Kentucky Derby taking place this weekend

The Kentucky Derby, the greatest two minutes in sports, is happening this Saturday!

When you think of the Kentucky Derby, two main things often come to mind: horses and hats!

Bob Mahoney is the owner of Mary Mahoney’s and he’s also a big fan of horse races. He says he fell in love with the sport growing up in Biloxi and placing bets on the horses as a young man. “I just fell in love with it and you know it’s kind of like a bucket list, buying a horse. I tell everybody it’s a sport of kings and I snuck in the back door…so I have five racers, and I have two babies, and a mare.”

Mahoney went on to say that his horses race about every three weeks in Louisiana, but no derby contenders yet.

While some people like Bob Mahoney dream of having their horses race in the Kentucky Derby, one lady in Biloxi has made it to the big stage, well her hats, that is.

Leonie Simmons is the owner of Lavish Salon in Biloxi, but she also owns Dime Store Diva Creations by Leonie.

Simmons has been a hair dresser for many years, but the main reason for her business was creating wigs for people with medical hair loss.

Now her business has evolved to include fascinators, toppers, and her highly favored hats. Her favorite part about creating these personalized hats is channeling her creativity. “My creativity comes when somebody approaches me and says ‘hey I’m going to this event or I’m going to the derby and this is the outfit I’m wearing, and so when they just let me take those colors and kind of run with it after seeing their face shape and how petite they are, how tall they are, and then that’s when I just love to just get my creative juices flowing and just start to create and I come out with some pretty incredible things, you know.”

Not only will she have over half a dozen pieces worn at Kentucky Derby events, but she will also have a piece that will be at King Charles III’s coronation this weekend.