The 148th Kentucky Derby last Saturday brought its signature red roses, mint juleps and hats for the festivities that surround the fastest two minutes in sports.
John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief of the The Blade and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, arrived from Pittsburgh. He and his guests, Timothy McVay, David Bush, and Ronald Jr. and Lynn Davenport, stayed at the Brown Hotel near Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Throughout the busy weekend, they dined and visited the Bristol Bar & Grille, Pendennis Club, Varanese and Justins' House of Bourbon as well as the Louisville Thoroughbred Society, where Block Communications chairman Allan Block is a member. In Bardstown, Ky., they stopped at the Old Talbott Tavern and Heaven Hill Distillery for a whiskey connoisseur tasting.
But the wow was the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Eve Gala at the home of Patricia Barnstable Brown. The black-tie event with a red carpet entrance is among the “Ten Best Parties in the World” according to Condé Nast. It was the first gala in two years, thanks to a pandemic hiatus, and everyone was excited.
The star-studded bash included the likes of Janet Jackson, Michael Phelps, Jason Aldean, Sam Hunt and Brittany Spencer, the country artist who sang the national anthem at the derby on Saturday.
Face coverings were optional indoors and out at Churchill Downs on race day. The box seats provided a perfect view of the race track and all the festivities and celebrities, especially the hats, hats, hats. Fascinators were popular this year, but the big-brimmed style was also fashionable.
Barbara Hendel (bhendel@theblade.com) is the Toledo Blade's society editor.
First Published: May 14, 2022, 10:00 a.m.