Last weekend we enjoyed a most unusual Christmas gift–two days at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Oaks (Friday) and the Kentucky Derby (Saturday.) Our four children (one by birth, one by adoption, two by marriage) accompanied us and we all crammed into Josh’s car for the drive from Fort Thomas to Louisville.
Each couple took a blanket, knowing the temperature would be in the 40s. At the last minute, I grabbed a couple of raincoats and Steve got his ubiquitous toboggan, both of which were quite fortunate. It rained most of Friday, so we used both the blankets and the coats plus an occasional rain poncho. We also had our delightful hats, so Steve was not going to give up his fedora, as you can see. 
As soon as we saw a glimmer of sunshine, we took pictures with the racetrack in the background. As you can see, not many were out on the rainy seats. We were blessed to have seats under cover, very intentional on our part.
Horses raced all day, but watching the horses, beautiful as they were, was nothing compared to watching people. We were not in the celebrity area, but the people we did see were fascinating.
For example, these guys in their flamboyant suits. 
Or this couple who broke all rules about dressing to match.
Kelsey even found her “twin” at the Oaks. 
The next day, we all dressed for the Kentucky Derby and looked fabulous. We took pictures of each other in various combinations–couples, group of six, guys, hats. 
Such 
fun!
Singing “My Old Kentucky Home”
