Churchill Nines: Watch the Kentucky Derby at The Nines Hotel in Portland

Earlier this week I had a chance to stop in on the 8th Floor of The Nines Hotel to get a sneak peek at the plans for the inaugural Churchill Nines party in May. This is a chance to watch the Kentucky Derby, AKA “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” with a festive crowd under the light-filled atrium alongside the hotel’s onsite restaurant, Urban Farmer.

We tried a few of the scheduled eats, mint juleps were passed around (more on the NA option later), and I had a number of interesting conversations with folks there—on both the upcoming Derby event and some thoughts and feelings about the efforts in service of a vibrant downtown Portland.

Churchill Nines: The Basics

The event, billed as “a luxury viewing of the Kentucky Derby,” will take place in the seating area outside Urban Farmer on Saturday, May 2, from 1pm to 6pm. Tickets are $95 each and include:

• A welcome cocktail and two drink tickets, plus a commemorative julep cup.
• Savory and sweet food, including Southern-inspired BBQ fare.
• The viewing of the race and the party itself, as well as photo-finish portraits.

This is the very first Derby event at The Nines—and one of the few in Portland—and they anticipate it to be the social event of the spring. As is the case at Derby parties, elaborate hats are welcomed and encouraged; and it’s fair to expect to see guests dressed in sundresses, seersucker suits, bow ties, and fedoras. There will be contests for Best Dressed, Most Dapper Hat, and Most Dashing Couple.

Along with eating (Southern fare) and drinking (mint juleps and other curated cocktails), there will be a mechanical bull, corn hole, raffles, and horse betting. A portion of the proceeds from all of this goes to benefit Portland Backpack, an anti-hunger nonprofit dedicated to “[serving] children who are at risk of hunger by providing food sacks for weekend days.”

Churchill Nines Tickets

You can buy your tickets via the event’s TicketTomato site. As I mentioned, general admission tickets are $95 but you can level up to a VIP experience for groups of four to 15. These options include everything the general admission ticket offers, plus:

• Jockey Club: $500. Reserved table for four guests, you get four entry tickets, and an area server.
• Homestretch Owners Box: $1,500. You’ll be in a glass cube with seating for six guests, you get six entry tickets, a dedicated screen for viewing the Derby, bubbly to toast your day, and a designated server.
• Finish Line Owner’s Box: $2,500. You’ll be in a larger glass cube with seating for 15, you get 15 entry tickets, a dedicated screen for viewing the Derby, bottle service of bubbly, one grazing nibble replenished, and a designated server.

Some of the Churchill Nines Food and Drink We Tried

They had a few things available to taste, including deviled eggs, one of them topped with bacon; hush puppies; and s’mores. I believe the eggs and hush puppies were made there at Urban Farmer. The s’mores were made by Marsh & Mallow.

The eggs were tasty, savory, and easy to just pop in your mouth. I don’t eat hush puppies too often, so I’m no expert, but these were nicely cooked and had a bit of savory and acidic seasoning on top that brightened up the hush puppy.

Marsh & Mallow Co.

The Marsh & Mallow folks were making s’mores a la minute. There were three kinds: peanut butter caramel (peanut butter spread with a caramel marshmallow), strawberry lemonade (lemon cream with a strawberry marshmallow); and the original with dark chocolate (from Woodblock Chocolate) and a vanilla marshmallow.

Marshmallows are vegan, and graham crackers are gluten-free; much of what they offer is dairy-free. And all very tasty.

Drinking

They were passing around mint juleps, but since I don’t drink, I did not partake. But they looked really good.

Instead, I had their NA drink, the Peach Fuzz: Peach black tea, cucumber, and ginger beer. Apparently it’s been on the Urban Farmer menu for a while and is very popular, and I can understand why. It was very summery, with the cucumber giving warm weather vibes. I liked that the ginger beer was not overpowering, too.

Other Vendors To Expect at Churchill Nines

On the eating and drinking front, there’s Anheuser Busch for beer, Maker’s Mark for whisky, DHOS for zero proof spirits, Stoller Estate for wines, Straightaway for cocktails, Marsh & Mallow Co. for s’mores, Sweet Creature for sweets, and The Platter Girl for savories.

T’Kara Starr will be the mistress of ceremonies, too. You can see the full range of partners here.

A Chat With Bryan Woolley

Bryan Woolley is the Director of Food and Beverage at The Nines Hotel. This Churchill Nines event was his idea, inspired by the Derby parties he’d attended back east. One of the TV stations—KGW—filmed him talking about Churchill Nines, and after that I was able to wander over and chat him up.

Here is some of what he said in his pitch to TV land (edited and condensed so as not to repeat too many details written earlier in this article):

“We’re so excited to bring forth our inaugural Kentucky Derby party here at the beautiful Nines Hotel in Portland, Oregon,” Bryan announced. “We’re going to transform this entire atrium into the hottest ticket. So you can expect to come and sip on the delicious Maker’s Mark mint juleps, Straightaway Cocktails, [enjoy] Marsh & Mallow, Platter Girl, and amazing food and beverage bites from Urban Farmer.

“So if you really enjoy Southern fare, this is definitely the place to be. Tickets are still available. We are not quite sold out, but we’re getting there, so don’t wait on it. Make sure you dress to the nines! [On May 2] from 1pm to [6]pm we have the hottest Derby party in town. Come check us out!”

