From Anna Nicole Smith to Jeff Bezos: How Barnstable Brown built the 'best house party in Kentucky'

As the world fires up to celebrate the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 4, another spectacular Louisville-based event is racing toward an impressive anniversary. For over three decades, Patricia Barnstable Brown has led the charge to bring star power, glamour, fashion, and philanthropy to Louisville, her hometown and the site of the iconic horse race nicknamed "The Run for the Roses."

"We like to say it's the best house party in Kentucky," said Chris Barnstable Brown, son of Patrica Barnstable Brown.

The Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala launched in the spring of 1989 when Patricia Barnstable Brown and her family invited a handful of celebrities and a few hundred paying guests to their Louisville home for a charitable gala to benefit diabetes research. The idea of a Louisville-based Derby Eve party with celebrity guests was unheard of at the time. Traditionally, galas the night before the Kentucky Derby were held near the thoroughbred horse farms in Lexington about 90 miles east of Churchill Downs.

Just because that "was the way it was done" didn't deter Barnstable Brown. But at the time, her vision to create a dazzling Kentucky Derby party in Louisville did run up against naysayers not willing to buck tradition.

"I remember a reporter from a local magazine came to my house and asked me why I would even try to compete against the celebrity parties in Lexington," remembered Barnstable Brown. "I couldn't understand why throwing a gala in the same city where the Kentucky Derby is held was such a weird idea. It was time that changed."

For those who don't remember the 1980s, it's tough to imagine Kentucky Derby weekend with few celebrity guests. Today, the steady stream of the rich and famous who flood into town is part of what makes the Kentucky Derby special.

But before 1989, celebrity attendance was hit or miss. Throughout its 150-year history, the Kentucky Derby has been a magnet for famous people like comedian Bob Hope (1950), President Richard Nixon (1969), and Prince Rainier of Morocco (1961) but nothing like the multitude of sports, legends, music icons, business tycoons and film stars Louisville experiences today.

Thirty-five years ago, the Barnstable Brown family bet on a Derby Eve gala with a hefty celebrity guest list and "went for it." The party set in motion the cavalcade of celebrity guests who have attended the Kentucky Derby for the past three decades. And in that same time frame, the charity gala has raised nearly $20 million for diabetes research that has gone to fund the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky.

"The Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center stands as a beacon of hope for people with diabetes. What makes Barnstable Brown truly great is not its four walls, but rather the people who believe in its mission," said Dr. Simon Fisher, director of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center. "I am deeply grateful for the steadfast support from the Barnstable Brown family and the visionary leadership of UK HealthCare through the years. Together, they have demonstrated remarkable foresight and commitment in establishing a center dedicated to meeting the enduring needs of individuals living with diabetes in Kentucky for generations to come.”

Why the Barnstable Brown party was named a top 10 party 'in the world'

Since its inception on Derby Eve 1989, the family has hosted A-list celebrities, from Super Bowl Champions to music, film, business, and fashion moguls. From Lloyd Bridges to Brooke Shields, Patrick Mahomes to Peyton Manning, Jimmy Fallon, Katie Couric, Tracy Morgan, Stevie Nicks, Kid Rock, Howie Mandel, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Gene Simmons, Macy Gray, Hugh Hefner, Salt 'N' Peppa, Dennis Hopper, Lindsey Vonn, Joan Rivers, Anna Nicole-Smith, Jeff Bridges, Janet Jackson, Jeff Bezos — you get the idea.

The list of party guests is long and eclectic and attracts media attention from across the globe. It's a remarkable feat when you consider that unlike New York City or Hollywood, California, Louisville isn't a hotbed for famous people, except when it's the first weekend in May.

"I think about all the people who have walked through the front door of my home," said Patricia Barnstable Brown. "Rod Stewart, Janet Jackson, Lloyd Bridges. It just feels very special that they come to my house."

You heard right. The Barnstable Brown Derby Eve party, which Conde Nast named "One of the 10 Best Parties in the World," is held in the family's Kentucky home.

