I would love to go watch the Kentucky Derby sometime in the future. I’m in CA and would likely fly into local airport. I’d like to stay for a week and take up as much of the horse scene as I can. What options are there for doing this on the cheap. Rent an RV? Stay in a room in a private home? Camping? Just curious. I’m really not a 5 star hotel sort so more pedestrian agrees with me fine. Rather spend money on good seats for the race. What are things to do and see on such a trip besides going to the races and Kentucky horse park? I hope this isn’t the wrong forum. Thanks in advance.
Lots of stuff to do but none of it is cheap. The farther out of town you stay the better as far as hotel rates go. If you are going to spend most of your time in Lexington you may want to base out of there and drive over that morning. Tour breeding farms and Old Friends for sure. I went to the Derby once, will never go again but am glad I went once.
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Muk - Do a COTH search for Lexington threads. You will find many answers on what to do in Lex. It is a wonderful place!
Mukluk: This link might help your planning. It is not current, but will give you some ideas.
http://www.kentucky.com/entertainment/article44596953.html
Having traveled to Louisville on numerous occasions, absent derby week, there is nothing cheap about the city or Lexington at all. I suggest if you are short on money, rob a CA bank so you can afford to go in style and have fun.
Have had a number of friends attend the derby and they wouldn’t go back either. Most comments, I have heard that it is overrated, overcrowded, and too expensive.
Embassy Suites in Lex has a complementary happy hour every night. All kinds of drinks, vegetables & dip and nice horsey decor. Not necessarily cheap but I thought it was great.
Good luck. As I recall, the KOA Campground cost well over $100, and that was in 1987. Every camper there was going to the Derby.
Glad I went the once. Will never go again. Churchill for the 1994 BC, on the other hand, was a nice day at the races. Churchill on Derby Day is a gigantic party, a bit of a surprise for those who really wanted to come to a race.
And beware of pickpockets. Very aware. 
I am surprised you didn’t suggest to Mulluk to wait and go to the Preakness on the real cheap. It is great infield fun, great seafood, no surgary booze, chances of seeing the racing better, hats and red carpets don’t dominate the coverage, plenty of reasonable accommodations in the area, good chance of getting a sun tan, and if you don’t walk through any Pimilico buildings there is relative safety. Beaujolais, you are Marylander now. Think like one! 
As an aside, I heard that the MJC is taking early entries for the Pimlico portapoddy races. Another big plus when choosing the Preakness over the Derby.:lol:
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Maybe it would be better to watch the Kentucky Oaks live and the derby on TV?
Look at the good side of watching it on TV. You won’t have to rob a bank to enjoy the racing.
I went to the Derby in college, and it was at the 100th. It was the biggest infield crowd ever, and it apparently convinced the Churchill Downs people to never let that many people in the infield again. I had a blast, but of course I was 21 too. Not something I would do again, but it sure was fun then. If you watch the youtube, for the 1974 race, you’ll see the inner infield fence broke down, and people were right next to the chain link fence almost at the inside rail.
If I go back, it certainly won’t be the infield, but the grandstands.
I live just outside of Louisville. I wouldn’t come for Derby week unless you want to spend a fortune or drive a huge distance. I live here and I’ve never gone to Oaks or Derby (though I do go to Churchill once or twice a season, sometimes Derby week but not Friday or Saturday). Too commercial. Come for Steven Foster day or for Keeneland. Stay somewhere on 64 (east side of Louisville or in Lexington) and you’ll have a great time while spending a fraction of the money. Visit breeding farms, Old Friends, and all the bourbon factories you’d like as well.
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Those are the only races that are filling!!
Can’t really verify this but heard the MJC is very excited about the future of the Preakness Portapoddy Races. Apparently it wants to add a senior mens division to attract more mature adults to the infield. Rather than senior contestants running over the portapoddy roofs, the winner, after eating a bowl of baked beans and drinking a quart of beer, is the first to run the length of the infield and open the poddy door. The word is that Beta-Prostate is stepping up to sponsor the race with Cialis providing the winner with a trophy designed in the shape of the brand’s TV logo and Beano fronting a cash prize.
JMHO, but this could be as big as the PWC and BC together.
Mulluk, you don’t want to miss this.
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HI Mukluk, just chiming in as my dad proposed we do the Derby as a bucket list-type thing. Having heard what so many have heard (“don’t do it!”) – I concocted an alternative experience last May. I’m going to blather – pardon the run-on sentences and erratic punctuation.
• We stayed in Lexington, opting to go into Louisville Thursday to watch the AM works and attend “Thurby” instead. Thursday is the last day to watch the Derby and Oaks horses work out; it’s free to go stand along a section of rail that’s opened up and I cannot. Recommend. It. Enough. You’re this close to the horses and it’s super cool. If you prefer to do something fancier, there’s also an indoor buffet with a speaker giving a lecture. After, we went to Wagner’s pharmacy for breakfast – long line but super worth it for the atmosphere, the no-nonsense ladies who work there and the conversations you’ll overhear. To kill time before the card started, we wandered up and down Louisville’s Whiskey Row – a huge construction scene due to a fire – what of the city I saw, I thought was lovely and walkable.
• Thurby, I guess, has replaced the Oaks as “local’s day.” People dressed up and you get the huge atmosphere but much cheaper and with smaller crowds. They’ve got bands and other stuff going on, too. We paid $20 or so bucks to park in a yard and take a completely terrifying, high-speed golf cart ride to the Churchill entrance. The weather was freezing but my dad sprung for Courtyard seats, trackside, next to the tunnel the horses take between the paddock and the track – but with its own lounge area, a killer buffet and drinks included in the ticket price. They were less than $100 each but who knows for this year and down the road.
• The Derby itself, we watched back in Lexington at Keeneland. Most beautiful place on earth; super tailgating scene, $5 GA tickets. The Derby-Oaks indoor stuff with tables sells out early. We sat in the stands and watched on the tote board. Loved it. Absolutely would do it again.
• Words of Warning: the traffic around Louisville at Derby-time was scary. We saw a lot of fender-benders and accidents. Also, while I’ve heard that Churchill management couldn’t care less about the visitor experience, everyone we encountered was unbelievably nice – though many seemed to be temp employees who weren’t familiar with the facility. We even tested customer service by having a problem with our tickets (my dad printed the wrong stuff) and then went on a major odyssey to find the Courtyard. We saw everything, walked from one end of the stands to the other, up and down stairs (like to the jockey’s room, oops) and got conflicting directions. But I can’t fault the friendliness of everyone we encountered. My dad was proud of himself for downloading the app but it was pretty useless. He also said at one point, “I’ve been to a lot of big sporting events but I’ve never seen this many people this drunk this early in the day.” lol
• Lexington? I want to live there. We made a sort-of visit to the Horse Park, just paying for parking and seeing Man O’War’s grave and a bit of the IHSA national finals. We also checked out the UK art museum, free admission and recommended if you’re into that sort of thing.
Get creative but do get to the Bluegrass State – and have an Ale 8 or six while you’re there…
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I live near the Augusta National golf course (where they have The Master’s every year). The local people know to stay away from Augusta that week…especially the latter part of the week and the weekend. Traffic is horrible and there are crowds everywhere and jacked up prices at restaurants, etc.
Sounds like it is the same thing in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby!!
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Must admit, one thing I appreciate about Oaklawn, where I attend the Arkansas Derby each year for my one day a year at the actual races. They don’t jack up seat or parking prices for their biggest day of the year. It will be very crowded for the facility, but you’re paying what you would any Saturday of their season. The $2 parking does fill up and then close down - but get there a few hours early with a book, and you’re fine.
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