In a fitting farewell to last year’s spectator-less Kentucky Derby weekend, jubilant crowds in pink poured into Churchill Downs for Friday’s 147th Kentucky Oaks, shaking off a year of pandemic life with the help of mint juleps, flawless skies and temperatures in the 70s.
Limited to 40% to 50% in reserved seating and 25% to 30% in the infield, sometimes-masked but always sharp-dressed fans turned out to enjoy a half-portion serving of normalcy on Louisville s traditional local day at the races, which closes business and schools ahead of the Derby.
While the infield was sparse in some areas, including a few specs of chairs in the third-turn home of historic debauchery, and box seats were spaced out, many loved not having to plow through wall-to-wall crowds in seersucker and long beer and betting lines.
Weekend Lineup: Talk Derby To Me! Sponsored by:
by NTRA | 04.30.2021 | 12:21pm
The eyes of the sporting world will be on Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., this weekend for the Grade 1 147th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve. The Kentucky Derby, “America s greatest race” is back in its traditional position on the first Saturday in May, with fans in attendance, after being held last Sept. 5 without spectators due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Grade 1 Preakness Stakes on May 15 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., complete this year s Triple Crown schedule.
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Diamond Oops and Florent Geroux winning the Twin Spires Turf Sprint on Sept. 4, 2020
Diamond 100 Racing Club, Amy Dunne, D P Racing and Patrick Biancone Racing s Diamond Oops makes his return to the grass Friday when he headlines a field of 11 for the 27th running of the $250,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2) at Churchill Downs.
The 5 ½-furlong grass test is the 10th race of the day with a 4:55 p.m. post time.
Trained by Patrick Biancone, Diamond Oops will be attempting to become the first repeat winner of the Twin Spires Turf Sprint. He prevailed by a neck in last year s running that marked his most recent start on grass.
Diamond Oops Aims for Repeat in Twin Spires Turf Sprint bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Churchill Boosts Purses By $3.1 Million Thanks To Derby City Gaming Sponsored by:
Before the first race is run Saturday on Opening Night of the 38-day Spring Meet, Churchill Downs Racetrack has announced that purses will be raised an additional $3.1 million thanks to robust business from state-of-the-art historical racing machines at Derby City Gaming.
Total purses offered in the first condition book for horsemen, which covers 190 races over 19 dates through Thursday, May 27, have grown to $22,822,100 for a daily average of $1,201,163. That represents a 5.9% percent increase from the previously published $21,544,000.
Maiden special weight races are now worth $115,000 during Kentucky Derby Week and $100,000 post-Derby, which is up from the previously published $106,000 and $91,000, respectively. Kentucky Derby Week allowance races will range from $118,000 to $125,000 and $102,000 to $109,000 after Derby. They were $109,000 to $116,000 and $93,000 to $100,000, respectivel