Behind The Fence at Churchill Downs

The Kentucky Derby. Horses. Hats. Bourbon. Southern Pride. America’s largest and most popular horse race, which was started by the grandson of William Clark has been run on at Churchill Downs for 147 years. The neighborhood which houses the track, South Louisville, was once a factory center for the Kentucky Wagon Company, and has since suffered population decline, deindustrialization, and a disappearing middle class. Before and after the race, thousands of Derby attendees park their cars as the neighborhood residents throw a party… This is the other side of the fence (which extends down the entire mainstreet) at Churchill Downs.