LOUISVILLE, Ky. — From the blue carpet to the photo booth, guests arrived wearing their best formal attire to the 37th Kentucky Derby Museum Ball.
"It's just amazing, this room is absolutely stunning; it's the best ever and we're going to have an amazing night," said Ilana Kogan, one of the official milliners at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
For the first time, the iconic fundraising event was at the First Turn Club at Churchill Downs.
Kogan is a physician and is known as 'the hat doctor' on social media.
"This is my third year with them, their hat show has gotten bigger and better every single year and so has their Derby Museum gala," she said.
More than 700 guests, from locals to those visiting Louisville, celebrated the kick-off toast to 150 years of the Kentucky Derby.
It's a time to reunite for Derby fans like Deputy Mayor David James.
"I'm just really excited to be here and happy to see all of our friends and people who we haven't seen since this time last year," he said.
This ball is the museum's largest fundraiser of the year.
Guests had the chance to enter a raffle for a 3-piece gold jewelry set. All proceeds will go towards programs and exhibits in the Kentucky Derby Museum.
Patrick Armstrong, the president & CEO of the Kentucky Derby Museum, said this tradition has been going on since 1985.
"The ball was a part of the early days of the museum to support the museum as a fundraiser, so it's been going on all these years and this is one of our largest," Armstrong said.
Rhonda Jo Conner has been the chair of the museum ball for the last few years.
RELATED: Down the Stretch | These celebrities will appear at Kentucky Derby 150 parties, events in Louisville
She remembers when the event was hosted in the in-field.
"Because of the transition of going from the in-field to the museum they thought the event had kind of died and I just had this passion, I said 'no it is such a special event,'" Jo Conner said.
She and her team worked tirelessly to make this year exclusive.
"We wanted to make it really special and I really think we have with the décor and we got a great band and we're ready to celebrate 150," Jo Conner said.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.