Opulent from the onset, the party started relatively small in the Barnstable Brown's commanding yellow residence atop a hillside in the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville, with around 400 guests, including a dozen or so celebrities, in attendance in 1989. Jump forward 10 years and more than 1,200 guests including 50-75 famous VIPs were coming to the Barnstable Brown home for the Derby Eve party, which this year will be held on May 3 ahead of the 150th Kentucky Derby.

To create the space needed to hold the growing crowd, Patricia Barnstable Brown and her late husband, Dr. David Brown, terraced their backyard where the majority of the party takes place.

"Nothing like this party ever existed like this before and I don't think it can be replicated anywhere else in the world," said Chris Barnstable Brown. "It looks way easier than it is, but to create the unique mix of what makes this a one-of-a-kind event takes months and a tremendous amount of work. I'd say it was my mom's persistence from the start that has kept it going for so many years."

Guests are free to roam nearly every room in the Barnstable Brown home, dessert is served in the family dining room, top-tier celebrities and paying guests plop down on sofas in the living room, and people are free to wander up the staircase for a better look at the backyard and music stage from the second story balcony.

"We are a family who believes in doing the hard work to make something a success," Chris Barnstable Brown told the Courier Journal. "I feel like successful things, like this party, are the imprint of the people behind it. When I walk through the house, it's like the spirit of everyone in the family who has been a part of this party is present in the chandeliers, the tents, the stage, and the guests who come through are always full of fond memories of what they have experienced here in the past."

'We take care of everyone with class and respect'

The unexpected is always expected at this party, which could be its secret sauce and the reason people clamor to get invited.

"Everyone said we couldn't do it, but I think the way we decided to approach this party from the very beginning has made all the difference," said Patrica Barnstable Brown. "As hosts, we take care of everyone with class and respect. Every person knows they will be treated well. We want them to let their hair down and have a good time. Those are the unnegotiable qualities of this party."

The tone is set when guests step through the front gate and are personally greeted by a handsome man in a tuxedo.

Just as his father, the late Dr. David Brown did before him, Chris Barnstable Brown shakes hands with each of the party guests. He is usually accompanied by his three young children, Caroline, Catherine, and David, and his wife, Sarah.

"If you invite guests to your house, you would greet them when they come in the door," Chris Barnstable Brown said. "Our charity party is put on by our family and held in our Kentucky home so it is very important we greet everyone personally."

One of those guests is *NSYNC band member Joey Fatone, who has attended the Barnstable Brown party for more than 20 years.

"I got an invitation in 2000 from Patricia's late husband, Dr. David Brown, inviting *NSYNC to the Kentucky Derby," said Joe Mulvihill, Joey Fatone's manager. "The group was at the height of their popularity, and we all decided it would be fun to go for the weekend, but I was a little worried about taking the guys to a charity party in someone's private home. I thought it would be awkward and like being inside a fishbowl."

But within moments of arriving at the Barnstable Brown gala, Mulvihill said it was clear this was a special kind of event — unlike any they'd ever attended — where everyone, no matter their celebrity status, could let their hair down and enjoy the party.

"It was crazy," Joey Fatone told the Courier Journal. "We pulled up to the front gate, and there were hundreds of people waiting to see who would arrive. It was like an awards show."

But what happens inside might be the most magical. The large outdoor stage in the Barnstable Brown's backyard is the focal point of the party — which has become famously known for unusual musical mash-ups led by famous party guests.

In 2011, Jimmy Fallon jumped on stage and sang “Roadhouse Blues” by the Doors, and was surprised when Kid Rock joined him on stage. Country star Gretchen Wilson once teamed up with pop singer Taylor Dayne on a fiery rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools.”

Rachel Platten and Smokey Robinson performed together in 2023, and another year, Slash, Kid Rock, and Meatloaf sang along with Travis Tritt.

The tradition of these unexpected performances was never planned, it came about organically.

"It started the year actor John Goodman came to the party," remembered Chris Barnstable Brown. "He asked if he could get up on stage to sing some of the music from 'The Blues Brothers,' and of course we said, 'Sure.'"

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Goodman paved the way for countless professional musicians (and at least one talk show host) to take a turn on stage to the delight of the crowd.

"One of our trademarks has become these great performances," said Chris Barnstable Brown. "You look up on stage and think 'I can't believe who I am seeing up there singing together' because you are witnessing something totally organic that will probably never happen again."

