Longboat Harbour hosts Kentucky Derby Party

Ah, the Kentucky Derby! The most exciting two minutes in sports. Yay or neigh?

Longboat Harbour Condominium residents got together to enjoy the finest horses in racing while wearing their most stylish hats and drinking mint juleps at their Kentucky Derby Party at 5:30 p.m. on May 6.

Kakali Banerjee and Virginia Leon, coordinators, hosted their first event at the banquet hall. 

“I am new to the community and I moved here a year and a half ago,” said Banerjee. “I'm a horse person and I’ve always watched the Derby. I had three horses, and when I had kids, I had to give them up.”

Both Banerjee and Leon decided to serve barbecue at the party. They sampled many items off the menu from Mission BBQ.

“We ordered one of everything there and the brisket was hands down the best,” said Leon. 

Banerjee also made Kentucky Derby pie with bourbon, which pairs well with a mint julep.

“It’s a chocolate pie; it’s very rich and buttery. There’s eggs, butter, bourbon, walnuts, chocolate and sugar,” said Banerjee. 

There was also a “bring your own bourbon” mint julep station where residents were able to make their own mint juleps as the night progressed.

The banquet hall was filled with laughter and chatter, but as soon as the clock read 6:57 p.m., it was as if a switch had been flipped. 

The only thing that could be heard was the pounding of the horses’ hooves hitting the ground emanating from the big screen that hung on the wall.

With 15-1 odds, Mage, ridden by Javier Castellano, won the 149th running of the derby. 

Brenda Yewell, placed the right bet on Mage.

“My husband, Patrick, and I moved to Longboat two years ago from Kentucky and we know one of the many owners of Mage,” said Yewell.

As the night came to an end, Banerjee and Leon gave Gail Gilvey the winning award for wearing the best Kentucky Derby hat.