Off To The Races: The Annual Goat Derby At The Winery At Wolf Creek

“It’s like the Kentucky Derby…but with goats.”

That’s what I’d been saying for months when asked what I was most looking forward to this year. I’d say ‘The Goat Derby!” and then get weird looks.

This year was the 5th Annual Goat Derby to raise funds for local animal charities. It’s held at The Winery at Wolf Creek in Barberton, Ohio near Akron. We had no idea what to expect but when I mentioned it to our friends who live near Akron, they agreed that the Goat Derby – in all its glory – had to be done.

A note for all my concerned animal lovers out there who are worried where this goat racing is going based on the high stakes and standards of horse racing. Stay with me. You’ll see that this is no ordinary ‘derby’ style race.

The first step to any great derby is a hat. And not just any hat. A spectacular hat.

I set about making hats for me and Stephen while in Toledo. Stephen’s was a play on words which works for him because if you know Stephen – puns are his thing. I therefore created a “2018 Goat Derby” for him. This was a 2018 graduation sign (altered), two plastic goats and a derby shaped silver hat.

I found a good hat at the thrift store, but then went with a better, more ‘derbyish’ hat at the dollar store which is also where I got all of my supplies. Stephen’s hat would have matched my original hat. But with such a punny hat, how could he not keep it even when my design went in another direction.

My hat was straw, adorned with flowers, ribbons, grapes, wine glasses with ‘wine’ in them, and two plastic goats. It was fabulous.

Our biggest challenge was finding goats. We got lucky and found bags of farm animals at the dollar store, but they only had one goat per bag. So we ended up spending $4 just to get enough goats for our two hats. I then used marker to make them look more ‘goat-like’ with coloring and then added numbers to make them racing goats.

Once our hats were ready it was only a matter of waiting for the Goat Derby itself. Ugh. The agony of another week. Not only for goat racing excitement but also trying to keep our hats safe! They were too much work to have them fall apart before we even got to the Goat Derby (it was a good call since mine was dead by the end of the day!).

The day finally arrived. I got ready with Megan in the most gorgeous setting that one can get ready for a Goat Derby in – a regal bathroom with many mirrors, frills and hairpins. She made my hair look so fabulous. Sadly, my hair is long and heavy and generally obnoxious (although pretty) and so my up-do only lasted a short while. But, for an hour or so, I was so Goat Derby glam!

The event is free, but you do need to reserve tickets so they can have an idea of how many guests to expect at the winery. That being said, they didn’t check tickets at the event. There was a food truck, a few tents, a T-shirt and photo table with goats, the cafe area, the race “track” and people. Lots and lots of people. Did I mention people?

The races are “run” – I use that term loosely – at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm, although we arrived just after the first race. Stephen got in line to get some of wine from The Winery at Wolf Creek. We decided we’d get in line for food after the 3 pm race since hopefully the line would’ve died down.

We realized we’d forgotten our picnic blankets but found a wonderful spot on the grass near the raceway. Megan’s sister came to the rescue with blankets and picnic food deliciousness. You can bring your own food to the event, but not your own alcohol… for obvious reasons.

After 20 minutes I went to find Stephen in the drinks line to find he was only halfway there! (Whoooooa!) I waited with him since we decided to get all the wine we’d want in one trip. After a total of 45 minutes we had 3 bottles of wine and a cheese and cracker snack basket they were offering, with cheese from Grandpa’s Cheesebarn (more on that in a later post!). The wine was delicious and paired nicely with the cheeses I’d chosen. My favorite wine, despite being a white, was White Lies. It was light, fruity and perfect for the Goat Derby.

Finally, it was time for the big event. All the goats lined up in their numbers, including a little one in a polka-dot racing jersey, and took their marks with their handlers.

The countdown… 3…2…1… and their o.. um… standing still. Running the wrong way.

Walking. Stopping and pooping. Being gently cajoled up the hill by embarrassed teens. Turning around. Running outside the track.

And we had a winner – 007!

You could “bet” on goats by donating in jars with their numbers on them for local animal charities. Sadly, my goats didn’t win either time. The baby goat in the polka-dot jersey turned out to be in training after her mom “retired” from the races this year.

Stephen went to get food after the 3pm race but the food truck was already closed, so we were thankful for Courtney and her sandwiches. We relaxed in the sun and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon waiting for the final race at 5pm. It turned out much like the first with goats running amok all over the course and one ‘escaping’ towards his pen.

Getting in and out of the Goat Derby was very efficient and easy. We didn’t have a ridiculously long wait at either end. That part of the event was run exceptionally well.

I’d say that most of the event was great. Not knowing what to expect, but being ridiculously excited about it, it definitely met most of my expectations. A few things I might like to see done a little differently when I come back in the future – because I do plan to come back – had to do with the logistics of so many people at an event, rather than the event itself.

Parking – Great, no issues.

Food – Have more than one food truck/vendor on site or plan for one to come early and one to come later. We didn’t bring food because we saw ‘food trucks’ in the advertisement. The line for the one food truck was so long it was off-putting and then by the time you planned to get food it was all gone. I’m sure there were some disappointed folks in that line when they ran out after all the waiting.

One thing they did well was having the snack packs on offer. After a 45 minute wait I was gladly ready to pay the $16 for the cheese, crackers and cookies on offer. And knowing the amazingness of Grandpa’s Cheesebarn, it was also good value for what you got.

Drinks – Having a few different locations to purchase wine would have been useful. The line for that was also extremely long. With different tents set up around the grounds of the event (or within the cafe area) would’ve allowed for shorter lines. Even taste-specific lines might’ve been good for those only wanting whites or reds.

Once we did reach the bar though our server was polite and efficient despite being harried from the long lines and business.

Tents – A few more signs directing you to “betting” would’ve been appreciated. We had to really search for it and since that’s really what the event is about, it would’ve been great to find it easily and in multiple locations. Even a volunteer walking around collecting bets wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Races – One or two more races would’ve been nice. It didn’t seem to be particularly taxing on the goats (and even better if they ran downhill instead of up) and it would increase the chance for ‘bidding’ for the fundraising element.

Having two hours between each race felt a little long. Even while eating, drinking and watching kids have fun (the children kind rather than the goat kind), it was quite a wait for the main events.

That being said, the races, and I use that term loosely, were hilarious and made my day. The volunteers (who were teens so maybe from the 4H which was also there?) were very good with the goats and made it a lot of fun to watch.

Derby Competition – There was a competition for the best derby wear. The prize went to a group of well-dressed ladies, but with at least a hundred people crowding around the judge it didn’t seem like the best way to hold the competition. I’d be disappointed that I didn’t win, except that I don’t even think anyone got a chance to see my hat in order to win.

I’d love to see a set area where those that want to compete get their picture taken and uploaded to the event page and then everyone can vote from their phones for winners. Another suggestion is to offer more than one large hamper for the winner(s), although that makes a great grand prize. Maybe have 10 possible winners who get a bottle of wine each made by The Winery at Wolf Creek.

Kind of like dog shows, have votes for silliest, best derby hat, best derby wear, etc. and then have the final round of voting from those categories at a certain time for ‘best in show’ for the hamper.

No matter what, I loved making my hat, as I could tell many others did too.

These are just ideas I had for how to make it even better. As I’ve said above though, it was a great event and a lot of fun. I’d highly recommend a trip to The Winery at Wolf Creek for the Goat Derby at least once in your life for a day of fun, sun and goat runs!

This wasn’t the only Derby we’ve attended on our road trip. Check out our post all about when we attended the 145th Kentucky Derby in 2019.