Kentucky Derby Party Lights Unexpected Spark for Taylor Swift Fans

Love something as much as Taylor Swift fans love Taylor Swift. Give the Swifties an inch and they will take a mile. They took a marathon’s worth when one Louisville news outlet shared some news about an upcoming Kentucky Derby gala.

The Kentucky Derby draws fans from all over the world. While horse racing is the main attraction, Louisville becomes the home of some of the biggest parties in the world during the first week of May.

The Unbridled Eve Gala doesn’t have the name recognition as Barnstable Brown, but it’s a pretty big to-do. The event at the Galt House the night before the Kentucky Derby will feature music from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, Yung Gravy, Gary Clark Jr., and Jack Hues, the lead vocalist for Wang Chung. It’s quite an eclectic group of musicians.

So how does Taylor Swift factor into all of this? No offense to the aforementioned musicians, but the superstar is a little out of their league.

In addition to the food, drink, and music, the Unbridled Eve Gala is hosting a silent auction. This is where the Swifties enter the picture. Notice anything about the list of items up for auction?

• A bourbon raffle with packages from Pappy Van Winkle, Weller and Blantons.
• Chicken Cock Full Barrel Selection: Grain and Barrel Spirits will be auctioning a full barrel from their best hand selected Private Cask Bourbon Barrels.
• Taylor Swift Package: Signed guitar by Taylor Swift and two concert tickets during her upcoming 2026 tour
• Richie Sambora Guitar and Lessons: Custom designed guitar with private guitar lesson with Richie Sambora
• Custom designed bracelets from Ronaldo Jewelry
• A vacation in a five-bedroom Airbnb in historic New Orleans
• A stay in a fantastic mansion in the Florida Keys
• A stay in Eden Roc in the Dominican Republic

Buried in the middle of the WDRB story, Taylor Swift fans found an Easter egg: “two concert tickets during her upcoming 2026 tour.” Why is that a big deal? There is no “upcoming 2026 tour.”

The Eras Tour was the most successful concert tour in music history, selling out stadiums across the world in 2023 and 2024. One would expect another tour on the horizon. Taylor Swift fans are on pins and needles waiting for the news, and this press release from the Kentucky Derby party threw more fuel on that excitement.

Once Taylor Swift fans got a hold of it, WDRB quickly amended the story to say “two concert tickets for a concert during her next tour.” The Unbridled Eve Gala had to make another press release to apologize for their mistake.

“In the most recent Unbridled Eve press release, it inadvertently listed one of our auction items as a ‘Signed guitar by Taylor Swift and two concert tickets during her upcoming 2026 tour,’” gala cofounder Tammy York Day explained in an April 17 press release. “Our deepest apologies for getting the Swiftie Nation excited.”

The moral of the story: If you want to get people talking about your Kentucky Derby party, “inadvertently” dropping Taylor Swift news is a great way to grab people’s attention.

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