Sunday, May 06, 2001
Anything goes at infield party
Race-fan revelry turns excessive
By Chris Mayhew
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LOUISVILLE — Scattered on blankets throughout Churchill Downs' infield, drunken crowds displayed Mardi Gras beads and body parts. Before noon on one blanket, a box of Krispy Kreme donuts and a bottle of Captain Morgan's lay empty.
The atmosphere is anything goes. And nearly everyone does.
While others revelled in the day's wildness, Martin Cobb, 28, of Nicholasville, Ky., set up a plastic foot-high fence next to one of the police outposts at the edge of the infield.
“We set up by the police so we only have to watch three sides. They don't bother us, only other people causing trouble,” Mr. Cobb said.
Mr. Cobb arrived with a group of seven friends, all from Oxford, Ohio, at 5 a.m. By 8:20 a.m., they were set up in the same spot they have used for the last five years.
The infield is a general admission area at the center of the track. Tickets are sold the day of the race for $40 each, compared with the highest-level tickets, which can cost more than $500.
David Rae, 23, of Oxford, said it was his first Derby.
“It's a bit of a culture shock. I'm surrounded by 110,000 of my closest friends,” Mr. Rae said of the infield.
Mr. Rae did his part to add some color by casting a 3-foot plastic catfish from a fishing rod into the crowd and reeling it back in.
Sonny Fitzsimms, 28, of San Francisco, wore a prisoner's black-and-white striped uniform, and brought his own chain gang — a group of friends from Atlanta, all wearing the same uniforms.
Wearing a beanie with a pink flamingo on top, Bob Elam, 60, of Land O' Lakes, Fla., said his wife has never seen him on TV in any of his 30 years of attending the Derby.
“I've seen a lot of people on TV in unusual hats. I thought I'd do the same,” Mr. Elam said.
Jerry Lanz, 27, of Atco, N.J., wore a full Uncle Sam costume, including beard, suit and tophat. His friend Dave D'Amico, 26, was both the bride and groom with a tuxedo and a blow-up bride in full wedding dress.
Jordan Bernini of Middletown, Ohio, even found a way to pocket some extra cash. After several requests to take pictures of her hat — a $2.99 straw sun hat covered with two pink feather boas — she started charging $1 per snap.
“People are paying it,” she said with a laugh. “It's Derby Day. People will do just about anything.'
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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Anything goes at infield party
