Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby, and this week I was lucky enough to chat with Louisville native and comic Katherine Blanford.
Blanford is no stranger to Derby, having attended horse racing's most storied event for years, in fact, Blanford was on her way to Churchill Downs for pre-Kentucky Derby events during our chat.
One thing that Blanford stressed to me is that no one should confuse Kentucky for the Midwest. According to her, it is definitively the south.
"I have cousins with tobacco and cow farms," she said, adding, "They've got a pot of dip spit in the kitchen. This is southern."
As we began discussing the intricacies of the Kentucky Derby, Blanford mentioned there is plenty happening around Churchill Downs that television cameras are not picking up.
“When I was on the Tonight Show I discussed participating in the tradition of running across porta-potties," she said, "I was arrested for that. They are so used to dealing with drunk people that the infield at the derby has its own jail. I repeat, the Kentucky Derby has ITS OWN JAIL."
Blanford said things like the jail and party atmosphere is one of the big differences between being in the stands, as opposed to attending the Kentucky Derby in the infield.
“It’s a mix of that 'haves' and the 'have-nots,'” she said, “I sat in the stands last year, and it is nice, but I longingly looked in the infield as everyone was playing in the mud after a rain.”
Now, it would not be a proper conversation on horse racing without a little conversation on gambling. So, Blanford gave me the basics.
“I bet a longshot, a good horse name, and a fun story,” she said. "Its fun to get behind a real Seabiscuit type of story.”
The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Locally, Katherine Blanford will be performing at The Comedy Vault in Batavia on May 14-16.
You may listen to the full conversation with Katherine Blanford in the link above.
With a mint julep in hand, and adorned in seersucker, happy Derby Day. I am JC.
