No stylish hats. No colorful dresses. No infield crowd. No crazy costumes. No grandstand gawkers. No paddock seekers. No smell of cigar smoke. No mint juleps. No fans. No noise.
"It's going to be weird," said Jack Wolf on Friday.
Jack Wolf is from Louisville. Bruce Lunsford lives in Louisville. Both own horses expected to be entered in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Wolf is part owner of Authentic, winner of the Haskell Stakes on July 18. Lunsford owns Art Collector, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes on July 11 and the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9. Both horses are considered credible threats to certain favorite Tiz the Law in the 146th running of horse racing's most famous event.
Only this isn't any ordinary Derby. It's a Kentucky Derby during a coronavirus pandemic. Instead of its traditional date of the first Saturday in May, it's a Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in September. Instead of the pomp and pageantry that makes the Kentucky Derby the Kentucky Derby, it is being run at Churchill Downs without fans in the stands.
Said Lunsford, "Probably the thing I'll miss the most is the crowd's roar when they leave the gate."
On a basic equine level, it is still the nation's best and healthiest 3-year-olds vying for immortality. And it will not be the first 2020 horse race to be run before empty seats. By now, we are used to that, be it Keeneland, Churchill Downs or beyond. And there will be wagering, maybe more than ever before.
But it won't be the same. Not really. Not without the spectacle _ 150,792 fans a year ago. That's why Churchill postponed the race in the first place. The hope was a four-month delay would allow time for treatments, maybe even a vaccine, or at least behavior that would bring the pandemic under control. Didn't happen. The presence of persistent protests in Louisville over the death of Breonna Taylor added to the uncertainty. Originally hoping to allow up to 23,000 fans, Churchill ultimately opted to keep the gates closed.
"What I'm hearing is that we're getting eight tickets per horse," said Wolf, who runs Starlight Racing. "We've got many more partners than that, of course. It's obviously going to very limited."
"The trainer gets six and he gets his family taken care of and I'm really happy for that," said Lunsford of Tommy Drury. "Initially when they said no fans, his daughter heard him talking and she had a tear in her eye. And he said, 'Don't worry, you're going to get to go.'"
Art Collector is Lunsford's first Kentucky Derby horse. Thirty-two years in the business, he was expecting 55 guests Saturday. Wolf's syndicate has owned shares in several Derby horses, including 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Wolf has partners in Atlanta as well as Kentucky. Some have horses racing at Saratoga this weekend. They might throw a party there.
"It's going to be disappointing," Wolf said. "But the main thing I'm very pleased about is all the tracks that are running. At least we're giving the horses the opportunity to run, albeit a different environment totally."
Keep the main thing the main thing. In Saturday's case, the main thing is the opportunity to win a Kentucky Derby.
"I just want to win the race," said Barclay Tagg on Friday. Tagg is the 82-year-old trainer of Tiz the Law, winner of the Belmont and Travers. He trained 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide. "I'm not trying to be a smart-ass. I just want to win the race. Quiet can't hurt because we've had quiet for all his races all along. It doesn't bother me to have it quiet.
"It's nice with the fans there and all that. It's a great sport and we want to keep everybody happy and have everybody enjoying the sport. But strange things happen sometimes and we're in the middle of that."
Sans spectacle, trainers and owners might see something pure in Saturday, a singular focus on the day's true star, the horse.
"The day we won the Blue Grass, I wouldn't have been any happier if there had been a crowd," Lunsford said. "I did win the Ashland Stakes (2004 with Madcap Escapade) and it was a big thrill when she came back up the track and she got a huge standing ovation. But I was so excited that day, I didn't even really notice. I don't think it'll be any different at the Derby."
After all, it is still the Kentucky Derby.
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Bruce Lunsford thrilled to win Blue Grass Stakes with homebred
Bruce Lunsford, owner of Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector at Keeneland, talks about the breeding and his partnership with Seth Hancock and Bernie Sams of Claiborne Farm. Art Collector won his third straight race for trainer Tommy Drury. BY JOHN CLAY | KEENELAND