How one woman's perseverance launched a Kentucky Derby tradition

It was during a moment like this at the party in 2019 that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos asked his host, Patricia Barnstable Brown, how she came up with the concept for such a unique and grand gathering.

"I told him how I had this idea but everyone kept telling me it wouldn't work," remembered Patricia Barnstable Brown. "But I believed it could work. Louisville is the home of the Kentucky Derby, not Lexington. Churchill Downs is only about six miles from my house."

Undaunted, in 1989 Barnstable Brown invited her famous guests with the help of her sister, Priscilla Barnstable, a model in California. The identical twin sisters are most famous as the "Doublemint Twins" from the 1970s television commercials for chewing gum. They also starred in the television series "Quark" and appeared in television shows like "The Love Boat" and "Walk Disney's Wonderful World of Color" and performed in Bob Hope’s last USO Christmas tour of Vietnam.

Together with their mother, the late Wilma Barnstable, the tight-knit group extended invitations, handled phone calls, sold sponsorships, and scheduled caterers, and florists. Wilma Barnstable was in charge of most of the phone calls and kept track of the finances, a task now handled by Chris Barnstable Brown's wife, Sarah.

A family effort since the beginning, the first year Patrica Barnstable Brown worried about attracting guests so she gathered luxurious items to give away including a mink coat, pearls, rubies, garnets, and even a new car.

Barnstable Brown laughs today when she remembers how nervous she felt the days leading up to her first party.

"I really didn't think anyone would come, but they did. Lloyd Bridges, Buck Henry, Dixie Carter, Hal Holbrook, Greg Louganis, and the next year, Cesar Romero, Rod Steiger, Madeline Kahn, James Garner, and 'Hot Lips Houlihan' Loretta Swit came and had a wonderful time. That started it all," she said.

In short order, details of the Barnstable Brown family's Derby Eve parties were making headlines in People Magazine USA Today, Forbes, The Wallstreet Journal, Town and Country, and were plastered across the internet.

In 1990, the second year of the Barnstable Brown Gala, the Lexington Herald-Leader announced, "Louisville's Celebrities Outshine Lexington's."

The article went on to say, "Lexington, look out. Your reputation for being the magnet for each year's top Derby celebrities is getting stomped by Louisville."

Chris Barnstable Brown said, "It was like a rocket had launched in Louisville."

A desire to give back and a forward-looking legacy

With each passing year, the Barnstable Brown party has continued to evolve into a grand spectacle where celebrity meets Louisville, and for a couple of days, the boundaries become blurred between the two.

But it's not just about red carpet glamour. The Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala also raises millions for diabetes services and diabetes research. The charity was selected in 1989 because diabetes ran on Dr. David Brown's side of the family. Although he was not diagnosed with diabetes when his wife launched the Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala, Dr. Brown died of complications associated with the disease in 2003.

Since his death, the Barnstable Brown family has made the essential initial investment to create the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky and has provided continuous support since 2008 via proceeds from the Derby Eve Gala amounting to nearly $20 million for diabetes and obesity research.

"It's always a lot of fun to read coverage of all the celebrities that come to town on Derby weekend but then nine, months later there is a check being cut for millions of dollars, which is donated to an actual center that researches and treats people in Kentucky with diabetes," said Chris Barnable Brown. "We're not only about raising awareness, we measure ourselves in dollars and the impact we can make on actual lives."

"My mom is a visionary, a persistent visionary and she throws the best house party in Kentucky," he added.

Today there are other celebrity parties held during the Derby season, but it's worth noting it was Patricia Barnstable Brown and her family's vision 35 years ago that paved the way to make Louisville the place to be for Hollywood heavyweights, sports legends, and movers and shakers from high society during the Kentucky Derby.

"There are people in their 30s and younger who have never known a Kentucky Derby without the Barnstable Brown Derby Eve party being a part of the weekend," said Chris Barnstable Brown. "After 35 years, it's become part of the DNA of the Kentucky Derby weekend and a positive thing for the state of Kentucky, the city of Louisville, and for the Kentucky Derby itself, year after year after year."

Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Inside 35 years of the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Eve Gala