The Kentucky Oaks

This is my review of attending The Oaks in 6^th Floor Millionaire’s Row.
We were invited to attend The Oaks. We had tickets for 6^th Floor, Millionaire’s Row. Tickets for this area run from $ 700-​$ 1,200 on The Oaks day. We were lucky enough to get a police escort to the parking area. We got to the lot around 11:30am on the Oaks Friday. It’s crazy to see all the people around the area of Churchill Downs and how they try to sell parking at their homes and in their yards. Anyway, our tour bus parked and we exited the bus. We got into the line of general admission, then we were moved to the media entry to make it into the building. A few days afterwards, I read that they had problems at The Oaks 2016 with people having to wait a long time to get in. This wasn’t the issue with our entry.
We made it into the building then started to move onward and upward. The 6^th floor is the top floor. We road the escalator all the way to the top. We showed our tickets at the door of Millionaire’s Row then entered. The interior for 6^th floor Millionaire’s Row is something out of the 90’s. The chairs are covered in fabric that is dated. They’ve got tons of televisions in the walls that show what is happing on the track. These tvs are the old tube type. I think they could stand to update the televisions like they did in the Turf Club on the 3^rd floor.
We were seated at our tables as indicated on the ticket. We waited a few minutes and then was greeted by our server who took our order. We had the all you can eat/​drink plan, so we ordered a couple of the (usually) $ 15 mint juleps in the collector’s cup. They’ve got a bar in the room, but it’s a cash bar and why would I pay for a drink when a server can bring me one for free? There is also betting windows in the room that will take cash bets. If you don’t have cash on you, you can download the app to bet on your phone.
The food at the buffet was good but not great. There was a blackberry salad, some cold shrimp, some kind of shell pasta with a red sauce that was kind of dry, and prime rib or turkey breast. Granted I wasn’t there for the food. I was there for the experience. We were in a room with the who’s who of Louisville and of Kentucky. We saw the Governor, Matt Bevin more times than I’d like. The staff at the door was very on to make sure people who had tickets belonged. When we came back from the paddock, the guy at the door asked to see my wrist band and then wanted to see my ticket. Luckily I had my ticket on me. This happened a few times as I left Millionaire’s Row to go to the bathroom, which was located outside of the area, but on the same floor. The bathroom had an attendant working, but you could tell he didn’t want to be there. He would put the paper towels on the sink where it was wet. One time I went in there and I kept hearing something fall on the floor. Come to find out that it was him and he was dropping his phone on the ground because he kept falling asleep as he was seated. Later on in the day, he was gone.
The view from the 6^th floor is something that dreams are made of. We made it our there for a few of the races. Dumb me thought that there was only one race of the day. I was born and raised in Kentucky, but I was confused about how many races were happening on The Oaks Day and Derby Day. We were able to stand at the edge of the terrace for all the races, expect for the actual Oaks race, you had to have a special band for the front area on that race.
We had a friend that was down in a suite in the infield. We made our way down to the ground level and tried to find a way to get to the infield. That proved harder to do than in theory. We kept asking how to get over and we kept getting different answers. It took about 30 minutes for us to get from 6^th floor Millionaire’s Row to the ground level on the other side. We finally decided to say f it and go back upstairs. It’s kind of funny to see how the people dress upstairs and downstairs. Women upstairs have hats/​fascinators, heels and dresses, the women on the ground level are wearing flip flops and less than dressy attire.
My favorite part of the day was just people watching. It was so neat to see how the different classes live. Yes, I said classes, because if someone spends $ 1,000 on a ticket and another spends 55 bucks, there’s going to be a difference. I also enjoyed all the mint juleps I had and was thankful for the server that gave us a box to take all our glasses home with us. I’ll be back in the off season and miss all the decadence.

I had a lot of fun! I as many others were dressed in pink and looking stunning. Many people stopped me and wanted to grab photos with me! Even wives had their husbands to snatch a photo with me! I bet on a few horses and won some money back which is always good! The food and drinks are the price of drinks you would pay in a restaurant, so be prepared to spend a little money when attending. And parking is 20 and the shuttles, if you don’t want to walk from your car is 15 dollars and that’s for round trip. So expect about 35 dollars each day for parking and getting to the actual racing grounds. I spent probably 22 dollars for two drinks and 4 dollars for peanuts. But who’s counting! Lol
Overall you’ll have loads of fun. I sat in section 227 and the view wasn’t bad and my seats were stadium style seating, so comfy. I didn’t sit under cover and it does get hot in the middle of the day so wear tons of sunscreen. I’ll definitely be back again!