LEXINGTON, Ky. _ The Churchill Downs grandstand will be an eerie sight on this first Saturday in May.
There will be no people packing one of horse racing's most hallowed grounds on its most famous day. No fancy hats or seersucker suits. No revelry in the infield or mint juleps on Millionaires Row.
And no horses on the track.
For the first time in nearly 150 years, there will be no springtime Kentucky Derby in Louisville.
Not at the real Churchill Downs, at least.
The racetrack's virtual doppelganger will be as packed with partygoers _ and talented Thoroughbreds _ as ever. The coronavirus pandemic has postponed the Derby to the first Saturday in September, but the show must go on, real horses or not.
"We felt it was important for the community and horse racing fans to acknowledge and honor the traditional first Saturday in May," Churchill Downs spokesman Darren Rogers told the Herald-Leader this week. "For many of us, that date, around here in Louisville and Kentucky, is celebrated like any major holiday. We knew we wanted to use a Kentucky Derby at home concept and simultaneously have a fun way to celebrate safely at home, but also use the platform to raise some important COVID-19 emergency relief funds."
The plan they came up with has the makings of a pretty interesting show.
Earlier this year, Churchill Downs officials saw a virtual rendition of the Grand National _ run annually at Aintree Racecourse in England but canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic _ and thought something similar might work for the Kentucky Derby.
Rogers said it wouldn't have been fair to do a fantasy race of this year's 3-year-old crop, since the Derby prep calendar had already been upended (and the race is still planned to be run later this year). "What kind of race could we have?" track officials mulled.
Their idea: a race featuring the sport's 13 Triple Crown winners. To pull it off, Churchill Downs teamed up with Inspired Entertainment, the tech company that created the virtual Grand National race, to recreate the famous racetrack and 13 of its most celebrated competitors.
"You will think you're watching Churchill Downs," Rogers said. "And I have to give their team a lot of credit, because this has only been a couple of weeks in the works. And they have really done a fabulous job. When you see the video on Saturday _ the details of the facility, from the traditional shots of watching the race as you would a live Derby on NBC, the details of the grandstand, and the fans and the stands, the starting gate crew _ it's really, really well done."
