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CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, LOUISVILLE, Kentucky-
The 146th run of the Kentucky Derby, originally scheduled for May 2 and then to Sept 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., will go forward next month without a live audience and no spectators in the stands due to the coronavirus, and so will the 146th Longines Kentucky Oaks, which has been rescheduled from May 1 to Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs.
This news comes as the city deals with national backlash from the March 13 Louisville Metro police killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, a Black Emergency Medical System technician.
Billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey bankrolled some 26 billboards throughout the city calling for the three involved White cops to be criminally charged.
Just days ago horse racing officials said the Derby race would go forward on Sept. 5 with a televised audience limited to 25,000 people, or 14 percent of 165,000 people the stadium at Churchill Downs holds.
But that decision has since been changed amid the re-spiking of the pandemic in late June, Kentucky ranking 11th of all 50 states and the District of Columbia relative to the deadly disease with some 42,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 864 deaths.
The United States alone, which leads worldwide in both cases at deaths, has reported more than 170,000 coronavirus casualties.
Only essential personnel and participants will be permitted on Churchill Downs property and ticket holders for all Derby week race dates and related programming, including Dawn at the Downs, will be automatically issued a refund, Derby officials said.
NBC will televise coverage of the Kentucky Derby and under card racing on Sept 5 from 2:30-7:30 p.m. ET. and the 146th running of the Kentucky Oaks will be televised on Friday, Sept. 4 on NBCSN from 3-6 p.m. ET
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, supported the decision and said "I applaud Churchill Downs for continuing to monitor the virus and for making the right and responsible decision.”
The tradition is for the coveted Derby horse race to occur the first Saturday in May of each year, a tradition that caps a two-week long Derby festival and that has for the second time in history been rocked by an international crisis, this time a pandemic that has brought the world to its knees.
“For the second time in the 145 year history of the Kentucky Derby, the first time being at the end of World War II, we will move the date of the Derby,” said Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen after the derby was rescheduled earlier this year from the first week in May to Sept 5.
Carstanjen said that "while we are always respectful of the time-honored traditions of the Kentucky Derby, our company’s true legacy is one of resilience and embracing of change and unshakable resolve."
The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, originally set for May 16, was postponed by Maryland Gov Larry Hogan and has been tentatively rescheduled to Oct. 20.
And Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York, the third leg of the Triple crown, was postponed from its original June 6 date to June 20, Tiz the Law, ridden by jockey Manny Franco and the heavy 6-5 morning line favorite, becoming the first New York-bred horse to win the Belmont Stakes since Forester in 1882.
If the Preakness goes forward in October as scheduled, it would be the first time in history that Belmont Stakes is the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, the second leg, and Preakness Stakes, the third leg.
Last year's Derby race, held on May 4, 2019 at Church Hill Downs, was steeped in controversy.
In spite of a muddy track from rain that came down on and off all day and sprinkled at the start of the race, long-shot Country House, with a 65-1 odds, won the 145th Kentucky to bring home the $3 million purse, a win by technicality after Maxim Security, the favorite with 4-1 odds, was disqualified for an improper lane change after crossing the finish line.
The $2 exacta paid out $3,009.60 relative to Country House, the $1 trifecta, $11,475.30, and the $1 superfecta brought $51,400.10, more than double the $1 superfecta payout last year
Among the celebrities there in 2019 were Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Vivica Fox, Steve Harvey, media personality Laila Ali, who is the daughter of the late boxing great Muhammad Ali, a Louisville native, Tom Brady, now quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a six-time Super Bowl winner when he was head quarterback for the New England Patriots, and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, a Heisman Trophy winner.
Mayfield played an official role as an announcer and gave the welcome and the “Riders Up” call to the jockeys prior to race, “Riders Up!” the traditional command for jockeys to mount their horses and head to the starting gate.
Officials said the crowd at Churchill Downs was at roughly 150,000 people in 2019, down from the year before when the attendance was 157,813, the rain a factor in 2018 too where Justify, with 5-2 odds, took first place, followed by Good Magic, which placed second, and Audible, the third place winner that year.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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