Kentucky Derby Question

shauni27 · January 2012

Hello! My friends and I will be traveling down to the derby in May--we have a hotel and flights and tickets for general admission. My question is about the actual derby tickets--the site says that doors open at 8 am...if we already have tickets, what time do you suggest we get there? 7am? is 8 ok? Do we not need to rush at all since we already have the tickets and we can get there later in the morning?

Can anybody who has been to the derby through general admission tell me more of what to expect?

Thanks!

Golfer'sLady · January 2012

Personally, I'd get there at 8 a.m. With general admissions tickets, you won't have a seat so I'd want to "stake out" an area for a while to beat the huge crowds. I'd rather get there early than be knee deep out on the infield with the masses.

balbacm · January 2012

we got there in the later morning (around 10-11AM) the year that my friends and I went.... we did have to slowly shuffle through the masses to get into churchill downs. we didn't have any problem finding a place in the lawn and spreading out our stuff.

i never even saw a horse when i went. HA!! (well, except for on the gigantic screens).

Brit's Luna154 · January 2012

It depends on what your priorities are. If you are just going for the party, show up whenever. If you are hoping to stake out a good enough piece of lawn to actually see a horse, get there super early. Like PP, we did not even see a horse when we went.

Have fun! I really like Louisville.

Adjudi-Kate · January 2012

The actual running of the Derby won't take place until MUCH later in the day. There are a bunch of races before the main event. The infield is totally fun though - just alot of awesome people-watching and drinking and betting on the races. In the infield you won't see much of the actual horses, even if you get there early enough to snag a spot near one of the openings where you can actually see. But they have everything shown on giant screens. I was there a few years ago and we got there around 10:00 or so. I did get a glimpse of actual horses as the ran around the track. My husband went two years ago with a Bachelor Party and they didn't arrive at Churchill Downs until 30 minutes before the actual running of the Derby (I heard they took a detour on the way because they wanted to stop at Col. Sanders grave site. LOL). It wasn't a problem except that they spent like, $90 a piece on tickets just to be there for an hour. Bring sunscreen. And wear an amazing hat, of course.

kmpls · January 2012

Ditto the hat and sunscreen.

When we went we got there super early like 7-8am and got a spot along the fence where we could watch the horses - it was across from the grandstands.

Honestly you can show up whenever - it is just an open field. If you want a corner spot with blankets etc - show up early. If you want to party and walk all over until the actual race show up whenever.

The actual Derby race is not until like 4:30 or so - it's a long day.

Even when we had an area staked out along the fence - when it was time for the big race a million people took over the area to get a glimpse too.

It's a lot of fun! Be sure to drink a Mint Julep.

annek · January 2012

Brit's Luna154:
It depends on what your priorities are. If you are just going for the party, show up whenever. If you are hoping to stake out a good enough piece of lawn to actually see a horse, get there super early. Like PP, we did not even see a horse when we went.
Have fun! I really like Louisville.

Ditto this. If you want to get a spot to see the horses race, get there early. Otherwise, you can check out the horses in the paddock before each race. Wear comfortable shoes. If there's a certain souvenir you want, get it early in the day. They have limited edition stuff like Christmas ornaments that sell out. Have fun! I'm hoping to go to my 4th Derby this year. Still waiting on the email about tickets....

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