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The 147th Kentucky Derby on the traditional first Saturday in May is more of a move toward normalcy than a full return to normal.
Masks still will be largely required and the crowd likely will be well below 60% of the usual capacity. But around Churchill Downs expressions of relief are common that with some fans returning and the traditional date back in place this year's renewal will be far more recognizable than last September's 146th running without fans in the stands.
The 2021 Derby represents the first event, since COVID hit in full force, of this caliber and of this type, with fans in the seats," Carstanjen said encouraging investors to watch the telecast.
Horsemen like Louisville native Brad Cox who trains the likely Derby favorite Essential Quality and two other expected starters, Mandaloun and Caddo River echoed those feelings. They added that they're glad Churchill conducted the race in 2020.
The Derby had been run without interruption, even a century earlier during the Spanish Flu years. But the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the race four months from its traditional first Saturday in May the first date change since World War II pushed the 1945 race to June. The 2020 Derby also was, for the first time since 1931, the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Then there were the crowds that weren't. After initially hoping to host about 23,000 spectators last year, Churchill limited the crowd to owners and media. No official attendance figure was reported for what appeared to be less than even the reported 10,000 for the first Derby in 1875. The relatively few who attended wore masks, while Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who traditionally would have presented the trophy, stayed home.
Besides the measures taken for pandemic protocols, the racetrack had a Fort Knox feel with fencing around the perimeter and the presence of armed troops and police. Protestors gathered outside, part of the response to the murder of George Floyd by then-Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin and the fatal shooting by a Louisville police officer of Breonna Taylor during the serving of a search warrant.