Kentucky Derby food 2023: Recipes for traditional desserts, snacks and pies

By Daniel TranMay 5, 2023, 5:57 AM EDT

Wherever you’re watching this year’s Kentucky Derby, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the most exciting two minutes in sports with several hours worth of great food. With 149 years of history and centuries of regional cuisine, there is no shortage of delicious and unique foods and desserts to whip up for the perfect at-home Kentucky Derby viewing party.

The 2023 Kentucky Derby will air on Saturday, May 6 from 12 to 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage is also available to stream live on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Kentucky Hot Brown

The hot brown is a product of the historic Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville. In the 1920s, Chef Fred Schmidt was looking for a late-night, stomach-satisfying dish for partying night owls and found it in this open-faced turkey sandwich topped with bacon and Mornay sauce.

Check out the Brown Hotel’s original recipe from the birthplace of the hot brown.

(Kentucky) Fried Chicken

Fried chicken is perhaps the most widespread, globally known export out of the Bluegrass, thanks in part to Colonel Sanders and his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Ky.

Keep things traditional with a classic and simple fried chicken from horse racing owner and celebrity chef Bobby Flay. Throw in some waffles and syrup if you’re a breakfast-for-dinner fan, or add some extra Southern flavor for the bourbon lovers.

Add a vegetable side dish for a little health from the Kentucky Derby’s official 2023 menu, like the glazed spring vegetables, heirloom grain salad or a Kentucky bibb greens salad.

Burgoo

Journey deep into the Kentucky scene with burgoo, a meat and vegetable stew that was traditionally made with whatever items were available, like rabbit, squirrel and possum. The Kentucky Derby’s official burgoo recipe uses less unique meats, including steak, pork and turkey.

Bourbon Balls

If you have a sweet tooth, satisfy your craving with rich bourbon balls, a chocolate-coated bourbon and nut delicacy that was invented by Ruth Booe of Rebecca Ruth Chocolates in 1938.

Try this straightforward recipe, which requires soaking the pecans in bourbon overnight, or mix things up with different ingredients like bourbon liqueur, different kinds of chocolate coating or adding sea salt for complexity.

Transparent Pie

Transparent pie is a custard-adjacent pie that originated in Maysville, which sits on the Kentucky-Ohio border. This simple dessert dates back to the 1800s and is entirely made out of everyday kitchen staples. Kentucky Tourism has a no-nonsense recipe great for beginning bakers.

Watch the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 6 from 12 to 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Full coverage is also available on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT

Matt Stone/USA TODAY NETWORK

NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:36 PM EDT

Abbey Cutrer/USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.

Kentucky Hot Brown

(Kentucky) Fried Chicken

Burgoo

Bourbon Balls

Transparent Pie

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