Equestrian
Lineup
Venue
Gate control good. So much walking only to backtrack to seats. So much in the infield now, can't see anything except right in front of you. $14 for a beer? Come on. That's a one star grade.
I have always enjoyed going to the opening night of the derby. It is a family tradition for our whole family. Pros and cons of this year. Pros: Loved the decor and theme. Food and drink was great, although way overpriced. Staff was friendly and helpful. Cons: Parking was a disaster this year. Changing the venue of the buses caused us to miss the first 5 races trying to figure out where it was at. We are from out of town and did not have any idea that it had changed. Signage was terrible for the parking. The signs that we did see had initials of the fairground. If you are from out of town and don't know what that means you are out of luck. I saw several people lost. I recognize it was a 20's theme, but the cigar smoke was so overpowering it truly ruined the enjoyment of the event. Our eyes burned so bad from the amount of smoke in the air and the expensive outfits we bought now permanently smell like cigar smoke even after getting them cleaned. I hope that is not going to be a regular experience in the future. I understand if it was part of the theme though. I don't remember past years being quite like this.
Finding our seats was a bit stressful. We missed the first race because we were misdirected 3 times. Luckily a different employee was walking out of section 117 when I was telling the other employee that where they were trying to send me for the third time was wrong. The approaching employee said my section was behind her and allowed us into the area. After that it was a fun experience but I do think there needs to be some people looking over the reserved seating area because we did have to ask people to get out of our seats once when we left for a few minutes to bet on a horse.
Must see event if you love horses. Seating was a little confusing since it was our first time at this track. So many people dressed up in the twenties era, which made it even more special.
Although the renovation is pretty, they have ruined the paddock area for the regular local gathering crowd
Very Comfortable, fun and exciting...Even won a few bucks💯
My friends and I were visiting from out-of-town for the Kentucky Derby Marathon and mini marathon and decided to come to Church Hill Downs for opening night. We are so glad we did! We enjoyed the photo backdrops, the drinks, the outfits & hats, and of course the horse races. If you ever visit Church Hill Downs during Derby Week, this is an experience you don’t want to miss.
Overall excellent experience. Beautiful night for horse racing under the stars. New paddock area is spectacular. Only criticism is drink prices are exorbitantly high!
Lots of fun, friendly people I look forward to the next
Great experience. The races, people venue were all thrilling and exciting