Sunday racing during Kentucky Derby Week returned on April 26, drawing both Derby regulars and newcomers.
Organizers dubbed the event “Sunday Funday,” marking the first time horse racing had been held at Churchill Downs Racetrack on a Sunday during Derby Week since 2010.
With gates opening at 11:30 a.m. and the first race post time at 12:45 p.m., it seemed some staffers and attendees came straight to the racetrack from church.
“Some of us have to go to church and get blessed before we come,” said a woman dressed in her Sunday finest by the Paddock Gate, with 10 minutes to go before the gates opened for the day.
“Some of us stay blessed,” another worker responded.
Billy and April Bensing were among those who took in the day’s racing from the Stakes Room & Balcony.
Speaking outside the Paddock Gate, the Shively couple — dressed in bright fluorescent orange and pink — said they typically attend 502’sDay, the Tuesday of Derby Week, each year with family and friends, largely because the crowds are thinner.
But when they heard Churchill Downs was adding a seventh day of racing to the eight-day Kentucky Derby schedule, they jumped at the chance to come for a second day without the kids.
For Chad and Leslie Cooper of Jonesville, Louisiana, another day of racing meant another outfit to put together. This year marked their second visit to Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby Week, after having such a good time last year.
“We came so far to do this, we’re going all out. It don’t matter if it’s low-key or not,” Leslie Cooper said.
She added, “Our kids are all grown and gone, so we can just enjoy ourselves.”
In contrast, Taiya Hardy was attending her first horse race. She also took the opportunity to wear a brightly colored spring dress on what started out as an overcast, chilly day that later turned abundantly sunny.
“Colorado doesn’t have clothes like these,” she said of the outfit and hat, the latter of which she purchased at Pix Shoes at 210 S. Preston St. in downtown Louisville.
Also coming to Churchill Downs for the first time were Jack and Kathy Arzooyan and their cousin, Wendy Franz. The Minnesota and Michigan residents, along with seven other family members, traveled to Kentucky this past week to search for a common ancestor.
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They succeeded in finding his gravestone at Grove Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville, about 40 minutes outside Louisville.
Their flight home was scheduled for April 27, but in the meantime, the cousins decided to take advantage of everything the home of twin spires has to offer.
For Sam and Taylr Henson, bourbon was the main draw to Louisville. That Derby Week happened to coincide with their trip was an added bonus.
The couple traveled from Nashville, Tennessee, to Louisville to attend a few bourbon tastings around town. Coming to "Sunday Funday" was not on the couple's itinerary, but a spur-of-the-moment decision.
“We were up doing some bourbon tastings, and then we were like, ‘Oh, we can get in on this.’ So we went to Macy’s yesterday and bought outfits, and we’re here,” Sam Henson said.