We’re talking about the 143rd Kentucky Derby, of course! That’s according to our exclusive 2017 Derby Countdown Clock™. Until then, here’s figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir at this year’s first Saturday in May.
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Tag: The Derby
Big smiles, big personalities and big business networking — yes, it’s everyone’s favorite feature in the society shiny sheets: party photos! Boulevard picks through the pics, choosing our favorite coverage. Today’s entry is from the just-published Voice-Tribune.
[Insert exhausted sigh here.] Nearly three weeks later, we may have finally reached the apotheosis of this year’s horsey soirée news here: “More than 167,000 eager spectators enjoyed beautiful weather at Churchill Downs on May 7 for the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby,” the Voice-Tribune says. “The mint juleps flowed as excitement built toward the call to post, and the most exciting two minutes in sports saw Nyquist triumph over his 19 competitors.”
Related: Introducing Boulevard’s exclusive 2017 Derby Countdown Clock™. Plus, more Voice-Tribune party photos.
Photo, below: Derby mainstays and identical twins Priscilla Barnstable (left) and Patricia Barnstable Brown. (Or is it the other way around?)
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A news summary, focused on big employers; updated 5:57.m.
FORD: Why Ford will beat Tesla, even as electric cars gain a toehold (Barron’s).
YUM: The company’s stock has overthrown McDonald’s as the hottest fast-food stock around. Year to date, shares have surged 9% vs. 4% for McDonald’s and a skinny 0.2% for the S&P 500 index. (The Street). Also, former Chairman David Novak says workers are “starved for recognition” from their supervisors (Business First).
PIZZA HUT today introduced 8-inch Hershey’s Toasted S’mores Cookies for a limited time at $6.99 (press release).
AMAZON has started hiring up to 500 employees for a new distribution center in Florence Township outside Trenton, N.J. “They want to be up and running in time for the Christmas holiday,” Township Administrator Richard Brook said last week (Burlington County Times).
GANNETT: Tribune Publishing’s shares dove 15% today on fears that Courier-Journal owner Gannett may rescind its $15-a-share takeover offer; Gannett’s stock fell 2.4% (Talking New Media). The chances Tribune would pursue a “Pac-Man” defense takeover of Gannett had already eased when Tribune decided to share confidential information that could pave the way for Gannett’s $864 million purchase of Tribune (Reuters).
KFC: A 29-year-old man was arrested last night in Columbus, Ga., after he allegedly approached the KFC drive-thru on Manchester Expressway completely nude (Ledger-Enquirer).
BROWN-FORMAN said today it will release fourth-quarter financial results on June 8, followed by a conference call with Wall Street analysts (press release). Meanwhile, Boulevard is sad we missed the chance on Saturday to celebrate World Whisky Day, where everyone was invited to “try a dram and celebrate the water of life” (Hot Rum Cow).
TEXAS ROADHOUSE opens one of its newest restaurants today, a $1.3 million outlet in the college town of Ithaca, N.Y. (Ithaca Voice).
CHURCHILL DOWNS: Thoroughbred racing’s now increasingly international, as NBC Sports made clear during Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, when the network teased its coverage of the Royal Ascot meeting in Britain starting next year (Chicago Now). Ascot got a big publicity boost in 1964’s “My Fair Lady.” The women’s dress code for the royal enclosure is super-strict, including this admonition: “strapless, off the shoulder, halter and spaghetti straps are not permitted” (Ascot).
Photo, top: Pizza Hut.
Big smiles, big personalities and big business networking — yes, it’s everyone’s favorite feature in the society shiny sheets: party photos! Boulevard picks though the pics, choosing our favorite coverage. Post-Derby, there were scads and scads in the just-published issue of The Voice-Tribune, including:
Woodland Farm Brunch
To celebrate the day after Derby and punctuate the end of Derby festivities, 21c Museum Hotel co-founders Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown hosted a brunch at their Woodland Farm in Goshen on the morning of May 8. There were plenty of other bold-faced names there, too — from Speed Museum CEO Ghislain d’Humières to plastic surgeon Dr. Greg Brown, NPR talk show host Diane Rehm and philanthropist and one-time Prince of Wales hostess Christy Brown.
Related: A sneak peek at this year’s hottest Derby party venue.
A news summary, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 11:34 a.m.
PIZZA HUT set a new Guinness World Record for highest-altitude pizza delivery when it successfully carried a pie to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro on Sunday, a stunt marking the company’s expansion today into its 100th country: Tanazania. Over four days, the Yum division used an airplane, a motor vehicle, professional hikers and a backpack to deliver the pepperoni with extra cheese to the summit of Africa’s highest mountain (CNN).
CHURCHILL DOWNS says there’s no connection between the company and an entity with a similar-sounding name among more than 320,000 offshore accounts and trusts unveiled in a “Panama Papers” database Monday (WFPL). What happens when you bet $24 at the Derby without checking the odds again (The Billfold).
TACO BELL: Police in Santa Ana, Calif., bought a 31-year-old employee with cerebral palsy a new $500 adult-size tricycle to get to work after thieves stole his previous one last week; watch the video (KABC). In Ohio, video of a Taco Bell employee’s act of kindness — using sign language to help a customer — is rolling across the Web (WEWS).
KFC remains optimistic about India, despite slower sales (Business Standard). Chick-fil-A’s average sales per restaurant in 2014 were $3.1 million. Rival KFC sold $960,000 per restaurant that year (Business Insider); full rankings (QSR Magazine).
FORD thinks the driverless cars of tomorrow could come with their own drones (Detroit News).
In other news, Staples and Office Depot have called off their merger over anti-trust concerns; Staples has five stores in Louisville, and Office Depot has two (MarketWatch). An atheists group wants to spend $10,000 on billboards protesting a northern Kentucky Noah’s Ark theme park set to open in July, but can’t find anyone to take its business (Courier-Journal).
Vietnamese street food restaurant Pho Ba Luu is headed for Market Street in NuLu (Broken Sidewalk). Food Network star Guy Fieri is planning a new restaurant chain, Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse, with the first to open Sept. 9 at Fourth Street Live (Courier-Journal). Kroger needs to fill 14,000 open jobs nationwide (WDRB).
21c Museum Hotel rolled out a black one Derby Eve. But nearly every other celebrity-stocked venue opted for the traditional red (Mayor Greg Fischer‘s tweet is Exhibit A) — leaving Boulevard wondering about the history of red carpets. They date to 458 BC!
Boulevard 