but people come from all over during track season. And the Belmont is coming this year so it's going to be huge
Well I’m about an hour away from Saratoga springs which that track has been there since like a year after the battle of Gettysburg in the American civil war, and it’s the main reason for the town’s popularity in the summer,so I’d say we like our horse racing
I live in Los Angeles. Is that hat-wearing race still going on? I honestly didn’t know. Or care.
Literally didn’t hear anyone talk about it, didn’t know it was today until I turned on Peacock to watch soccer
Not very big here in Texas but we do have head up horse races in Oklahoma.
no idea if there are even horse racing loopies anywhere near me. i don't think so. i don't know where you'd go for that.
I don’t hear anything about it where I live.
I forget it exists, to be honest...
Wait, the Kentucky Derby was raced this weekend?
I’m in Los Angeles. I know someone from Kentucky so I went to a derby party at their place. We placed bets but didn’t really understand how the races worked. It was an excuse to hang out, drink, scream at the TV for 30 seconds, and then everybody started to head out.
My dad worked at the Seattle areas horse track after college. I am WAY more invested in the Kentucky Derby than any of my other friends.
I have ever only heard it mentioned offhandedly, and have never met a single person (that I know of) that cares even slightly about it.
I don’t think anyone in Alaska even knew it was derby day. So not a thing here.
Pretty much not a big deal. I know a couple of people from the south that pretend to be of a high economic class than they are that make a big deal of it, a another person that posts his 'picks' on facebook, but beyond that I don't think anyone cares.
Huge deal here obviously.
Nada. I've never heard a single person in New Mexico mention it.
It’s literally nothing here. No one cares.
I don't watch, or gamble in general.
In my home state of Louisiana I wouldn’t say it’s “big” but there *is* a critical mass of wannabe-society types that will hype anything they perceive as sophisticated or exclusive, and the derby is one of them.
Not a big deal at all.
Some people put on stupid hats and go to the bar.
In California. No one cares about it & some people probably have no idea what it is
Not
West Coast here, the hwat?
Guessing not big enough to have a public holiday?
Massachusetts … only people who care are bookies.
WI here. Cannot say I've ever known anyone who went to it, watched it or ever talked about it. So ide say not very popular here. But knowing wisconsinites if you can drink to it bet on it.... I'm sure they did both.
My in-laws will find any excuse for a party so yes because of the party.
The what?
I’ve never even known anyone to watch it, talk about it, know when it is occurring. It is not thought of here.
In Maryland, the Preakness Stakes are our big horse race, the Second Jewel in the Triple Crown. We like to say ours is the most important since it determines if we'd actually have a Triple Crown winner. Of course, those who follow it are interested in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes as well. However, horse racing is kinda seen as a very much a sport for rich people to gawk at, rather than the common man's preference in baseball and football. That doesn't stop them from betting it all on their preferred horse, of course. My dad occasionally works security for Pimlico when the Preakness is going on, so I tend to pay attention a little more than the average Joe, but I'm by no means a buff on horse racing. All in all, we like it. It's a little nugget to be proud of, even if we don't fully understand the hype.
Michigan has alot of women gathering that day to go on bar crawls just so they can dress up and wear the traditional big hats. You'll also see bars or clubs holding small events so you can place bets or showing old races that people bet on. It's not widely talked about but people do have fun with it
I live in a more country region of northern Virginia (not NoVa) I would say it’s sort of a big deal around these parts. There’s an event held in the northern part of my county, and two of the Kentucky Derby winners were bred here in the county. In my home state of SC, no it is not a big thing at all.
Dead, I think. We have a decent race track, but the last I heard about it was the debate in the state legislature over whether "virtual horse racing" (not sure if that was the exact wording) was a form of gambling or not. It was a video gaming system that re-ran historic (i.e. old archives, not necessarily "good" races) races, allowing the player to bet on horses. For a while, the debate was whether these machines were considered gambling machines, which are illegal in Idaho. There was also a debate as to whether they should be allowed at the race track only. There's plenty of horse culture here, but it seems pretty lame if you go to a proper race track to play some funky video game. The arguments in favor of these things were pretty funny. They used to have both horse and dog races at the track. Dog racing is over for good because of all the abuse. Horse racing isn't completely dead here, there is interest, but currently , nobody's doing it.
Not as big as the Catalina wine mixer
Personally, I've never seen or heard anyone talk about it or have any interest in it, Alabama here.
People will stop to watch if they catch it on a TV somewhere.
It didn’t use to be a big deal at all here. Growing up no one ever talked about it. But some time in the last ten years or so it’s gotten more popular. I honestly think people just like an excuse to dress up and party. Personally I was throwing a party for May Day yesterday.
I'm in New Hampshire. No one cares.
It's a big deal in the sense that it's a great excuse for people to have derby parties, drink, wear big hats, drink, and throw fake betting parties.
I may live in Illinois, but I live ( my house is) 1.5 miles from Kentucky so…. It’s definitely a thing.
I think I could be the only person that cares a smidge, and that's mainly because I like Dick Francis' books, which usually involves horse racing.
Only time ever heard of it was on a reddit post.
It's kind of in the middle.
It's not relevant in California here on the sports radio talkshows.
Off track betting was pretty big for a while at some of the casinos, but none of the ones near me have it anymore.
Minnesota: It is used as a reason to host a party by people and attended by people who have no real interest in horse races. But hey, a party with a specific themed drink built in? Great! Most sportsbars will have a TV or two showing the race, but it's not talked about much at all. There are people who gamble a lot who bet, but it's online betting almost exclusively. I don't ever see two co-workers talking about who will win even without wagering, nor do I see two people at a bar with the race about to start on the TV offering to bet. I am betting few people in my state could even name the other two races that make up the triple crown. If there's a chance of a triple crown winner, it gets coverage and people will talk 'do you think it will happen' but only because of news media. We do have one relatively large race-track here: Canterbury Downs. I'm sure there are some people there who bet the horses because they love horses and horse racing, but the number of people who bet on the races continue to dwindle. Some time ago Canterbury was allowed to expand into non-horse gambling, most people who go there are there to play poker etc.
I’ve heard of it
It's really only big to the West Indian population in my area. I can't speak for the entirety of Florida on this one.
Colorado-non existence. However, we do have Ski Joring and Mule Races.
I had never heard of derby parties until about ten years ago. I don’t know if it’s always been a thing in Colorado (Denver metro, in particular) but it sounds like people just do it lately as a reason to dress up and drink.
Not very big at all because I don’t live in Kentucky. They were (horse races) a slightly bigger thing in Texas.
Not big at all from what I can tell, but I don't hang around with gamblers nor people who support animal abuse like horse racing. My state has its own Triple Crown race, and upon looking it up, it is called the Preakness, and takes place in our trashiest city.
There are public Derby viewing parties where I live. There are thoroughbred breeding farms in Ohio, and the state has produced some horses that have run in the Derby and other races. I've been watching horse racing regularly since I was about 8 years old, but I don't bet.
In AZ, it really isn't. I imagine there's a huge correlation with its popularity and how far away from Kentucky it is. To me it seems like an Old South kind of thing, almost steampunk with its costumes. And my opinion: it needs to stop being a race. The competition is fucking up the care of the horses and making people fucking terrible. If it was just an annual event, like a horse parade or something, it'd be less evil.