Churchill opens with riveting Kentucky Derby and Oaks on deck

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs starts its spring meet with a clean slate Saturday night. Not only have major improvements been undertaken and completed all around these historic grounds, including a $10 million turf course, but the upcoming Kentucky Oaks and Derby are real doozies.

The last three renewals of the Derby left many fans disgruntled and all carry asterisks. Country House (2019) and Mandaloun (2021) both were awarded victory by way of controversial disqualifications, sandwiching a win by Authentic (2020) in a race contested before a mostly empty grandstand when it was delayed to September because of the pandemic.

Fingers are tightly crossed that no such trouble is in store for May 7, when the Derby will be run for the 148th time before a packed house. Both the May 6 Oaks and the Derby are coming up huge, helping to restore fans’ enthusiasm to a discernible degree for two of the sport’s highest-profile events.

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These developments have contributed to quite a buzz here at Churchill and throughout the racing world, and, with that, things get under way here Saturday night at 6 p.m. Eastern with a 10-race program that kicks off a 44-day meet.

The latter portion of the opening-night card will be run under lights first installed in 2009, most notably the $165,000 Roxelana, the race 9 feature, which has a 10:11 p.m. post time. Carribean Caper, with Colby Hernandez riding for trainer Al Stall Jr., will be a solid favorite while risking her unbeaten record against four other fillies and mares going six furlongs.

Two earlier races will be run over a turf course that underwent a complete overhaul over the last 10 months. The new surface has met with rave reviews from horsemen after being tried out in recent days, and it’ll be subjected to the rigors of full-out racing for the first time in races 4 and 8, both of them six-figure allowances.

Purses for all Churchill races once again have been set at record levels. The first maiden-special of the meet is race 6, worth as much as $120,000, an eye-catching figure that includes substantial bonuses earmarked exclusively for registered Kentucky-breds. Only claiming and starter races do not offer those added monies.

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Besides the turf course, a new $45 million section is ready for deep-pocketed racegoers, the latest in a seemingly endless series of major upgrades to this ancient facility. More are on their way, with a new $200 million paddock on the drawing board for the 2024 Derby.

This meet runs through July 4, a little longer than in prior years, with the Grade 1 Stephen Foster having been moved to July 2 as the traditional post-Derby highlight of the meet. An additional date, Aug. 13, has been established for grass stakes formerly run the same time of year at Arlington Park, which Churchill Downs Inc. shuttered last year.

After opening night, Churchill is dark Sunday, with Derby week running Tuesday through May 7. After the Derby, a four-day schedule of Thursdays through Sundays is the norm.

Oaks and Derby entries both will be drawn here Monday starting at 2 p.m.

The local forecast for Saturday calls for dry conditions and a daytime high of 83.