Sophisticated Stationery: RUN FOR THE ROSES

Monday, May 2, 2011

RUN FOR THE ROSES - THE KENTUCKY DERBY

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Run for the Roses – The Kentucky Derby

The 137^th Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 7, 2011. The Run for the Roses is the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Considered to be the greatest two minutes in sports, three year olds run their hearts out for a mile and a quarter on a dirt track. The Derby is the first round of the Triple Crown and is as big a social event as it is a race. No matter where you live, the Derby is an excellent excuse to throw a party. Check out some of these ideas!

Décor:

(Photo: Taste of Home)

Think silver, roses (red of course) and horses! The Derby makes you think of men in seersucker suits and ladies with hats. Think along those lines and you’re sure to have a beautiful table.

Menu:

Every self respecting derby party will have on the menu:

(Photo: Southern Living)

Mint Juleps:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 bunch fresh mint sprigs

Crushed Ice

Kentucky Bourbon

Combine sugar and water and boil for 5 minutes, without stirring. Cool. Pour over a handful of mint. Refrigerate overnight in a closed jar. Remove mint leaves and continue to refrigerate. This will keep several weeks and individual juleps may be made as desired.

For each serving, fill an 8 ounce glass with crushed ice. (Traditionally these cocktails are served in silver julep cups.) Add one tablespoon syrup and one tablespoon water. Add 2 ounces Bourbon. Stir gently until glass is frosted. Insert straw and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Recipe from The Kentucky Derby Museum Cookbook

(Photo: Taste of Home)

Benedictine Spread:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon dill weed

1 drop green food coloring, optional

3/4 cup finely chopped peeled cucumber, patted dry

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Pita bread wedges or snack rye bread

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, salt, white pepper, dill and food coloring if desired; beat until smooth. Stir in cucumber and onion. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Serve with pita or snack rye bread. Yield: 1-3/4 cups.

Recipe from Taste of Home

(Photo: Southern Living)

Kentucky Hot Browns:

4 thick white bread slices

3/4 pound sliced roasted turkey

Mornay Sauce

1 cup (4-oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese

3 plum tomatoes, sliced

8 bacon slices, cooked

Preheat broiler with oven rack 6 inches from heat. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until toasted.

Arrange bread slices in 4 lightly greased broiler-safe individual baking dishes. Top bread with turkey slices. Pour hot Mornay Sauce over turkey. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Broil 6 inches from heat 3 to 4 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned; remove from oven. Top sandwiches with tomatoes and bacon. Serve immediately.

Mornay Sauce:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup (2-oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Melt butter in a 3-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened. Whisk in Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

Recipe from Southern Living

Games:

“Better’s Choice”

To add to the excitement of the day, everyone enjoys a friendly wager, be it matchsticks or money. For your pari-mutuel pool, first set a price for each ticket. A dollar is usually the simplest. Slips of paper can be passed around and each guest can write his or her name and choice for the winning horse in the Derby. Betting only to “win,” a guest may buy as many tickets as he or she wants. As soon as the race results are official, count the winning tickets, divide that number into the total money bet, and you have the payoff for each winning entry. Another idea is to have a large sheet of paper and list in order the post positions of all the horses running in the Derby on the left side of the paper. Across the top of the sheet write “Win,” “Place,” and “Show” and draw lines to form squares. The guests betting write their names in the square of their horse and whether they want to win, place or show. They may bet as many times as they wish at one dollar per bet. After the official results, the money is totaled in the “Win” column and divided among the winners. Do the same with “Place” and “Show.” With this method you can bet “across the board.”

For information on the field, according to www.kentuckyderby.org here are the top contenders for this year’s Run for the Roses:

Kentucky Derby Contenders

It’s almost easier to run down the horses that aren’t contenders in the 2011 Kentucky Derby than to cover the ones that are. A crazy turn of events among the highest profile contenders has left this year’s ‘Run for the Roses’ one of the most wide open in history. Below is a list of top contenders as of April 25 and their status for Kentucky Derby betting.

