The Kentucky Derby is the biggest horse race in America, and preparing for it takes millions of dollars and thousands of people. We went to Churchill Downs days before the big race to see what it takes to train the winning horse and prepare the century-old track for 400,000 fans.
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00:00Just one Kentucky Derby horse can cost over $2 million,
00:05and it takes a lot more money to get them ready for the big race.
00:10They say no foot, no horse. That's what they say.
00:13But there are tiny odds this horse, Mystic Dan, will actually win.
00:18You're always hopeful when you have a baby that maybe it could be the one.
00:22And there's another race going on behind the scenes.
00:26Thousands of people are hustling to get the century-old track at Churchill Downs ready for Derby Day.
00:32From the gardeners...
00:33I want the Kentucky Derby Winner's Circle to be extra beautiful on Derby Day.
00:37...to the chefs feeding an audience so large it could fill seven Super Bowl stadiums.
00:43We literally have schedules minute by minute by minute.
00:45Honestly, I wish there was more than 24 hours in a day.
00:47So how do all the staff set the stage for the largest horse race in the U.S.?
00:53And what does it take to win?
01:05Sherilyn Gassaway and her family are part owners of Mystic Dan.
01:09I know what you want.
01:11Yes, he loves his peppermints.
01:15This is Cheryl's first Derby race.
01:19This is Cheryl's first Derby race.
01:21Mystic Dan has just one chance of winning in his entire lifetime.
01:26All horses running in the Kentucky Derby must be three years old, not one year older or younger.
01:34They aren't fully mature at that age, which adds uncertainty and makes betting more exciting.
01:40He's got this beautiful stripe down his face.
01:44And I love that because I can see him when he's running.
01:46I can kind of pick him out of a group and know it's him.
01:51Sherilyn has bet on Mystic since he was a baby.
01:54My husband thinks that horses, once they smell you and know you, that they know you forever.
02:00And I kind of seem to feel like that that's true, too.
02:04She's a part owner of his mother and helped pay $10,000 to meet her with a horse that won the Breeders' Cup,
02:11one of the biggest horse races in the world.
02:14There's about 10,000 colts born a year, and 20 of those get to be in the Kentucky Derby.
02:20So it is a dream of a lifetime.
02:23If Mystic wins, the prize is $3.1 million.
02:28And Sherilyn would split 80% of it with the other owners.
02:32If you win on Saturday, you'll get the whole bag.
02:36But Sherilyn says for her family, it's not really about the money.
02:41They're like my babies. I really want to take care of them.
02:43That's the most important thing to me.
02:47Brian Hernandez Jr. will ride Mystic Dan in three days.
02:52He could take 6% of the purse.
02:54It's the pinnacle of our sport, you know. It's what we all want to do.
02:58So to win the Derby is a feeling that I can't describe because I've never done it.
03:05Brian has been training with Mystic every day for the past year.
03:09Today, he's taking Mystic for his morning workout on the Churchill Downs track.
03:17Mystic can go as fast as 37 miles per hour.
03:21Most horses don't run the entire 1.25 mile long track at full speed when they train,
03:28because it's so exhausting.
03:32They usually sprint in shorter intervals.
03:35The dirt track makes the Derby especially hard to run.
03:39Horses' feet sink, increasing the risks of an ankle twist.
03:44Do you ever get scared out there?
03:46No. We've been doing it so long, this is like second nature to us.
03:49I'm more scared going out snow skiing than I am getting on the back of a racehorse.
03:54Only 20 horses make it into the Kentucky Derby.
03:58They have to earn enough points in qualifying races.
04:02Mystic Dan got the 18th spot after competing in three,
04:07which cost his owners $24,000 to enter.
04:11They say it's the road to the Kentucky Derby. It is.
04:14Entering the Derby itself costs another $50,000 in fees.
04:18Anytime anybody says, oh, I wish I could buy a racehorse,
04:21I'm like, well, buying the horse is not the part.
04:23It's really the training every month.
04:26So with all the transportation bills and vet bills and all that stuff,
04:29I mean, it can be $3,000, $4,000 a month.
04:32Brian hands Mystic Dan off to this guy, the hot walker, who cools him down.
04:37These horses, they need care 24 hours a day,
04:39so these guys have to sit out here and watch over them.
04:42They'll lap around the barn for about 30 minutes.
