A Sweet Stop on the Way to Indiana Grand

A stop at Linne's Bakery & Cafe is a must-do on your way to Indiana Grand Race Course. (Photos by Geoff Worden unless otherwise noted)
This Saturday at about 9:40 p.m. ET, Indianaʼs richest race will be run. The Indiana Derby has had two homes and is now being held more than two months earlier than usual. On your way to the race, be sure to stop at Linneʼs Bakery & Café, which has a much more dependable history. The sign on the building reading “Linnes Pastries” must predate the inaugural Indiana Derby by many years.
Indiana Grand will host six stakes races on the 18th with over a million in total purses, including a pair of Grade 2 events. The $200,000 Indiana Oaks and $500,000 Indiana Derby are the featured races of the card with the Derby attracting a few big names.
Mr. Z comes into the race off an Ohio Derby win and also raced in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. Divining Rod finished third behind Mr. Z in the Ohio Derby but two spots in front of him in the Preakness, setting up an exciting third meeting. Divining Rod has never finished out of the money in seven starts. Tiz Shea D, who finished fourth in the Peter Pan Stakes and fifth in the Wood Memorial, and Bold Conquest, who may not win a lot but has finished in the money in three of six graded stakes appearances, are also in the field. Finishing with two fourths and a fifth in his other stakes appearances makes Bold Conquest worthy of serious consideration in exotics.

MR. Z AFTER HIS WIN IN THE OHIO DERBY

Photo courtesy of Thistledown
The weekend-long Indiana Derby Festival celebrates the 21st running of the race and includes a luau party and free concert by Josh Kaufman on Friday the 17th and plenty more on the 18th. Josh Kaufman will return on Saturday joined by Dani Mathers and members of the 1954 Milan High School state basketball champions, who inspired the movie Hoosiers. Otto Thorwarth, who played Ron Turcotte in Secretariat, will be there also. There will also be some giveaways and a couple of food trucks, Pi Pizza and Scratch Street Food.

The food options sound great but I recommend that you stop by Linneʼs for a late lunch or a pre-race dessert. This bakery traces its history to the late 1800s and it has been in Shelbyville since the 1930s. After a recent stop at the bakery, I think all of my trips to Indiana Grand will include a visit to Linneʼs. When we stopped there, Miss Wright and I already had lunch plans or we might have been tempted by the sandwiches on house-made croissants, pretzel bread or grilled cheese on challah bread. However, we dove right into the cookies. A sign behind the counter reminds us that “Life is short … eat dessert first.” So we did.


Snickerdoodles and peanut butter and chocolate krinkles made it into our bag. Which, by the way, is wax paper and says this “waxed bag will keep baked goods oven-fresh and prevent stains on clothes and car seat.” Genius! The cookies were delicious and a bargain at 40 cents each, and you can save 31 cents if you buy a dozen. Miss Wright, a snickerdoodle aficionado, exclaimed, “Ooh, thatʼs a good one, itʼs supposed to be chewy like that, not cakey.”
We also had some sort of pecan crispy thing, you can see it on the bottom left in the display case, made from Danish dough that I thought was amazing but didnʼt excite Miss Wright.


I gladly kept the bag with some cookies and the rest of the danish treat and Miss Wright got some bread to take home. The cream bread was $1.99 per loaf and sliced on the spot if you want. The bakery also offers honey and whole wheat and an assortment of other options. We need to return for some of the english muffins since they were sold out when we arrived.
Iʼm not sure what the competition is like but Iʼm willing to accept that Linneʼs is indeed, “Shelby Countyʼs Finest Name in Pastries.”
Enjoy the Derby and be sure to visit Linneʼs whenever youʼre in the area.