At Derby, hats are back (with masks optional)

Churchill Downs ready to welcome full crowd this week.

LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Kentucky Derby is the next major sporting event to move a step closer to normalcy after two years of upheaval adjusting to COVID-19 restrictions.

After fluctuating dates and crowds, Churchill Downs will welcome everybody without restrictions Saturday, 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.

“I grew up here, so I’ve been expecting big things out of this year since it opened up to full capacity,” Louisville native Brett Rebalsky said during Saturday night’s opening at the

historic track. “Really, just seeing the city come alive again.”

The 2020 running was

delayed until Labor Day weekend, then held without spectators. It returned to its familiar spring slot

eight months later in 2021, but with limited capacity.

At the very least this year should feature the spectrum

of women in big hats and fascinators and men in seersucker suits, sipping bourbon and mint juleps as cigar smoke wafts through the air. And possibly, a bigger bottom line for a city whose identity still comes from the marquee sporting event.

The initial projected local economic impact from Friday’s Kentucky Oaks for fillies and Saturday’s Derby was $324 million. But with COVID-19 restrictions lifted for many activities and venues, local officials are optimistic of reaching or exceeding the $400 million Derby season normally generates.

It seems attainable considering last weekend’s Thunder Over Louisville air and fireworks show packed the Ohio River waterfront with people on blankets and in lawn chairs. Opening night at Churchill Downs drew 22,207, while companion events such as the Derby marathon and Pegasus Parade attracted crowds resembling pre-pandemic levels.

Event organizers are pulling out all the stops. The Derby after-party features an outdoor downtown concert headlined by Grammy-winning superstar Janet Jackson with popular R&B group New Edition.

BRYNN ANDERSON/AP 2020 The 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs returned to its familiar spring slot last year, but with limited capacity, after the 2020 race was delayed until Labor Day weekend and held without spectators. The local economic impact this year could exceed $400 million.