Hard To Believe This Is Their 149th Year
by McGilk on 5/9/23Churchill Downs - LouisvilleThe event was handled very poorly IMO. We had infield tickets. The lines for food/beverages/restrooms/wagering were obscene. Concessions ran out of cups and bottled water around race 10. The Derby itself wasn't until race 12 and there were 3 races after that. Exiting was a nightmare. It took us 3 1/2 hours to go 15 miles. They would only allow people to exit two different ways. Therefore there were tens of thousands of people going each of the two ways. There were barricades along Central for miles so there was no way for you to even walk away from Churchill to meet a rideshare or your ride. Only buses were allowed over the bridge as well. The routing of traffic made absolutely no logical sense. I am fully aware of the huge amount of people at the event, however I have been to many large events such as Superbowls and I've never experienced this level of incompetence in planning. I have no intention of ever returning unless these issues are addressed.