Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski (and Their Hats) Head to Louisville to Cover ...

Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir

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By Johnny Dodd

@Johnny_Dodd

05/01/2015 AT 05:15 PM EDT

It's Kentucky Derby time, but Johnny Weir who will be covering this weekend's festivities with his sidekick Tara Lipinski for NBC isn't focusing on the horses.

It's his headgear he's been concentrating on for the past week.

"[My hat] last year it was very literal," Weir tells PEOPLE. "It was called Pegasus, but this year it's a little more conceptual. I've entitled it 'To the Victor Goes the Spoils.' Think of that what you will, but it's going to be very aggressive and very fun and I'll be very proud to wear it."

This weekend's 141st running of the Kentucky Derby marks the second consecutive year that the two figure skating analysts will arrive in Louisville, Kentucky, with suitcases full of outfits and hats, looking to chronicle the local color at the event.

"We're not commentating on the horses," says Lipinski, "and this event is just so much more than that. You have the hats and the fashion and the mint juleps, and it's just such a big, fun, social event. ... I couldn't wait to get back this year."

Just for the record, American Pharoh is the 5-2 favorite to win the Derby and claim the $1.24 million first-place prize money on May 2. The bay colt will be ridden by jockey Victor Espinoza, who has won the event twice, including last year's win on California Chrome.

Weir insists that the most "shocking" thing about the race isn't what happens out on the track. "I think the most shocking thing about the Kentucky Derby is the line at the airport to leave," he says. "That's shocking in a bad way, because everyone tries to get out the next morning all at the same time and it takes forever."

RELATED VIDEO: Johnny Weir at the Kentucky Derby

Source: http://www.people.com/article/johnny-weir-and-tara-lipinski-hit-the-kentucky-derby