Need help with planning Derby Party
 

Havent been on here in awhile but still knew where to go for some help. I'm having around 20 guest over my house for the derby. None of them are big racing fans, but they watch the derby and use to bet it at great lakes downs. I'm going to place bets for them using my twinspires account so they can have some fun, but my question is where is the best place to print off some programs for all of them and what kind of things should I have or can I do to make the party a great time for all? Any ideas will help.

Just add bourbon and the rest will take care of itself.

There will be free derby pp's available on any horse racing site the week of. Put all 20 names in a hat and have blind draw for $10 or $20. and pay out top 3 places and last. Everyone will have a rooting interest even if they have no idea how to handicap.

I always place multiple $2 and $5 win bets on every horse and let guests (kids enjoy this) choose blindly to give the uninitiated a rooting interest. Last year one unlucky fan traded her $5 win on AK for Shackleford (on my advice...).
I also roast a whole hog and go through three or four bottles of Woodford and many sprigs of mint.
It has become a popular party in my neighborhood.

You're a great host!! Providing food and liquor and giving away $140 worth of tickets. :tro:

I provide the Hog, request people bring beer and a few usually bring Bourbon at this point.
This year we are going Mexican derby since it is Cinco. Premium Tequila will flow alongside Bourbon. Pig will be cooked in Cuban fashion since I know little of carnitas style.
It is the only party we throw all year. I think it is worth it, many of my guests now wager almost daily....

Usually all the national newspapers cover the race. For the segment of your guests that don't actually handicap the race, I would think that the papers would suffice.

Depending on what your guests look like, you could have a Derby hat contest. DrugS can help you with the details.

That is an idea I might consider.

I have specials currently on bulk orders of Scat Daddy hats...With a few of his offspring going in the gate on the 1st Saturday in May, they may go fast...Order now and receive 15% off retail price.


Regards,

Scat

One year we had guests put $5 in a hat, but they could each pick who they wanted. We figured it was closer to how actual wagering works than having them draw random names. The winnings got divided between the people who picked correctly. And the winners still ended up with much better odds than at the track.

The NY Post/Daily News usually do visually appealing spreads on the field- full color of the jockey silks. I put those out for the guests to peruse.

Also highly recommend asking GPK to send you his picks and print that out for the guests. Not only did he write a hilarious email, he also gave out the winner. ;)

Hi beautiful:{>::{>:

:)

I agree with the idea of $5 or $10 per person and a blind draw to get people involved with a rooting interest. Another sugggestion is to either give a set amount of Monopoly money or actually let folks bid on the horses and become their 'owner' for the day. The website www.kentuckyderby.com has excellent traditional cocktails and food suggestions for any Derby party. But also, the key to any good Derby party is strong mint juleps!!

Derby day falls on Cinco de Mayo this year. Would it be sacrilege to have margaritas instead of mint juleps?

We are offering both, along with Sangria, it will be a disaster by the time the Mayweather fight starts.

You could play pin the tail on the derby winner(with extra points for guests who can find the wall after all those margaritas and mint juleps).:eek::D

We are rightly concerned, the last party we through that included Sangria, Bourbon and Tequila was Rachel's Haskell Day. Damn near got me divorced and I haven't spoken to two friends since...

Not mentioned yet:

In the past I made Derby Day Burgoo. There are plenty of recipes on-line. You can change up what you put in the Burgoo. Everyone loved it. It's an easy crockpot dish.

I had a cake and in icing after the race we wrote in the name of the winner on the cake.

I had red roses on the food table.

Have fun!

get hammered up put all the tickets win bets or t exacta boxes for a buck 1 - 6. fav and longshots..ect..they will be happy and someone will make a few bucks. if they have a real intrest they can open an acct..pps for casual fans is a joke..