Today should be Kentucky Derby Day.
Like everything else, it has been postponed, and will now happen on September 5, 2020. I’m not a fan of horses or horse racing, but I love hats, especially big ones and the Kentucky Derby is full of them.
Why are big hats a tradition at the Kentucky Derby?
Status.
When the race was first run at Churchill Downs, the organizers wanted it to be a social event (as opposed to just a race to gamble on.) Women wore their finest outfits, and in the 1800s, that included a hat. The wealthier the woman, the more ostentatious a hat she wore. This tradition continued even as hats fell out of fashion.
I hope to someday go to the Kentucky Derby just so I can wear an awesome hat. I might even wear an outfit to match. Oh yeah, and I’ll watch the horses too — I mean, when in Rome.