(Photo: Eclipse Sportswire)

UNCLE MO: What a roller coaster ride it’s been for the former Kentucky Derby favorite. After a third place finish in the Wood Memorial his connections had a blood test performed that revealed he ran the race with a gastrointestinal infection. The 2010 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Champion is now uncertain to even start the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Todd Pletcher says that he won’t start unless he’s 100% and that he needs to have a very good training performance in the next week or it won’t even be considered. If he’s in the field he’s a factor, but based on everything that’s been going on that’s far from certain.

(Photo: Eclipse Sportswire)

THE FACTOR: Another horse that has gone from a popular choice among the betting public to questionable to even make the race. The Factor has been shipped to Churchill Downs and galloped this morning for the first time since his arrival. The Factor is coming off a 7^th place finish in the Arkansas Derby as a 4-5 favorite. Trainer Bob Baffert revealed that The Factor underwent a myectomy following the Arkansas Derby—it’s a fairly common procedure for horses that flip their soft palette to make breathing easier during strenuous physical exertion. Baffert said that this was much of the problem during the Arkansas Derby:

“He displaced really badly in Arkansas. He was gugrling like a son of a gun.”

Baffert was happy with The Factor’s gallop on Monday and will have a better read on where he’s at after a workout on Wednesday. At this point, however, he’s still uncommitted for the Kentucky Derby:

“He seems happy, but right now I’m not even thinking about the Derby with him. I just want to see what his energy level and make sure we keep him sound. I’m going to have to feel really good about it to run him in the Derby. I didn’t feel really good about Jaycito, so we took him out. If not, we have plenty of options for The Factor, like the Preakness, the Met Mile or I could even sprint him.”

(Photo: Reed Palmer Photography)

DIALED IN: With the struggles of Uncle Mo and The Factor, the lightly raced Nick Zito trained Dialed In has become the top choice among the Kentucky Derby betting public and horse racing experts. Dialed In won the Florida Derby by a head over Shackleford. There is considerable debate about the significance of winning the final prep race before the Kentucky Derby—only 6 horses since 1991 have done so—it’s worth noting that 2 of the last five Kentucky Derby winners also won the Florida Derby.

(Photo : Eclipse Sportswire)

MUCHO MACHO MAN: With the unprecedented turmoil among Kentucky Derby favorites a solid—if unspectacular—horse like Mucho Macho Man has become one of the top contenders by default. Has a record of two wins in his last eight starts, though his last two performances have been solid including a win in the Risen Star and a third place finish in the Louisiana Derby.

(Photo: Eclipse Sportswire)

JAYCITO: Jaycito was an early ‘wise guy’ choice for the Kentucky Derby, but has had a lot of problems recovering from a foot bruise sustained in his second place finish in the San Felipe Stakes. He was scratched from his next two races and earlier today it was confirmed by trainer Bob Baffert that he wouldn’t be fit enough to run in the Kentucky Derby either.

(Photo: Eclipse Sportswire)

TOBY’S CORNER: A horse that was considered an also ran earlier this year has become a serious contender due to the problems among the presumptive favorites and a victory in the Wood Memorial. The last horse to win the Wood and the Kentucky Derby was Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Son of Bellamy Road has four wins and two thirds in six career races. Opened a 150-1 as a Kentucky Derby betting pick at the Wynn Sportsbook, now priced at 16-1.

(Photo Eclipse Sportswire)

ARCHARCHARCH: 3-1-1 in six career starts including a win in the Arkansas Derby. Another horse that has benefitted from the defection among the top tier challengers—opened at 250-1 in the Wynn Sportsbook futures betting market, now 12-1.

THE FIELD: More so this year than in any year in recent memory—if a horse is in the field he’s got a legitimate chance to win the race. There’s just not a dominant horse in the field and with variables like the weather in play this could be a year for a big longshot winner in the Kentucky Derby.

Find a list of the entire field and all the racing information you could want at www.horseracingnation.com.

Dress:

It is considered to be good luck for ladies to wear hats to the Derby. Encourage your guests to participate in this fun tradition.