LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – When the Kentucky Oaks made its primetime debut, many restaurants across Louisville stumbled out of the gate.
“I know across the board it was painful for the restaurant scene as a whole,” Miles South, the Director of Operations for LouLou Restaurants, said.
The company’s concepts that bet big on Oaks, Lou Lou on Market and Osteria, pushed their earlier ‘Eggs and Kegs’ and brunch events. They were small successes that fell short of filling the traditional rush from an afternoon race.
“It was four times busier, which was great to see,” South said. “It still just wasn’t quite enough to make up for that 60% drop in reservations that we saw that night.”
The Kentucky Oaks move to late at night and under the lights is likely staying put.
As the dinner rush slowed, Always a Runner rushed to victory. Comcast reports the race peaked with a record average of 2.4 million viewers watching, beating the old record four times over.
Bets on the field of fillies brought in close to $30 million for the one race alone, according to Horse Racing Nation.
South said he understands the decision to push the race back, even if it has unintended ripple effects.
“So pushing the race back that late, it’s tough to get out of there until, you know, 9:30, 10 o’clock. And it’s tough to go out to eat at that time,” South said.
South, who is a member of the Kentucky Restaurant Association, said the organization won’t fully know the impact of the change until data is collected and reviewed. He said in the short term, restaurants and bars across the city will be able to learn.
“It is unprecedented. It was tough. This was the first year. It was kind of tough to predict what it was going to be like. We’ll just continue adapting and do what we can to deal with these changes,” South said.
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Dining and Cooking