People in Louisville are not pleased.
The week of the Kentucky Derby is essentially a holiday in the Bluegrass State, where all eyes are on Louisville's Churchill Downs. It makes sense, then, that local businesses prepare accordingly for some of their busiest nights of the year.
But one big change happening for 2026 has locals talking—and not in a good way.
For the first time in its 152-year history, the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs will run in primetime. This year, the racetrack changed the Oaks' post time, the race of three-year-old fillies, from 5:51 p.m. to 8:40 p.m.—and the primetime pivot isn't appealing to local business owners. The later post time pushes crowds later into the night, disrupting the usual flow of post-race dining and nightlife that local businesses rely on.
Restaurateurs and chefs say this major change will be a blow to the weekend's overall success, which has been likened to retail's Black Friday.
"It's terrible. It's terrible. The Oaks post time is 8:40. The sun's already set. I think the sun is setting at 8:34, the sun sets. Imagine you've got all those thousands and thousands of people and the sun's already going down and you're watching the last race," Chef Allen Hubbard Sr., who has worked at Martini Italian Bistro in Louisville for nearly 18 years, told Spectrum News. "By the time they get to this area, they're going home. Nobody's coming out to eat at that time of night unless you're going to White Castle, Waffle House."
The change has even forced some restaurants to close entirely for Derby weekend, such as Pat's Steak House, which has been a popular destination for nearly 70 years, thanks to road closures and limited transportation.
“I’ve been thinking about it for months, praying about it, and I just decided, we’re going to stop and see what happens. And I hope it works out for everybody,” owner Pat Francis told WAVE earlier this month on closing for Derby weekend, which was a direct result of Churchill Downs' time shift.
The Kentucky Restaurant Association told WDRB that reservations for Oaks are down between 30% and 50% compared to previous years.
"I think people are really just watching things, and because of all that uncertainty, it just makes our restaurants a little more nervous because they aren't going to know what it looks like until this comes and goes," Stacy Roof, president and CEO of the Kentucky Restaurant Association, told the outlet.
An entire Reddit thread dedicated to the time change suggests that the race organizers are not focused on the local community, but rather the race's national audience.
"Churchill is going to regret this. I'm sure they'll enjoy the tv ratings, but they are totally screwing locals and local establishments. You don't mess with traditions. We all have different things in our lives that mean something to us. Oaks and Derby aren't just horse races," one user wrote.
Another added, "They don't appear to mean much at all to locals these days. Everyone has been priced out of most of the activities. I usually go out on Oaks Night because the whole city used to feel like a big celebration. Two years ago I went out to Chill Bar on Bardstown Road, and the entire street was dead like it was a weeknight. Locals are staying home because Churchill would rather cater to rich folks from out of town. It's going to eventually backfire on them and kill the whole thing."
Churchill Downs released a statement to Spectrum News that seemingly confirmed this accusation.
"Shifting the Oaks into a primetime national broadcast allows us to reach a broader audience and bring new fans to horse racing while boosting national visibility for the event, the Derby Festival, the city of Louisville and the state of Kentucky," Churchill Downs Inc. senior director of communications Breck Thomas-Ross said in a statement. "We are excited to be working closely with the Kentucky Restaurant Association to enhance visibility and opportunities for our amazing local restaurants during Derby week."
One thing is clear: this change doesn't seem to be coming up roses for locals.
Read the original article on Southern Living
