Planning a Perfect Breeders’ Cup Party
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Planning a combination Breeders' Cup/Halloween party isn't as hard as you might think. (Photos by Victoria Garofalo unless noted)
Although I haven’t had one in quite a while (thank you tiny New York City apartment living), I love throwing parties – especially themed ones. As fate would have it Halloween falls on Breeders’ Cup Saturday this year – hello “Costumes and Classic” soirée.
For those of you that will be watching the INCREDIBLE card of racing from home I’ve got some pretty nifty party ideas for you to combine the two holidays (yes, Breeders’ Cup is a holiday for us horse racing folk).
Invitations:
You can’t have a killer party without guests and it’s always fun to get an invitation instead of a text or call! I absolutely love Paperless Post. They give you the option to send your invites as e-cards or paper invitations to mail out.
Image courtesy of Paperless Post
Décor:
Party décor is important because it sets the mood. Halloween is known for its orange-and-black color combination, with orange generally representing harvest and black the darkness. Luckily, Breeders’ Cup purple is a perfect accent for Halloween and commonly added alongside slime green.
Jack-o’-lanterns are always fun to carve – whittle out your favorite horse’s silhouette or take an idea from one of these impressive horse Halloween pumpkins.
JACOK-O'-LANTERNS
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
I created my own Breeders’ Cup banner for a personal touch.
Here’s how:
1. Cut out purple circles of scrapbook paper.
2. Stencil out each letter of Breeders’ Cup onto thick cardboard.
3. Spray each cardboard letter with adhesive glue and quickly sprinkle on gold glitter.
4. Repeat previous step two times per letter to make sure they’ve reached their gold glittery potential.
5. While the letters are drying cut, strips of gold scrapbook paper into .5’’ x 4’’.
6. Once the letters have dried, glue them onto the purple circles (dots of hot glue gun work best).
7. Attach the purple circles to a gold string by folding the gold paper strips, looping them around the strip and gluing the ends onto the circles.
8. Hang up your beautiful banner!
Food:
No party is complete with themed food, and there are countless ways to add a goulish touch to your finger food. It should be no shocker to anyone that knows me that this is my favorite part.
Instead of your typical pigs-in-a-blanket meal, wrap full-size hot dogs with strips of crescent dough to give them a mummy look. Pillsbury has a Cheesy Crescent Mummy Dog recipe that's sure to be a hit.
Doctor up your jalapeno poppers with almond "fingernails" to create edible "witch fingers."
Serve spinich dip in a pumpernickle dough bowl for a spooky-cauldron look.
Nestle chicken nuggets between two mini pumpkin waffles for a fall take on these delish chicken and waffle sliders. Serve with a bourbon (Kentucky-approved) maple syrup.
Sweets are overly abundant during Halloween so why not have a whole trick-or-treat bar, complete with an apple dipping station, bowls of assorted candy, white chocolate-dipped ‘ghost’ strawberries and more.
Y’all – yes, that’s my Georgia coming out – this Halloween bark is to die for. Not only does it include my favorite Halloween candy (hello candy corn), but it’s extremly quick and easy to whip up.
HALLOWEEN BARK
Photo courtesy of Family Fresh Meals
If you’re still not sure what to whip up, check out our horse racing viewing party Pinterest page for more ideas.
Beverages:
Spirits and Halloween go hand-in-hand.
Mix up a batch of Dark and Story Death Punch, Bloody Orange Cocktail, Bleeding Heart Martini or Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer for your guests that are looking for spine-chilling alcohol drinks.
You can also serve the Tito-crafted official drink of the Breeders’ Cup – The Classic.
The Classic
1.5 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
.5 oz St. Germaine
1.5 oz fresh grapefruit juice
Top with club soda
Serve on the rocks
THE CLASSIC
Frankenstein-worthy non-alcoholic drinks include Boo-nilla shakes, Magic Potion Punch, Bubblin’ Swamp Juice and my childhood favorite, Witch’s Brew.
Witch’s Brew
1 can of frozen limeade
1 2-Liter bottle of ginger ale
1 quart of sherbet
Mix the limeade and ginger ale into a punch bowl and add the sherbet by the scoopful. For a more adult beverage, spike it with vodka.
Games:
My family is notorious for bringing games to every party and holiday function we attend and I don’t believe that any party is fully complete without a game or two!
HORSE RACING GAME
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Here are two fun games for you to play at your Breeders’ Cup Halloween party:
Bobbing for apples has long been a fall tradition – revamp this childhood favorite by floating the apples in ’Blood Red’ sangria or a bourbon apple cider. Cut the apples in advance and let them soak in the liquid in the fridge.
Pick a pony: you can do this for each of the Breeders' Cup races or just for the Classic. Have everyone pay $10 (or the denomination of your choice) to the pool. Put the names of each horse into a hat and have each person draw a slip. Once the race is over, the person with the winning horse can take the entire pool, or you can choose to divvy it up with 65 percent to first, 25 percent to second and 10 percent to third.
Fashion:
One of my favorite parts about going to the races is dressing up and Halloween adds an extra fun twist to the dressing up aspect.
Check out another ABR blog for some Halloween-Inspired Breeders' Cup Fashion ideas that include costumes-turned-track-outfits that Jasmine, Jack Sparrow, Clark Kent and more would wear for Breeders’ Cup, or Halloween costumes inspired by your favorite racehorse.
THE GREAT GATSBY-THEMED OUTFIT
Photo courtesy of Polyvore
Opt for a race-inspired costume by donning you finest Kentucky Derby dress or seersucker suit. My friend Christine Moore of Christine A. Moore millinery makes the more gorgeous hats that are the perfect investment for your racing wardrobe.
The most important part of your Breeders’ Cup Halloween party is that you get to enjoy the races and have fun. Let me know what your plans are for the big day!