Hats Off!

No pressure, ladies, but Derby is 25 days away.  Oaks is a mere 24! What kind of hat are you wearing to each?

Now, I lovelovelove the Derby Barbie . I have put out every hint, subliminal message, and all other conceivable methods of pouting that would convince the Easter Bunny, my mama, or my beau to have one waiting for me this Sunday morning.  However, I find the replica hat to be a little gauche. For the price, I'd prefer a milliner's original.  If y'all are still looking for a hat, I would suggest that you run on down to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft this week; their shop features many amazing one-of-a-kind creations. Derby weekend is no time to look like yet another cookie-cutter Barbie doll!

And, for the recessionistas, this Friday, April 9, the Museum is hosting a makeover event for your existing Derby hats. How fabulous is that? Working with an actual milliner to customize your hat for this year! The event is from 5-9 Friday evening after the Trolley Hop.

Once you get the most important aspect of your Derby weekend squared away, you can keep abreast of the field of contenders by following Derby Tweets at http://twitter.com/derbyoaks.

And...

...just like that, my horse is out .  The tendon strain that caused the Pamplemousse to scratch in the Santa Anita is apparently keeping him out of Derby as well. Here's to a rapid recovery and a distinguished racing career for Pamplemousse.

I'm hearing good things about an early Bluegrass Stakes favorite, Terrain. He ran five furlongs in company at 1:01.  Interesting.

My money's on the pink horse...

With Derby only thirty-two days away, it's time to kick the ensemble planning into high gear. The hat selection in Louisville will get really sparse in another couple of weeks, so we need to plan, ladies!

I'm loving the early buzz on a three-year old named The Pamplemousse . Of course, we still have to see how the most important meet of the year (Keeneland in April) plays out before we can make our final predictions.

Still, how perfect would it be to be sitting at the track, wearing a dress inspired by a juice stand , and betting on a horse named for a grapefruit ?

It's almost enough to make me switch from juleps to mimosas. Almost.

H

RIP, Alysheba

The Kentucky Girls extend their deepest sympathies at the passing of 1987 Derby winner Alysheba.