Kentucky Derby 2016: Celebrities strut the red carpet at the horse racing event of the year

While everyone is well aware that the horses are the true stars of the Kentucky Derby, it is hard to ignore all the chatter about the other stars that the world obsesses over who have made the trek to Louisville for the race (and the parties the night before).

The most notable name for sports fans will likely be Kate Upton. And that’s because -- uh -- she’s engaged to Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, of course. She may be known for appearing in the occasional Sports Illustrated issue, too. Plus, in horse racing-related news, she was the 2016 Oaks First Lady for the Kentucky Oaks races on May 6.

Comic book readers and CW watchers will be happy to know that Arrow’s Stephen Amell showed up, though he didn’t shoot anyone with his bow. Kind of disappointing, to be honest.

Also making an appearance was Robin Thicke. For those who don’t know, he apparently sings. Some other singing people -- Steve Johnson, Brittany Howard and Zac Cockrell -- from the rock group Alabama Shakes were also there.

Also on the red carpet were Tara Lipinski (oh, hey... I remember her!) and fellow figure skater Johnny Weir. Television’s Gayle King, somebody named Joey Fatone, journalist Megyn Kelly and actor (?) Adrian Grenier also were allowed into events.

Oh, and Ted Cruz. We’ve been told he’s a liar by this crazy guy who wears a wig, but there are pictures to prove it, so he probably will just exaggerate what happened while he was there.

There you have it! All the amazing celebrity sightings from the 2016 Kentucky Derby events and galas.

Pretty thrilling, right? And guess what? No amount of mint julep is going to help you get the time back that you just used up reading about those folks, just because they are famous. And you’re not. Of course, neither am I. And I’ll drink to that! Though I won’t play the harmonica for you. I’ll leave that to The Hedgehog.