Once the most popular sport in the US, thoroughbred racing has become something of a niche pursuit in the 21st century. You can count on one hand the number of US racetracks that stand on their own as a tourist destination. Many of the country’s busiest tracks are in places like New York, LA, New Orleans and Miami. Their host cities overshadow them almost entirely. When it comes to a venue that has enough history and interest to draw visitors who aren’t necessarily fans of the sport Churchill Downs and Saratoga are in a class by themselves.
If you’re booking a Louisville hotel soon a visit to Churchill Downs is probably high on your list. These tips will go a long way toward letting you know what to expect and how to get the most enjoyment possible out of a day at the races. If you are looking to make the trip, don’t overlook the suburban city of Hurstbourne for good value stays and upscale convenience.
Note: Your experience at Churchill Downs will be dramatically different if you’re attending the Kentucky Derby. With the crowd swelling to 150,000 virtually everything about the race day experience changes. Not the least of which is the ticket price.
Where’s the Money? This site may contain affiliate links. Many travel sites include such links to earn a commission at no cost to readers.
Before You Go, Go Online
The Churchill Downs website is a great resource for first time visitors. The calendar page is probably the single most important thing to consult when planning your visit. Live racing occurs from the beginning of May until the Fourth of July weekend and September through November. The best day to visit any racetrack is always Saturday. Crowds and betting handle increase, and races for the better classes of horses are scheduled then.
The best days to visit Churchill Downs specifically are during the opening week of the Spring meet just before the Kentucky Derby, Stephen Foster Day at the beginning of July, and Thanksgiving and Black Friday. These are the biggest race dates aside from the Derby. The crowds are larger but Churchill Downs is such an enormous (and growing) venue that it never feels overcrowded.
I also recommend downloading the TwinSpires app before your visit. Churchill’s own mobile betting app makes it easy to deposit, bet, and cash out instantly from your bank account. There is always a promotion for new players. This can be a way to bet a small amount without risk if you are a novice. It can also save you from standing in line or being confused about how to enter your bets in person.
There is a wealth of information about the races inside the app. First timers are often confused about past performances. TwinSpires presents PP’s and statistics in an easier format. It even lets you watch a horse’s previous races with one tap. For more advanced players it is extremely useful. You can calculate exotic bets, see pools and probable payouts, and download PP’s in PDF format.
Should You Place Some Bets During Your Visit?
Yes! Absolutely. You could have a nice time taking the tour and seeing the museum. But when it comes to horse racing the betting is the whole thing. You wouldn’t visit a bingo hall and not play bingo. I believe you will have a more exciting visit if you wager at least 3-4 races. Five dollars a race over four races is only $20. That’s a paltry sum for a genuine Kentucky experience.
Before each race two people on the big screen will go over the entries. They’ll give their opinions along with any notable facts or angles about the horses in that race. They are genuinely experts and while they work for the track, the opinions are their own. They do bet their own picks. Hearing them will provide a lot of information about each race, even if you disagree with the picks. They are not there to try to steer money one way or another.
Handicapping 101
Handicapping races is a topic that goes well beyond the scope of this post. If you want my three best pieces of advice about betting they are:
Do you like the favorite? Favorites win about 35% of the time. Some horses are genuinely better than the rest of the field while still being eligible for the race conditions. This can often show through on paper. In the photos above High Front is an example of this type of entry. He did win that race as the favorite. If you can find a runner like this, or identify a favorite who is vulnerable you are off to a big head start.
Stick to the Win pools. For complicated reasons involving takeout and the math of how parimutuel betting works a novice player should almost always bet on horses to win only. Aside from the underlying mathematical advantages horses run to win. It’s exponentially more difficult to predict which horse will finish second or third. If you’re undecided among a few horses but their odds are high enough you can pick 2-3 and still come out ahead if one wins.
Know the Angles. A google search will help you with this. There’s some information you can confidently bet without knowing how to read a program. The big time trainers are big time because they win a lot. They hire big time jockeys. If a trainer from another state took the trouble to load his horse into a van and drive to Kentucky it means he’s confident his horse can win.
If a horse cost more at auction or has won more money in its lifetime there’s a reason for that. Money talks and betting on people’s actions is easier than guessing if the horse ate all his oats.
Planning Your Visit
Churchill Downs is still worth a visit even if your time in Louisville does not coincide with the live race meeting. They offer a large selection of tours which range from free to $175 per person. The free tour is just showing up with your general admission ticket and walking around with the guide for 30 minutes. On the upper end the tours include experiences like petting horses in the barns, watching morning training, bourbon tastings and buffets, and even trips to thoroughbred farms. The bigger the tour, the more you’ll want to book it in advance.
