Exploring the Lavish, Vice-Filled Event of 1970's Kentucky Derby, as Seen Through Hunter S. Thompson's Eyes
In the spring of 2008, during my early days on the Internet, I cooked up an idea to blend the colorful words of Hunter S. Thompson with contemporary digital art to see if the Kentucky Derby was still as decadent and depraved as Thompson found it in 1970.
The post boasted of fist fights, scantily-clad women, and tipsy revellers sprawled everywhere across Churchill Downs. A chaotic scene, unlike many online had ever witnessed. The raucous post became a sensation, with readers eagerly anticipating it year after year.
Joining our website in June 2020, I stopped publishing this post, perhaps owing to the 2021 Churchill Downs rules mandating face masks for fans, a bizarre rule alongside other intrusive COVID measures.
This week, an old thought resurfaced: Does Thompson's work still hold water? Is the Derby still a decadent spectacle, a 156-year-old American tradition dating back to 1875?
Bill Cardoso, editor of the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, famously wrote to Thompson after reading the story: "This is it, this is pure Gonzo. If this is a start, keep rolling." Thompson loved the description of his work. The rest, as they say, is history.
Excerpts from Hunter S. Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved" as published in Scanlan's Monthly:
Throngs of intoxicated, irate drunks growing progressively more enraged as they lost more and more money. By noon they'd be swigging mint juleps with both hands and vomiting on one another between races.
"The place swarmed with bodies, shoulder-to-shoulder. It was cramped, making it tough to navigate. The aisles would be slick with vomit, people stumbling and grasping at legs to avoid being trampled. Drunks urinating themselves in betting lines. Dropping wads of cash and fighting over picking it up.
Chaos reigns on the Kentucky Derby infield. (Photo by Robert Cohen-Pool/Getty Images)
Despite no alcohol sales out there, it was too dangerous...no bathrooms either. Muscle Beach...Woodstock...many cops carrying riot sticks, but no signs of a riot. Far across the track, the clubhouse looked like a postcard from the Kentucky Derby.
Louisville feels otherworldly during Derby week, according to Thompson's account. (Photo by Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports)
Steadman wanted to meet some Kentucky Colonels, but wasn't sure what they looked like. I advised him to return to the clubhouse men's rooms and search for men in white linen suits puking in the urinals.
No booze sold out here, too dangerous...no bathrooms either. Muscle Beach...Woodstock...many cops with riot sticks, but no sign of a riot. Far across the track the clubhouse looked like a postcard from the Kentucky Derby.
The 2025 Kentucky Derby will still be marked by throngs of gallivants, opulent clothing, and opulent fashion spilling out of the clubhouse, despite societal standards of "decadence" having changed.
As one contemporary analysis notes, comparing 1970 to 2025 involves acknowledging both continuity and cultural recalibration.
The Kentucky Derby of 2025 might still be a ground for betting, with the anticipation and excitement palpable, much like Thompson's 'Gonzo' style depicted in his 1970 article for Scanlan's Monthly. However, the derbygoers might replace mint juleps with face masks, a new norm in the wake of the 2021 changes at Churchill Downs. Yet, the infield chaos, embellished attire, and vibrant sports spirit may remain, only recalibrated to match the current societal standards, bringing a blend of tradition and modernity to the decadent and depraved spectacle.
