英会話・英語　アミック – The First Saturday in May

Every year since 1875, the first Saturday in May has hosted America’s most famous horse race.

Also called “The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports”, the Kentucky Derby is the first leg in America’s Triple Crown of horse racing. The race is contested by three-year old thoroughbred horses at the Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, which more than 150,000 fans pack on race day. Most of these fans don traditional ‘derby wear’, such as suit jackets with bowties for men and sundresses with extravagant hats for women. People around the country also hold their own derby parties where they wear similar fashions, try and predict the winner of the race, and drink the event’s signature beverage, the mint julep.

The race is host to many other traditions, such as the singing of ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ as the horses make their way from the stables to the starting gate and the gifting of a bed of roses to the winning horse. All of this, plus the sheer amount of money on the line–$2 million–makes Derby Day exciting to watch, even if you don’t know anything about horse racing.