For the past five years, the most extravagant Kentucky Derby party in town has been held at Eleven Madison Park, where dandies and debutantes get sauced on Mint Juleps and champagne while showing off their most colorful Southern Gentry couture. As you can see, yesterday's party was particularly exuberant, in part due to the glorious weather—a sharp contrast to the mud and muck at Churchill Downs, where a horse named Orb surged from behind to win the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby.
Tickets, which cost a whopping $175, sell out almost immediately, and if you've got money to burn, it's actually not so outrageous, all things considered—admission includes four hours of open bar, a sprawling raw bar, a Southern-inspired buffet featuring fried chicken and waffles, impeccably fresh Makers Mark Mint Juleps in pewter cups, two live bands playing bluegrass inside and outside on the patio, where Nat Sherman doles out a healthy variety of free cigars. Oh, and the horse race, which is broadcast on a giant screen late in the afternoon, by which point the crowd has been whipped into a bourbon-infused frenzy, and you find yourself inexplicably screaming for Charming Kitten to beat the 31-1 odds and make you rich on a bet you forgot to place.
If you're wondering about the horse outside the restaurant, it was brought by NY Horse Rescue, a group dedicating to "preventing the inhumane slaughter of injured, abused, and unwanted horses," particularly thoroughbred horses. On Eleven Madison Park's second level, a silent auction raised money for the rescue group—a representative of the restaurant told us that last year's party raised approximately $20,000 for NY Horse Rescue. (Update: This year they raised $9,951 for the NY Horse Rescue.)
