The Kentucky Oaks Day race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky is America’s premier and most lucrative race for 3-year old fillies. The Kentucky Oaks is the fourth highest attended horse race in the United States – following the Triple Crown of racing; the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.
The race is held each year on the day before the Kentucky Derby. This feature race is a $1 Million Grade 1 stakes race and awards the winning filly a garland of lilies, appropriately named “Lilies for the Fillies.” Like the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks race is one of the longest continually held sporting events in American history, and one of the only horse races to take place at the original site of its inception.
The race was established on May 19th, 1875, by the same founder of the Kentucky Derby, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, and is modeled after the British Epsom Oaks.
Oaks Day Pink Out
During Kentucky Oaks Day, the historic racetrack is decorated in pink bunting and the more than 100,000 guests are asked to prominently incorporate pink into their attire in an effort to raise funds and drive national attention to the fight against breast and ovarian cancer.
For the 11th year, the Survivors Parade will take place on Kentucky Oaks Day, Friday, May 3rd, 2019! The Survivors Parade is a march of breast and ovarian cancer survivors, which takes place on Churchill Downs’ historic racetrack just before the race. Pink Out has raised more than $820,000 for charity in the past eight years.
How to Make the Kentucky Oaks Day Lily – The Official Drink of the Kentucky Oaks
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 oz. Vodka
- 1 oz. Sweet and Sour Mix
- 1/4 oz. Triple Sec
- 3 oz. Cranberry Juice
- Blackberries for garnish
- Lemon wedge for garnish
- Crushed ice
Directions
- Mix all ingredients
- Pour into glass filled with crushed ice. (Official Oaks Lily® glass preferred.)
- Garnish with a blackberry and lemon wedge
- Add a straw
- Optional: Wear a floppy hat while drinking.
Enjoy!
Oaks Survivors Parade
Presentation audio with the late John Asher start at about 2:40.
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