• Churchill Downs held a “Sunday Funday” event, marking the first Sunday of racing during Derby Week since 2010.
• The additional day of racing attracted both Kentucky Derby regulars and first-time attendees.
• Many visitors, including some from out of state, took the opportunity to dress in traditional, colorful Derby fashion.
• The event drew in tourists who were in Louisville for other reasons, such as bourbon tastings or family history research.

Sunday racing during Kentucky Derby Week returned on April 26, drawing both Derby regulars and newcomers.

Organizers dubbed the event “Sunday Funday,” marking the first time horse racing had been held at Churchill Downs Racetrack on a Sunday during Derby Week since 2010.

With gates opening at 11:30 a.m. and the first race post time at 12:45 p.m., it seemed some staffers and attendees came straight to the racetrack from church. 

“Some of us have to go to church and get blessed before we come,” said a woman dressed in her Sunday finest by the Paddock Gate, with 10 minutes to go before the gates opened for the day. 

“Some of us stay blessed,” another worker responded.

Billy and April Bensing were among those who took in the day’s racing from the Stakes Room & Balcony.

Speaking outside the Paddock Gate, the Shively couple — dressed in bright fluorescent orange and pink — said they typically attend 502’sDay, the Tuesday of Derby Week, each year with family and friends, largely because the crowds are thinner.

But when they heard Churchill Downs was adding a seventh day of racing to the eight-day Kentucky Derby schedule, they jumped at the chance to come for a second day without the kids. 

For Chad and Leslie Cooper of Jonesville, Louisiana, another day of racing meant another outfit to put together. This year marked their second visit to Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby Week, after having such a good time last year. 

“We came so far to do this, we’re going all out. It don’t matter if it’s low-key or not,” Leslie Cooper said.

She added, “Our kids are all grown and gone, so we can just enjoy ourselves.”

In contrast, Taiya Hardy was attending her first horse race. She also took the opportunity to wear a brightly colored spring dress on what started out as an overcast, chilly day that later turned abundantly sunny.

“Colorado doesn’t have clothes like these,” she said of the outfit and hat, the latter of which she purchased at Pix Shoes at 210 S. Preston St. in downtown Louisville.

Also coming to Churchill Downs for the first time were Jack and Kathy Arzooyan and their cousin, Wendy Franz. The Minnesota and Michigan residents, along with seven other family members, traveled to Kentucky this past week to search for a common ancestor.

Is it time for No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes to make his final decision? Goodness, we all hope so. The restlessness is very real for Big Blue Nation, but we could be just a couple of days away from clarity — if Jeff Goodman’s source is correct, at least.

With rumors and rumblings all over the place when it comes to the top-ranked prospect originally from Louisville, Goodman is hearing that a commitment could happen to begin the week on Monday. But, like the rest of us, he’s skeptical until it comes straight from the horse’s mouth.

Only Tyran Stokes knows what Tyran Stokes is gonna do, but, the latest word is Monday. Apparently.

“I was told by one source close to the situation that Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the country, could announce his decision on Monday,” Goodman wrote. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Agreed.

Maybe the biggest takeaway from his report, though? No mention of Oregon, despite the Ducks’ rumored push in recent weeks — especially since Jasper Johnson’s move to Eugene and individual fight to bring the fellow in-state talent with him.

Goodman believes it’s a head-to-head battle between the Jayhawks and Wildcats.

“Stokes choosing between Kansas and Kentucky,” he said.

Interesting.

KSR was the first to report that Mark Pope has recruited Jamal Crawford — Stokes’ assistant coach at Rainier Beach HS in Seattle and a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year — to join his staff in Lexington. That comes after Pope already signed Stokes’ former Prolific Prep teammate Zoom Diallo out of the transfer portal, coming in from Washington. The Wildcats’ pursuit has been relentless, regardless of speculation about the No. 1 recruit’s personal connection to Bill Self and the Jayhawks.

He talked about his recruiting process this week on a TikTok live, talking with a Kentucky fan.

“Yoooo, see, you guys are crazy,” Stokes said. “It’s been very, you know. Bro, the process is very up and down. Sometimes it can be fun, sometimes it can be annoying. It just depends on where you’re at with the process.”

“Let me put it in a way, like this,” Stokes continued. “How do I put it for a regular person to know what I’m going through? Someone offers you a job worth a lot of money, and you don’t know what there is to come with that job. You’re just like, here, there’s this paycheck. But you have to be committed to the job for ten months, and you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. Do you take it? Do you feel me? So you have to play out the process and see how everything falls out.”