The Derby Museum is open regular hours year round. I’ve toured it in the past and it’s a nice time. It’s about what you’d expect: a large collection of silks, trophies, photos and things of that nature. I prefer watching the actual races but if you’re visiting on a dark day the museum is worth a look. Dark day visitors are also able to buy a ticket to the simulcast area for $5.00. There’s not much appeal in simulcast if you aren’t a hardcore horseplayer, but it is a way to get inside and take a peek at the track without doing a full tour.
Most visitors arriving on race days are going to opt for a general admission ticket. There are plenty of good seats available with this ticket type and it allows you to walk about and see a great deal of the facility if you prefer to be your own tour guide.
Downs After Dark
Twilight racing happens every Thursday. Select dates feature night racing on Saturdays for the Downs After Dark series. Thursdays and night races typically feature live entertainment and beer specials. I once saw New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the racetrack so some of the acts booked are very much worth your time.
Night races are pretty popular with locals, particularly college-aged fans. The experience of seeing the track and the races is similar day or night but nights can be even more accessible for families or folks not very much interested in the races.
Exit Through the Gift Shop
There are two gift shops at Churchill Downs. One is located at the grandstand entrance near the paddock area. The other is at the Derby Museum. The museum operates both gift shops and the inventory is identical in each one. The one on track is only open during live racing but the one at the museum keeps regular hours year-round.
To my mind most of the gifts and souvenirs are a little corny and overpriced. My favorites are the can koozies and an inexpensive set of pens in the colors of various owners’ silks. But most of what’s on offer is underwhelming.
My recommendation is to head up to the bar and buy a mixed drink. A mint julep comes in a metal cup. Most other drinks are served in that year’s commemorative Kentucky Derby glass. Highly collected in Kentucky, Derby glasses are the premier souvenir in Louisville. If you’d like to build a set you can even stop by a Liquor Barn where they sometimes have them available for just a few dollars.
Kentucky is home to many Peddler’s Mall locations. There are five of them on the outskirts of the Louisville Metro. These are permanent flea markets where people rent their own booths in the store and sell various items. If you have a chance to stop in here you will find a lot of junk, but mixed in with it is a fascinating array of Kentuckiana, thoroughbred memorabilia and bourbon-related items, much of them vintage and very affordable. The mall is a great place to pick up a unique Kentucky souvenir. Derby glasses are common and you can buy a set, assemble consecutive years, or hunt for your birth year.
2023 Construction Updates
At the time of this writing Churchill Downs is in the midst of ongoing renovations. The construction schedule is designed to coordinate with the Kentucky Derby. For 2023 the First Turn Pavilion opened to provide additional seating. A large awning provides shade to the whole secion which sits above a large banquet space for corporate events. This grandstand provides a unique view that is not available at other tracks. Visitors will find it much less crowded than the home stretch. I enjoyed spending some time here and it’s an ideal spot for taking photos. My only complaint is that it’s very difficult to see the big board from these seats. A smaller video board angled toward the pavilion would be a welcome addition.
A new paddock area will round out the $300M project. It is meant to be completed in time for the 150th Kentucky Derby in 2024. This necessitates the use of a temporary paddock on the far side of the first turn. For many, the highlight of a day at the races is getting a chance to see the horses up close. The temporary paddock is inconvenient to get to and really detracts from the race day experience. It would have been nice if they had put a little more effort into creating it.
The construction has closed off a significant portion of the facility. It’s unfortunate but there is still plenty to see and this shouldn’t dissuade anyone from making a trip to the track.
Food and Drink at Churchill Downs
The concessions at the track are about what you would expect; burgers and dogs, sausages, pizza, tacos and plenty of bourbon of course. It isn’t anything special but it does outperform other racetracks and most stadiums. I usually order the veggie burger and curly fries. If you feel the need to eat while you’re here you’ll find a decent square meal.
Outside the track there are not a lot of great options. Next door and practically on the backstretch there’s a diner called Wagner’s Pharmacy. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch so you’ll have to get there by 2:00 or so. If you stop in here you’ll be seated among folks working in the barns right across the street. Who knows? Maybe you can get your picture taken with Brad Cox or Steve Assmussen.
Churchill Downs is at the edge of the very large University of Louisville campus. Most of what’s around is fast food. The one place that’s worth a mention is New Wave Burritos. It’s about 3 miles east of the track so it’s not an easy walk but you can get there by car in 10 minutes or less. The menu is unique and the burritos are huge. The bar, pinball machines and New Wave music make for a very chill and not-college-y atmosphere. Unfortunately they don’t open until 4:00 pm so having lunch before a 12:45 post time isn’t an option.
Just up the street from New Wave there’s a Kentucky Fried Chicken with an all you can eat buffet inside. That’s a thing here and hey, what could be more authentic Kentucky than that?
