The Kentucky Derby

WHERE: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.WHEN: May 3rd, 2008

Louisville becomes Carniville over Derby weekend as celebrities, sports stars and Southern patriarchs converge on Churchill Downs for the "Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" The first leg of the Triple Crown, the race is best enjoyed with a mint julep in hand, seated at a private table in the newly-built Millionaire’s Row on the fourth tier of the iconic twin-spires grandstand. Race tickets apart, the Barnstable Brown Gala held in the sprawling grounds of the Barnstable Mansion is the party to go to the night before, while the historic Seelbach Hotel, a favorite of Scott Fitzgerald, is the preferred hotel for legions of visiting ‘experts.’ Failing to get a room there, try the newly-opened 21C, a chic art hotel owned by an heir to Brown-Forman Co., the Kentucky bourbon dynasty.

For more information: The Kentucky Derby