This weekend was of course, Derby Weekend. Meaning, it's an awesome excuse to wear pastel clothing and drink Mint Juleps, while spending hours pre-gaming to watch a horse race that lasts a grand total of 2 minutes. Personally, I've never been to Churchill Downs, but it's definitely a bucket list item. The weather this year was gorgeous, so like a lot of people in the South we had a get together at the house with too much food and too much bourbon.
Additionally, we watched reruns of Southern Charm before the Derby, which if you haven't seen this show, I'll have to say it's a guilty pleasure, but I highly recommend it. The premises of the show is for cameramen to follow around wealthy people from Charleston, supply them with luxury German cars and top shelf liquor, and allow them to prove why inbreeding even if it's among families from South of Broad is not a stellar idea to continued political, financial, and social success. Some words of wisdom to best describe the show from the former South Carolina State Treasure and federal correctional inmate Thomas Ravenel: "I think I may need something stronger than the tea here."
We had a variety of bourbons (Knob Creek, Maker's Mark, Jefferson's, and Woodford Reserve) to go along with homemade simple syrup and fresh mint, but hands down the best bourbon out there right now in my opinion is Jefferson's. It's reasonably priced and exceptionally smooth. If you make the decision to purchase some, you won't be disappointed.
California Chrome, the favorite, won the Derby this year, and the jockey and horse wore a logo "D.A.P." meaning, I kid you not, "Dumb Ass Partners." The name was given to the owners by a trainer who clearly thought that the owners had no idea what they were doing.
A common practice among most people is to pick which horse you think will win the Derby, and figuring out how the owners came up with the names. I'm a big believer that the owners pick the horse names much the same way people pick recreational softball team names, meaning they try and pick the most ridiculous names possible. Millions of dollars are riding on a single race, and sires of bloodlines for years to come are given names that sound like they were decided on at a Louisville golf course after missing a 6 foot par putt. Some of the best horse names of recent memory:
1. Nosupeforyou
2. Whatamichoppedliver
3. Uncle Sigh
4. Wicked Strong
5. I'll Have Another
Overall, the Derby is one of the best weekends of the year, and hopefully warm weather is here to stay for the next several months. This week is also the week NC holds its Political Primaries (5/6/14) and the NFL Draft (5/8/14-5/10/14), so it should be an interesting week to say the least. Cheers!
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