A BLUEGRASS STATE OF MIND
The Kentucky Derby — which has its 148th running at approximately 6:57 p.m. Eastern on Saturday — is back after experiencing two of the strangest years in its history duetothepandemic.churchilldownsagain will welcome everybody without restrictions, raising hopes of getting back to 150,000 or more beneath the Twin Spires. If attendance and participation around Louisville and other major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, Final Four and Major League Baseball games are any indication, the atmosphere for the first jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown should have a pre-pandemic feel, though masks are optional. The 2020 running was delayed until Labor Day weekend, then held without spectators. It returned returned to its familiar spring slot eight months later in 2021, but with limited capacity. This year should feature the spectrum of women in big hats and men in seersucker suits, sipping bourbon and mint juleps as cigar smoke wafts through the air.