OMG Ponies!!!1!!1!1!!

It's no shocker that everyone has family traditions for Thanksgiving--some they adore, others they loathe. I particularly enjoy Thanksgiving day because of the nontraditional tradition that my family participates in each year. No one cooks but we stuff our faces, no one cleans, we all drink, and we gamble on the ponies!

You see, I spend Thanksgiving with my dad and his side of the family who were born and raised (much as myself) in Kentucky. And as true Kentuckians we proudly cling to our heritage (well, the good parts)--we're die hard UK fans and bleed blue, we consume ALL the bourbon (hence my name), and we love everything about thoroughbreds and horse racing. In fact, throughout his tenure of owning a tobacco farm, my grandfather owned the occasional race horse. Now, none with the pedigree to reach Derby or Triple Crown rankings, but small stakes claims nonetheless. Thus my dad and his sisters were raised around horses, and all of us grand kids were raised to be familiar with them. We like the horsies.

Around 1998 my grandfather had a heart attack and my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer within months of each other, so there was the concern that it would be one of their last Thanksgivings. It was then decided the family should do something special for the holiday. After some research, we discovered that Churchill Downs has races all day! And on top of that, you can purchase tickets for tables up on "Millionaire's Row" where Churchill Downs hosts a Thanksgiving day buffet! A tradition was born.

Since then we have been dressing up (Yes, there is a dress code, and no I don't wear a fancy hat--though some of the older ladies do!), drinking celebratory bloody marys in the parking lot (we're classy folks), stuffing our faces with surprisingly decent Thanksgiving buffet food, drinking bourbon, and gambling on the ponies all day. Needless to say we have a lot of fun laughing at each other when we hit a crazy bet, or taking a big swig of something strong when our horse loses by a nose. It's different, it's cooky, and it's a hell of a lot of fun.

As far as my grandparents go, it was unfortunately my grandmother's last Thanksgiving. However, she went out with a bang, winning most of her bets. My grandfather held tough and was able to enjoy this tradition for eight years. Tomorrow marks our 13th year celebrating this family tradition and each year, among the many things I am thankful for, I am first thankful for my grandparents. Without them, I wouldn't be quite the proud Kentucky woman I am today, and we wouldn't have started our awesomely unique family tradition. 

Cheers!