FRANKFORT-- For some of Kentucky's politicos, the Kentucky Derby is a long-standing tradition.

Attorney General Andy Beshear says his favorite Derby memory happened long before his first election. Smiling, the Democrat from Louisville reminisced, "My brother and I would go together. We sat in what's bed described as the cheap seats, when they would pull out the bleachers and pop them up, and we were pretty far around that first turn. We went there a couple years in a row together, just the two of us. It got to the point where we knew everybody around us, so it turned into a giant picnic, where different people would bring different food every time. "

Congressman Andy's Barr's favorite memory dates back decades as well. The Lexington-based Republican reflected, "In 1998, when we saw Real Quiet win the Kentucky Derby. I've been to many Derbys since then, but as a Kentuckian, going to that first Derby experience was really, really special." He added, "I'd say, a couple years ago when I had a chance to see American Pharoah. I think at that moment, I didn't know how special and historic that was going to be."

Loving your first Derby is bipartisan, as Minority Leader, Representative Rocky Adkins says he favorite memory dates back to his first time as well. "That experience of hearing that whole realm of 'My Old Kentucky Home' to the national anthem, to the bugle being sounded, knowing that the Derby is getting ready to start, feeling excitement kind of run through that crowd, almost like a wave as you put them in the chute, and get ready to turn them loose to start the Derby. And there's no feeling when you hear that announcer say they're coming round the turn and into the stretch. It's the greatest two minutes in sports, there's no question about it. And to be a part of that, for the first time, in person, and to be able to watch that, is an experience I'll never forget the rest of my life."

Senate President Robert Stivers says his favorite memory is more recent. He said, "I think it was experiencing the Triple Crown a couple years ago, by  American Pharoah. That was historical. It had been close to thirty years. And the excitement that just was generated by that. Then, it carried on beyond the Derby."

Congressman John Yarmuth's is also fairly recent. His is "When Lady Antebellum sang the national anthem a few years ago, because I was responsible for getting them there. I had met them and they said 'we'd love to sing the national anthem at the Derby one year,' and I said, well why not. I called the track and they made it happen."

He added, "Just in terms of the winner, I was at Secretariat's Derby, and at all three legs of his Triple Crown."

Agriculture Commission Ryan Quarles says he keeps agriculture on his mind when picking his favorite Derby memory. He said, "My favorite Derby experience is getting to see the people behind the scenes. Not just the jockeys, but those who work with these horses every single day."

Wallethub calculated that the Derby has an economic impact of $400 million for the region.