When asked about a timeline for his decision, Stokes was quick to shut down the conversation and move on. Hopefully this recent update indicates there is light at the end of this long tunnel — whether it’s Monday or shortly after.

The spot is yours, Tyran. Come take it.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Prominent owner Mike Repole has had plenty of bad luck in the Kentucky Derby.

He got another dose of it Saturday when his colt Renegade drew the dreaded No. 1 starting gate for the 152nd running of next weekend’s race — a post position that hasn’t produced a Derby winner since Ferdinand in 1986.

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Despite the starting position, Renegade opens as the betting favorite to win at 4-1.

Repole, the beverage magnate of Vitaminwater and Bodyarmor fame who is now also running the United Football League, is 0-for-8 at the Derby and has had the favorite scratch twice on the eve of the race due to last-minute physical problems. Drawing inside would appear to be one more gut punch; however, with Renegade’s come-from-behind running style, jockey Irad Ortiz will have little choice but to take him to the back of the field to avoid the crush of traffic that typically occurs on the first turn as riders try to get their horses in position.

Renegade moved to the front of the Derby contenders last month with an impressive win in the Arkansas Derby for Repole and co-owners Robert and Lawana Low, blowing past the field on the far turn to hit the wire four lengths in front. Renegade will give trainer Todd Pletcher, who has started a record 65 horses in the Derby, a chance at his third winner.

Other contenders had better luck in Saturday’s post position draw.

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Further Ado, who blew away the Blue Grass Stakes field by 11½ lengths, will come out of the No. 18 post position under 54-year old jockey John Velazquez, who has won this race three times. Further Ado is owned by Spendthrift Farm, which expected to be here instead with Ted Noffey, last year’s 2-year-old champion who was forced off the Derby trail this spring due to injury.

After those two, the top-three finishers of the Florida Derby — Commandment, The Puma and Chief Wallabee — also figure to get significant support from bettors. Commandment will start from the No. 6 post, The Puma drew No. 9 while Chief Wallabee ended up in the No. 12 hole.

Chief Wallabee is trained by Bill Mott, who won this race last year with Sovereignty and Country House in 2019. His son, Riley Mott, is making his Derby debut with two starters: Wood Memorial winner Albus and Virginia Derby winner Incredibolt.

“He’s been here before, he’s been around me, and he’s known everything I think about and everything that can happen,” Bill Mott said. “He’s got some experience here, even though this is his first one.”

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Bob Baffert has two entries, led by Potente, a $2.4 million purchase as a yearling who finished second in the Santa Anita Derby on April 4. Potente drew the No. 14 post position.

Baffert is trying to officially win a record seventh Derby — which he did already in 2021 with Medina Spirit, only to have the victory taken away due to a positive test for betamethasone, which Baffert claimed was used to treat a skin condition but is not allowed in the horse’s system on race day.

That incident led to Churchill Downs banning Baffert from the racetrack for two years, which became a three-year ban as Baffert refused to admit fault. Ultimately, they came to an agreement for Baffert to return last year with Citizen Bull, who finished 15th.

With space for 20 horses in the starting gate, eligibility for the Kentucky Derby is determined by a system where horses have the opportunity to accumulate points in any of 50 pre-determined prep races around the world going back to last fall.

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Trainer Steve Asmussen withdrew Chip Honcho on Saturday morning to point for the Preakness, opening up a spot for a second Baffert entry with Litmus Test, who drew the No. 4 post.

Four horses are listed as alternates — Great White, Ocelli, Robusta and Corona de Oro — in case there are scratches before the field is locked in on Friday. That happens regularly during Derby week, including in 2022 when Rich Strike got in at the last moment and became one of the longest shots to ever win the race at 80-1 odds.

Kentucky Derby early odds, from Post 1 to 20

1. Renegade 4-1
2. Albus 30-1
3. Intrepido 50-1
4. Litmus Test 30-1
5. Right to Party 30-1
6. Commandment 6-1
7. Danon Bourbon 20-1
8. So Happy 15-1
9. The Puma 10-1
10. Wonder Dean 30-1
11. Incredibolt 20-1
12. Chief Wallabee 8-1
13. Silent Tactic 20-1
14. Potente 20-1
15. Emerging Market 15-1
16. Pavlovian 30-1
17. Six Speed 50-1
18. Further Ado 6-1
19. Golden Tempo 30-1
20. Fulleffort 20-1