Road Trip: The Kentucky Derby

Thought you had seen it all? Not until you've been to the Derby, where you're bound to spy everything from A-list celebs to the planet's strangest bathroom line to lots of college students

By Andrea Cohen

So you've been taking this sociology class, and you were supposed to be conducting a field study all semester. Unfortunately, you've been a total scrub and haven't started yet.

Well, my friend, do we have a solution for you -- and you can bring your roommates, place a wager and sip a mint julep while you're doing your research.

The 2003 Kentucky Derby Bill Frakes

Make your way to the Kentucky Derby this weekend and experience one of the most bizarre gatherings of social groups known to man: the throngs that form the bathroom lines at Churchill Downs.

See, there are two kinds of people who attend the Derby: there are those who vacation at their country homes and wear fancy hats, and those who are drunk by 10 a.m. and still have tan lines from spring break in Florida. For high society it's a see-and-be-seen event. For college kids the Derby is an enormous party with horses running around.

But back to the bathroom lines. Everybody's drinking mint juleps all day (it's the official beverage of the Run for the Roses), and there's only one set of bathrooms. So if you're in the market for a sociology project -- or just want to see a plain funny scene -- head to the restrooms to observe women in formal gowns standing next to coeds in bikini tops; men dressed like Colonel Sanders alternating with drunk frat boys and old-timers in sleeveless T-shirts. You might have thought of the Derby as a swanky affair, but it's more like My Fair Lady meets Girls Gone Wild.

A few more things you should know about the host city: Louisville is in a remarkably convenient location. (And it's pronounced LOO-vul. Not LOO-ee-vil, LOO-vul. Trust us on this.) The city, just across the Ohio River from Indiana, is within a day's drive of nearly half the nation's population. So if you ditch that Friday discussion section (and really, who goes anyway?), chances are you'll get to town in time to hit the party circuit before Saturday's big race.

On Derby day try to arrive at Churchill Downs before 10 a.m., by which time the place will be packed. Roughly 150,000 people attend the Derby: 54,000 seats are reserved (their inhabitants are typically the ones dressed to the nines), while the infield hosts the rest of the attendees, who pay $40 for the day and are famous for being shirtless, sunburned and college-aged.

Grandstanders will see their share of celebrities; last year Millionaires' Row included P. Diddy, Steven Spielberg, Prince Albert of Monaco and just about every country singer on the planet. Plus, people with seats actually see the races. (Infielders consider themselves lucky if they catch a glimpse of the horses.) However, the infield has the best people-watching in the country (outside Vegas, of course), complete with bizarre costumes, people "earning" Mardi Gras beads and an unhealthy number of mullets.

Now there's a worthwhile sociology project.

Andrea Cohen, a senior at the Medill School of Journalism and a former sports editor at The Daily Northwestern, is headed for her second Derby this weekend.

Issue date: April 29, 2004

SI ON CAMPUS Sports Illustrated On Campus, a new magazine covering college sports and collegiate lifestyles, is available as an insert in 72 major college newspapers across the country every Thursday throughout the school year. Click any of the links below to see selected content from the latest issue, or click here to get the entire issue in digital format. • Cover Story: SIOC's male athlete of the year • Road Trip: The Kentucky Derby • Scorecard: This year's dubious achievments • Previous issue: April 22, 2004