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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – At Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby attracts million-dollar horses and global attention, the cost of housing these award-winning thoroughbreds is surprisingly modest – a reality that becomes apparent beyond the stands and away from the pageantry.
Here, in what is known as the “backside of the Downs”, the track operates as a small, self-contained community with 47 barns housing the horses and as many as 600 workers living and working on site.
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Around 1,400 horses fill the stables across Churchill Down’s extensive grounds. (Amanda Macias/Pakinomist Digital)
“Want to guess how much it costs to rent one of these booths at the most famous racetrack in the world?” asked Stan Bowling, senior tour guide at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
“$7.50.”
The modest daily fee is in stark contrast to the high-stakes world of thoroughbred racing, where millions can go into preparing a single horse.
“Every morning, from mid-March until the end of the year, the horses will be out on the track training between 5:30 and 10 in the morning,” Bowling said.
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A view of the stables at Churchill Downs, where the rent for a single stall is $7.50. (Amanda Macias/Pakinomist Digital)
He steered a golf cart around the back, adding that by mid-March, about 1,400 horses are on site.
The grounds also include dormitories, a chapel and even a small school – part of a world that runs parallel to the show just steps away.
The back stretches across rows of mostly nondescript stalls, punctuated by a few bearing the names of famous horses and their jockeys.
Qualifying horses arrive in early March to acclimate to the track and settle in at Churchill Downs, which hosts about 750 races each year. But no race carries the same weight as the Kentucky Derby, affectionately called the “fastest two minutes in sports,” the 12th in a 14-race lineup that anchors the day’s events.
That same high-stakes investment carries over to the fan experience, where attending the Kentucky Derby can come at a high price.
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A view of the Kentucky Derby grandstand at Churchill Downs, where seats can range from $1,000 to more than $400,000. (Amanda Macias/Pakinomist Digital)
“It’s an expensive ticket, I’ll give you that, but for most people it’s a bucket list event to come see the Kentucky Derby,” Bowling told Pakinomist Digital.
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Ticket prices range from about $160 for access to the 26-acre grassy infield, where fans watch the race on big screens, to about $800 for some of the cheapest grandstand seats — while luxury experiences above the track can top $400,000.
