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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby draws millions of dollars’ worth of horses and garners worldwide attention, the cost of stabled those prized thoroughbreds is surprisingly modest, a reality that becomes clear beyond the stands and far from the pageantry.
Here, in what is known as the “back of the Downs”, the track operates as a small, self-contained community, with 47 barns housing the horses and up to 600 workers living and working on site.
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About 1,400 horses fill the stables on the sprawling grounds of Churchill Downs. (Amanda Macias/Pak Gazette Digital)
“Do you want to guess how much it costs to rent one of these stalls at the most famous racetrack in the world?” asked Stan Bowling, head tour guide at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
“$7.50.”
That modest daily rate stands in stark contrast to the high-stakes world of thoroughbred racing, where millions can be dedicated to grooming a single horse.
“Every morning from mid-March until the end of the year, the horses will be at the track training between 5:30 and 10 a.m.,” Bowling said.
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A view of the Churchill Downs stables, where a single stall rental costs $7.50. (Amanda Macias/Pak Gazette Digital)
Driving a golf cart around the back, he added that as of mid-March, approximately 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 along rows of mostly nondescript stalls, punctuated by a few bearing the names of famous horses and their riders.
Qualifying horses arrive in early March to adjust to the track and adjust to life at Churchill Downs, which hosts approximately 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 series of 14 races that anchor the day’s events.
That same high-risk investment carries over to the fan experience, where attending the Kentucky Derby can come with a hefty price tag.
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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/Pak Gazette Digital)
“It’s an expensive ticket, I admit, but, for most people, coming to see the Kentucky Derby is a bucket list event,” Bowling told Pak Gazette Digital.
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Ticket prices range from around $160 for access to the 26-acre grass field, where fans watch the race on big screens, to around $800 for some of the cheapest grandstand seats, while luxury on-track experiences can top $400,000.
