Spotted during Kentucky Derby 151 at Churchill Downs May 3, 2025. Renee Williams celebrated her 55th birthday during Kentucky Derby 151 at Churchill Downs May 3, 2025. She made her hat and dress.

KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Staff picks, long-shot contenders and bold predictions for the Kentucky Derby According to Twinspires.com, race horses wear a special kind of horseshoe designed for circuit ...

Technically, the Kentucky Derby is about horse racing. While wearing a hat was once a functional choice for attendees (it often gets hot!), it soon shifted into an opportunity to perform social ...

World beard champion Garey Faulkner makes his own Kentucky Derby hat every year. This year, for the 151st running of the Derby, his hat featured a large, plastic horse.

Her fascinator is perched at an angle like it’s judging everyone else’s hat choices. It’s Derby Barbie meets soft launch era, and she knew exactly what she was doing when she picked it.

Brittany McKewn, of Asheville, N.C., wears a hat shaped like a rose before the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Louisville, Ky.

Brittany McKewn, of Asheville, N.C., wears a hat shaped like a rose before the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Louisville, Ky.

Ahead of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, learn how ornate hats became the race's trademark fashion, spawned contests, and boosted hat-making business.

According to the Kentucky Derby's website, the hat-wearing tradition was started by founder Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., who modeled the race after high-class European racing events.

Or Wool Sandals. Or Burgoo King. That's because the Kentucky Derby is inherently silly, if you think about it. The hats and mint juleps and pageantry are all over the top.