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DERBY DAY IN DULUTH, DISHING OUT DERBY RECIPES & A GREAT FAMILY MOVIE!

Gather for mint julips & finger sandwiches on May 3rd to enjoy the race!

By Becky Samford with recipes from Macaroni Kid EATS! April 27, 2025

Hailed as the greatest two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby, first held in 1875 at the legendary Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, is the longest-running sports event in the United States.  

Pull out your wide-brimmed hats and bow ties and join us in Downtown Duluth on Saturday, May 3rd, for the ultimate Kentucky Derby viewing party! Relax on lounge seating and enjoy everything from the pre-show activities to the big race on a large screen.

The preshow and big race will be broadcast on a large screen located next to the Activity Lawn. There will be a Best Dressed contest with both adult and children categories. Additional entertainment will include a free betting raffle, a pony petting zoo and themed photo-ops.

Derby Day Activities Sat May 3 2025 Derby Day Specials


Faithfully every year on Derby Day, my friends and family gather to wear big hats, eat finger sandwiches, drink  Mint Juleps from ice-cold silver julep cups, and watch the race at home! This year Kentucky Derby Day is May 3rd.

Macaroni Kid EATS featured some recipes for delicious race day drinks and snacks, so I just had to share them with you!  And don't tell anyone -- they might just be as quick to put together as the race itself! 

Kentucky Derby Finger Sandwiches

Cucumber on Rye Rounds

Ingredients:

  • Rye bread cut into rounds about the size of a slice of cucumber (we used a cookie cutter)
  • Peeled and sliced cucumber
  • Whipped cream cheese
  • Fresh dill

Directions:

  1. Top rye bread rounds with cream cheese.
  2. Top with cucumber.
  3. Garnish with dill. 


Pimento Cheese Triangles

Ingredients:

  • White bread slices with crust removed and cut into triangles
  • Pimento cheese spread
  • Green olives

Directions:

  1. Spread pimento cheese spread on one slice of bread.
  2. Top with another slice and garnish with a green olive on toothpick.

You may also love these finger foods to serve:

Kentucky Derby Drinks

Peach Mint Julep 


Ingredients:

  • 2.5 ounces bourbon
  • 1 tablespoon peach schnapps
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. water
  • Mint leaves and sprig for garnish
  • Crushed ice

Directions:

  1. Gently muddle mint leaves with sugar, schnapps, and water in a glass.
  2. Fill with crushed ice. 
  3. Add bourbon and garnish with a sprig of mint.


Char's Bloody Mary with Old Bay Rim

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz vodka
  • 4 oz V8 tomato juice
  • 2 dashes Franks Red Hot
  • 2 tsp prepared horseradish
  • 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
  • Wedge of lemon
  • 1 pinch celery salt
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper
  • Old Bay Seasoning for rim
  • Green olives and pickle spear for garnish

Directions:

  1. Pour some Old Bay on a plate.
  2. Rub lemon along the rim of a pint glass and roll into the Old Bay Seasoning to rim the glass.
  3. Fill glass with ice.
  4. In a shaker, squeeze in the lemon wedge, add vodka, juice, hot sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, ground pepper, and shake well. 
  5. Pour into the pint glass and garnish with olives and pickle.

Other drinks to try:

Whatever horse you are cheering for, we hope you will "run for the roses" and enjoy these simple and tasty recipes during the race!


After the big race, the whole family can enjoy a terrific movie about a very surprising racehorse!!

 

Racing Stripes is a 2005 American sports comedy family film that tells the story of Stripes, a circus plains zebra who is accidentally abandoned in Kentucky and raised on a farm next to a racing track. Believing he is a racehorse, Stripes dreams of training for and competing in the races. The film stars Hayden Panettiere, Bruce Greenwood, Wendie Malick and M. Emmet Walsh, with the vocal and voice talents of Frankie Muniz, Mandy Moore, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jeff Foxworthy, Joshua Jackson, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Rosenbaum, Steve Harvey, David Spade, Snoop Dogg, Fred Dalton Thompson, Dustin Hoffman and Whoopi Goldberg.


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