LOUISVILLE, Ky. \u2014 With less than a month to go before the 152nd running of the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, some Louisville restaurants and chefs are voicing concerns about a major change to this year’s race.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
For the first time, the Kentucky Oaks will be run in primetime, with an 8:40 p.m. post time on race day
\n
Louisville restaurant owners and chefs say the late start will keep crowds from dining out after the race, cutting into one of their biggest weeks of the year
\n
Churchill Downs says the primetime move will expand the race’s national audience and calls it a major opportunity for new traditions
\n
Some restaurants are already seeing shifts in reservation patterns, with more bookings earlier in Derby week and concerns that guests won’t realize how late the Oaks race actually starts<\/p>\n
For almost 18 years, Chef Allen Hubbard Sr. has served up meals at Martini Italian Bistro in Louisville.<\/p>\n
“It’s kind of like ancient times for a chef, but I love this place and it’s a good fit,” Hubbard, the executive chef of Martini Italian Bistro, explained.<\/p>\n
He knows the 152nd running of the Kentucky Oaks is coming up. He also knows that for the first time ever, the Kentucky Oaks will be in primetime.<\/p>\n
“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 Hubbard Sr. explained to Spectrum News on Friday. “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.”<\/p>\n
Hubbard understands it’s business, but he still can’t help how he feels.<\/p>\n
“I just feel for, like, the whole industry as a whole. Not just, you know, there are so many other jobs, people, that’s going to be affected by this, by Churchill’s decision. I don’t agree with it, it’s not my decision,” Chef Hubbard said. “I just have to live with it and adapt to the situation and overcome it. We’re going to be alright no matter what, but it hurts.”<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Churchill Downs addressed the Kentucky Oaks move to primetime.<\/p>\n
“We couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity. The ability to be on national television in the 8 o’clock hour \u2014 number one, it helps elevate the status of the Kentucky Oaks itself. Second, it’s like an hour-long infomercial of the Kentucky Derby one day before the race on network television,” Darren Rogers, senior director of communications for Churchill Downs, said. “The Kentucky Derby and the week itself, the economic impact is north of $420 million. Adjustments are going to be made. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for new traditions.”<\/p>\n
In a statement to Spectrum News on Friday, Churchill Downs Inc. Senior Director of Communications Breck Thomas-Ross said: “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. 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.”<\/p>\n
Other Louisville establishments are also weighing in.<\/p>\n
“Jack Fry’s is disappointed with Churchill Downs’ rollout of the late post time. This is the new normal. While it feels like they don’t care about the community and all the amazing bars, restaurants and hardworking people in the city who work around the clock to make guests feel welcomed. We have personally been affected in different ways. Unfortunately, Churchill Downs has not done a very good job of publicizing their post times nationally. What is going to end up happening is that if restaurants are not following up with guests, those people are not going to show up for their reservations. There’s going to be a lot of people who will be upset when they attend the races on Oaks Fay and realize the post time isn’t until 8:45 p.m.,” Morgan Polson, the assistant general manager of Jack Fry’s, told Spectrum News by phone on Friday.<\/p>\n
Hubbard said Martini Italian Bistro will be hosting its own Oaks Day festivities.<\/p>\n
“\u2026We’re doing like an Oaks broadcast where you come in \u2014 we have a special dinner, special menu and can watch the races here,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOUISVILLE, Ky. \u2014 With less than a month to go before the 152nd running of the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, some Louisville restaurants and chefs are voicing concerns about a major change to this year’s race. What You Need To Know For the first time, the Kentucky Oaks will be run in primetime, with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1131,195,4857,30603,4344,4342,4340,4343,30602,4341,4853,4701,192,4353,145,15257,190],"class_list":["post-36384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kentucky","tag-app-local-business","tag-app-top-stories","tag-bowling-green","tag-david-williams","tag-kentucky","tag-kentucky-dining","tag-kentucky-food","tag-kentucky-grocery-stores","tag-kentucky-oaks","tag-kentucky-restaurants","tag-lexington","tag-louisville","tag-news","tag-northern-kentucky","tag-top-stories","tag-topic-latest-local-business-stories","tag-vod"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117353750558484286","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}