The cameraman asked, “Tell me about a couple of the vendors that are going to be here and why you picked them.”

“So Maker’s Mark is our marquee vendor,” Bryan explained. “They’re a huge partner of ours throughout the year where we do multiple activations [note: an activation is a branded event] with them. And so we’re super excited to partner with them. They’ve really brought to life our Christmas activation this past year, as well as our current cherry blossom activation on the East deck. So they are really warm and welcoming to the Nines Hotel, helping us make things happen, and make dreams come true.”

He added, “Platter Girl’s doing a crostini cart. Marsh & Mallow is doing their brilliant s’mores—all different kinds, shapes, and sizes.”

Bryan was then asked, “What are you most looking forward to?”

“I’m most looking forward to seeing everybody dressed up and the beautiful hats, the amazing entertainment from Pure Pulse and Circuit, which are our music partners. And we have a really cool surprise emcee that’s going to be here that you’re not going to want to miss!” Spoiler: I believe we mentioned the emcee above.

The Churchill Nines is the culmination of a year and a half of work and it looks like it’s going to be a fun time for all.

Hannah Raddant

Hannah Raddant is the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at The Nines, and hung out during my conversation with Bryan. She told me about the Peach Fuzz mocktail and what was in it, which I found helpful.

Why a Derby Event?

I asked them what made them want to create this Derby event. “Well, I’ve done Derby events in the past in a former life when I worked in New York City, and they were always just magical,” Bryan explained. And when I first joined the hotel about two years ago, I saw this atrium and I was all, ‘Man, we should do a massive party here!’ Number one, because it’s cool and it’s an iconic building.”

He continued, “But also, it sets us up really nicely for Derby style events. And so being able to redecorate this place in the beautiful sunshine, it just felt like the right thing to do. And I think Portland needs to have fun, especially as a city that’s just trying to get its bearings again. And why can’t we be that iconic destination for the Derby?!?”

And while the atrium initially triggered this idea for a big Derby party, Bryan said it also had to do with Urban Farmer being a steakhouse and the kind of Southern-style fare that they offer from time to time. For him, it was a winning combination.

Then he pointed to the big horse they had out on display: “Not only that, but that horse lives in our barrel room. And when I saw that also I was just like, ‘You know, makes sense.’ And we have a barrel room that’s full of barrels—whiskey and the Kentucky Derby go hand-in-hand.”

Whiskey at Urban Farmer

If you know me and my lack of drinking alcohol, it’s probably no surprise that I was somewhat clueless about Urban Farmer and their interest in whiskey, as well as their reputation as a place to get great whiskey. “We have one of the largest whiskey menus in the city,” explained Bryan.

He continued, “The fact that we were able to partner with Maker’s Mark to create our own private reserve barrel is a huge.” They have a full barrel’s-worth of bottles. And that will be available to sip on at Urban Farmer, including at the Derby party.

Efforts To Turn Around the City

Bryan and Hannah see Churchill Nines as a way to celebrate downtown Portland and entice people to come over and have a good time. They also see it as way to continue to build up a positive reputation for downtown. “I think doing something like this to bring people together, to come downtown, to help us bring it back into the fold is just something so important,” said Bryan. “We’re trying to help turn around the city, and I think events like this bring people back downtown and remind them that it’s such a special city. And that there’s just so much to offer—and especially here at the hotel.”

I asked, “Do you think things are better better now than they were in, say, 2020?” He replied, “I think so. I think that we’ve definitely made a comeback, absolutely.”

He added, “I think that sometimes you might not get all of the right information through the media. And I think that unless you come downtown and you support these businesses—not only on special occasions, but on a regular basis—the faster we’re going to be able to turn around the city.”

The Portland Boom

As I’ve been hanging out in different parts of the city, it has felt like Portland is ready to explode–in a good way. Of course, most Portlanders are ready for warmer, sunnier weather (disclaimer: I’m one of those people that likes the grey weather, along with sunny weather, too), but it’s different from that annual reveal. I see a lot of places being busy, with lines out the door, pop-ups with a terrific response, and people being outdoors being social.

“I think that I would say that the neighborhoods are 100% exploding,” said Bryan. “It’s just getting the downtown to that level, as well. And I think that we’re obviously a really important epicenter for marches and protests, and those are all really important. But it’s also important to come in and support the businesses here—this is what we need to continue to thrive. 

“And so the more people who come downtown, the more businesses will open. I think next year, the James Beard Public Market opening is going to be a massive boost to the downtown economy. And, you know, we’re going to have opportunities to partner with them coming up on the road to their opening. And so we’re working hard together and we’re trying to just push this better narrative forward to bring people down.”

---

It was great to chat with Bryan—and during our conversations we realized that we had both lived in Astoria, Queens at the same time—as well as Hannah, Lauren at Polka Dots and Picnics, and the Freddie at Marsh & Mallow. And it was fun to get a feel for this upcoming event.

Also many thanks to all the staff at Urban Farmer and The Nines Hotel—as we all know, their labor makes a place run smoothly. BTW, here are a couple of pieces of video content that were posted from this media preview: Everyday Northwest, and KGW.

Churchill Nines, a Kentucky Derby Party
Saturday, May 2, 2026
1pm to 6pm
The Nines Hotel, Urban Farmer
525 SW Morrison Street, Portland
Ticketing link