Today’s Kentucky Derby marked the 137th Run for the Roses.

I had wanted to sit and crochet roses all day in honor of the occasion, but errands ate my Saturday, and I was able to eke out only one rose, and even then, I did not finish it entirely.

My desire to crochet roses had been inspired by a fellow raveler, who, using this free pattern for Crochet Rosettes from Lion Brand Yarn (registration required):

had made nearly a dozen rose of them in bright and festive colors.

With the Kentucky Derby and Mother’s Day falling on the same weekend I though this rosette would be the perfect project to celebrate both

While I did not manage to make all of the roses I had hoped to make, I did manage to crochet this:

and then begin to secure the shape using a long tail of yarn:

For me, a major part of the thrill of horse racing is the pageantry of it all — the colors worn by the horses and the jockeys, and in the case of the Kentucky Derby, the fashions worn by the spectators, all contribute to the pageantry of the occasion.

Certainly this spectator contributed her fair share of spectacle to the event:

As for the race when it was over, a horse named Animal Kingdom ridden by a jockey named John Velazquez managed to beat the 21-to-1 odds (along with all the other horses) and win.

Tomorrow, I hope to beat the odds and get some crochet done.