The 2023 Kentucky Derby turned into a Green Bay Packers reunion.
Aaron Rodgers. David Bakhtiari. Davante Adams. Randall Cobb. Allen Lazard. AJ Hawk. Matt Flynn. Jimmy Graham.
Were we watching a football game at Lambeau Field or the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs?
Rodgers, who is everywhere these days since becoming a member of the New York Jets, is a Kentucky Derby mainstay. Most of his good friends and often everyone’s significant others are part of his squad.
This year, though, the group looks to have grown. And one day wasn’t enough to celebrate.
The crew was spotted on red carpets Friday and Saturday.
Many of them attended Friday’s Barnstable Brown Party Gala, which is billed as the premier pre-Derby event, and held at the $1.2 million Bonnycastle home of Patricia Barnstable Brown in Louisville, Kentucky.
The group of current and former Packers players were part of a guest list that included celebrities such as two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith, the harmony group Boyz II Men, rapper Jack Harlow , among others. The night also included performances from Rachel Platten and Smokey Robinson.
Then came the actual Kentucky Derby, which has become a go-to destination for celebrities from all corners of the entertainment and sports worlds with everyone’s fashion just as much of a focus as the horse racing.
Rodgers and Co. documented their weekend in Kentucky on social media.
Bakhtiari, now the longest tenured Packers player, has been a regular of Rodgers’ group over the years. He wrote on Instagram that it was another “successful Derby weekend. Shoutout to the crew! Always a good time getting together for fellowship and some horse racing.” Bakhtiari, who turns 32 in September, is entering his 11th season with the Packers in 2023.
Jimmy Graham, who played two seasons with the Packers from 2018-19 saluted Lazard, who was the “rookie” of this year’s Derby.
The 27-year-old Lazard, who signed with the Jets this offseason after four-plus seasons with the Packers, looked like he fit right in.
Rodgers shared a photo from Eric Bakhtiari, the older brother of David Bakhtiari, on his Instagram account that featured the entire crew in a photo. Rodgers wrote “Everyone thinks the Derby is about the winning horse when the lesson is, it’s about the fellowship and friends that we made along the way.”
Rodgers hasn’t shied from the spotlight since his arrival in New York. He’s made Madison Square Garden his home, attending two Knicks playoff games as well as going to a Rangers playoff game with Lazard and Jets running back Breece Hall.
Rodgers said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday that being a member of the Jets is a “dream” for him. And while he added that learning the ins and outs of a new franchise after 18 years in Green Bay is a “weird” feeling, he said he’s energized in New York.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kentucky Derby turns into Packers reunion headlined by Aaron Rodgers