Churchill Downs Main Track Reopens With Derby Six Weeks Away

Horses are back on the Churchill Downs main track, working through snow in Louisville as the 152nd Spring Meet takes shape six weeks before the May 2 Kentucky Derby. The reopening signals the unofficial start of Derby preparation season at a track that seats 60,000, stables 1,400 horses across its 175-acre footprint, and has hosted the Kentucky Derby continuously since 1875.

This year's Derby Week carries more weight on the calendar than usual. Churchill Downs is expanding it from six to seven days, running April 25 through May 2 with no racing on Monday, April 27. More significantly, Opening Day on April 25 will post at 12:45 p.m. Eastern, marking the first afternoon kickoff to Derby Week since 2010. From 2011 through 2025, the meet opener ran under the lights at night. That changes this spring.

Sunday racing also returns to Derby Week for the first time in roughly 16 years. The April 26 program posts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with gates opening at 11:30 a.m. Opening Day is sponsored by LG&E and KU.

"With the Spring Meet and Kentucky Derby Week kicking off in the afternoon and the return of Sunday racing on Derby Week for the first time in 16 years, we believe our strong racing product will be well received by the local community, horseplayers around the country and our horsemen," said Mike Anderson, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack.

The full 152nd Spring Meet stretches nine weeks from April 25 through June 28, covering 44 racing dates. Tickets for Derby Week and the entire Spring Meet go on sale Thursday at noon Eastern.

For fans who want the full week, Churchill Downs is offering the Run for the Roses Package, a new all-access general admission bundle covering all six marquee Derby Week events for $296. Dawn at the Downs runs daily from April 23 through April 29, starting at 7 a.m., giving fans trackside access to morning workouts for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders. Thurby on April 30, produced in partnership with the Frazier History Museum, opens gates at 10:30 a.m. with a 12:45 p.m. first race. The Kentucky Oaks program gates open at 11:00 a.m. Eastern with a 12:30 p.m. first race.

The backdrop to all this planning is a track that has spent recent years working to rebuild confidence. Churchill Downs suspended live racing in 2023 after 12 horses died within a single month, including Rio Moon, who suffered a catastrophic injury and was euthanized as the eighth horse to die at the track during that stretch. The track implemented new safety measures ahead of the 2024 renewal, which marked the 150th running of the Derby. The 2026 edition, now six weeks out, will be the 152nd.