Churchill Downs Thurby Tickets

My family had a wonderful time experience was unbelievable.

Food was horrible. Ran out of alcohol very conveniently quick! Super crowded. Poor signage at Churchill to our location. Employees need to be better trained on giving directions. Long lines. Oh, and, bonus. . .my wife, a couple of our friends, and I now have Covid. We did not ride there or sit close to the friends who contracted COVID. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

The seating was ok. It was impossible to see the results of the race as the screen in front of us was so small. Food was basic stadium food. Not many races passed in front of us, only the turf races.

As a seasoned Derby day attendee (traveling everything from Chicago) I've never had a bad experience. That is, until this year with Thurby and Oaks. Our Homestretch Club tickets on Thurby were supposed to be a treat of convenience. We arrived early to beat the crowds. Instead we spent the first 2 hours (literally 4,000 steps) to find the actual section. NO signage (aside from a "street sign" post near the museum). Not ONE SINGLE staff member knew where it was located and we were misdirected multiple times by "Information" and Security. Having an elderly ticket goer with me made this journey very frustrating and physically painful having to walk up and down various levels of stairways, multiple times. Once we finally found out where to go, we had to wait nearly 90minutes to receive a bracelet before going inside the Homestretch Club. After entry, we came into MORE LONG LINES! So long in fact that we missed the first 5 races. The Bar staff was wonderful but you could tell that they were stretched thin on numbers. I recommend at least 3 to 4 lines designated specifically for beer/seltzers only WITH SIGNAGE. And ditch the mixed drinks such a bloody Mary's, etc. Stick to what works; pre-batched Spires, Lilies and Mint Juleps. The food itself was excellent, as was the presentation. However there wasn't very many finger food/appetizers that didn't require a knife/fork and table to rest your plate on. The only saving grace that we had to refresh ourselves on a beautiful sunny/warm day was to have easy access to the coolers containing water and sodas. Otherwise we would've over heated! The ladies rooms also need at least 2 attendees to maintain the toiletries. Quickly, for our Oaks experience....the extremely LIMITED number of ladies restrooms is shameful!!! So many women waiting for a minimum of 30munits to use TWO known functioning lavatories with BROKEN door latches and no toilet paper to use? Instead of forcing the women at the Downs to use portable toilets, why not reserve those for the men? Ladies with multiple layers of undergarments, heels, dresses and big hats cannot be expected to use those dark, plastic boxes. Also the long lines of up to another 90minutes for food was ridiculous! IT wasn't like this at last year's Derby. I'm not sure what has changed outside of the new construction for the Homestretch last year and this year's Paddock but I truly hope that things will improve in time for the 150th anniversary! Otherwise, we may need to break from tradition and celebrate (with our $$$$ elsewhere like Keeneland for future racing.

There needs to be more signs for direction to the Homestetch Club. The lines to get a drink were extremely long. There was not enough tables set up to eat. The food was great!

...Not Go baby Go. We were in third floor clubhouse and I have never seen betting window lines so slow on early races. We ended up using our twinspires accounts. Some even downloaded the app, but that is part of the fun for our out of town and out of country guests. The lines for drinks were even slower. I waited almost an hour. We brought our own food, thank goodness. We thought we would go all inclusive next year but the reviews I've read are even worse. In the past, Ive seen tubs of mint julips and lily's pre-prepard but not this year. The only process that went well was the bus transport from the Ky expositon center to and from the track. Hoping CD works out the issues next year.

This review is specific to the all-inclusive Homestretch Club tickets we purchased. The logistics of the event were just awful. Reasonably speedy entry into the main track only to find a line longer than a football field to get access to the Homestretch club. Okay maybe this line will move fast. Nope! 45 minutes in this line to arrive at a packed bar area where the wait for drinks was an additional 30 minutes. Once we finally got some drinks and settled to our seats, we decided to go for the food buffet only to find it close to empty, gearing down to be shut down. After all this, things did improve. Lines were shorter and moving at more reasonable speeds and the day and track were beautiful. But then came the final negatives. We returned to the bar to rehydrate with water and get one last drink, only to be told THERE WAS NO MORE WATER ANYWHERE IN THE HOMESTRETCH CLUB and the all-inclusive deal ended at 5pm. So if I want a bourbon, that will be $15. Okay, that's lame. But sure, end the all-inclusive any time you want. Even if there are 2 races left and there were no obvious signs posted indicating the time the all-inclusive ended. But no access to water... are you serious?!?!? Of all things you absolutely shouldn't run out of, it's freaking water. That's a shameful blunder and quite possibly the final straw that has us never coming back to this deal again.

My wife and I went to Thurby and had a great time! I grew up in Louisville but had not been to Churchill Downs since 1996. So much has changed and it is such a larger venue now. Honestly, we had a great day for Thurby. No complaints really other than the lines for drinks and concessions were long and a bit slow but it was to be expected as the attendance was well over 50,000 on the day. Highly recommend you check out Churchill Downs.

With over 50,000 in attendance, it's evident that Thurby is no longer the day that just the Louisvillians go. Well equipped with the hats and seersucker suits, it is a great way to warm up for Oaks and/or Derby. Good races, not as crowded, and a lot of people enjoying the day at the races. Thurby is NOT all-inclusive so bring cash and card.

Great food, Great weather! Everyone looked nice and it was such a vibe!!!!! I look forward to going back next year.