04:45If horses don't cool down, their legs could cramp up, damaging their muscles.
04:51He's one of those rare type of horses that he's a people pleaser.
04:54He wants to please you and do whatever you ask him to do.
04:59Kenny McPeak is Mystic's trainer, and he's confident he can take first place.
05:05Kenny has trained 10 derby horses throughout his career, but has never won.
05:10He gets 10% of the purse if Mystic wins.
05:14And he'll use some of it to pay bonuses to his staff.
05:18You've got to have an exceptionally talented horse.
05:20He's very quiet. Nothing disturbs him.
05:22You could set off a bomb in between his legs and he wouldn't know.
05:26In the months leading up to the race, Kenny plans out every hour of Mystic's day.
05:31Everything has to be choreographed every day.
05:33Organizing grooms, hot walkers, riders, assistants, jockeys.
05:38Some horses really like repetition, and they like to know what they're doing every day and what time.
05:43It's kind of like people.
05:45But they don't always enjoy bath time.
05:48How do you calm him down when he gets crazy?
05:55Like, talk to the horse. Like, oh, baby, baby.
06:01Grooms like Henry bathe the horses after morning runs.
06:05He washes the same four every day.
06:08If one of them wins, he could make $30,000.
06:12How do you feel knowing that a horse you've been washing wins?
06:17Well, nothing normal, you know. Maybe one day I get one.
06:21Grooms typically make about $20 an hour.
06:25The shampoo they're using can cost about three times that.
06:29The conditioner, $180.
06:32Plus, tack on another $80 for shine-enhancing moisturizer.
06:36From their heads down to their hooves.
06:39Nothing that touches these horses is cheap.
06:42Including their uniforms, like this bit and the bridle.
06:46It's probably like a $200-something bridle.
06:49Fancier ones can cost over $600.
06:53Then you have saddles, whose prices range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
06:59But most important of all are their shoes.
07:03There are all sorts of different types of shoes.
07:05Zane Bays is a fourth-generation farrier, or shoer, at Churchill Downs.
07:11Normally shoeing a horse like this is going to be in the $200 range.
07:17And blue ones are going to cost you anywhere from $400 to $500, probably.
07:22Just one of its four shoes can get auctioned off for over $80,000 if a horse wins.
07:29Horses' hooves are essentially layers of keratin that don't stop growing.
07:34Like the tip of your fingernail.
07:38That you would go, you know, like with a pair of fingernail clippers.
07:42So I'm going to do that right now.
07:46So I'm going to take that and nip that off of there.
07:51I'm looking for flat and balanced.
07:54Farriers change horses' shoes every four to five weeks.
07:58Most of them are made of aluminum, with a steel insert to reinforce the toe.
08:03This horse has a little bit of bruising in that foot.
08:08But by putting that shoe on there, it's going to protect the bottom of that foot.
08:12And most of that bruising will subside by the next time we're shoeing.
08:17Nails lock the shoe in place.
08:20I'm basically tying his shoe nice and snug.
08:23I have to pay attention to his mannerisms.
08:26Some of them can be just downright mean.
08:28So you kind of have to be in tune with that.
08:30These are, you know, 1,200-pound animals.
08:33If I do my job correctly, they can do their job.
08:38And on to the next appointment.
08:48Back in the barn, Mystic Dan is almost ready for his morning nap.
08:52That's when his groom, Rafael, takes over.
08:56Everyone here calls him Chico.
08:59He spends about an hour bandaging Mystic Dan.
09:13Wrapping horses' legs also supports their tendons during intense workouts.
09:30It's a nice horse, sweet horse.
09:33Chico is originally from Mexico and has been working here for 16 years.
09:43Routines like this are essential to lower their chances of getting hurt.
09:49In 2023, 12 horses were euthanized after suffering injuries on or near the track.
09:57Churchill Downs says there were multiple causes for those injuries,
10:01and they do everything to minimize risks.
10:04They have since updated their safety protocols,
10:07including more frequent vet checkups and additional track maintenance.
10:14The Kentucky Derby is the longest continuously run sporting event in U.S. history.
10:20A prominent American businessman, Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr.,
10:24built the track 150 years ago to showcase Kentucky's horse breeding industry.
10:31The event was modeled after British races.
10:35Spectators were socialites who wore hats to display their social standing.
10:46Since the first Derby in 1875, horses have raced here every year.
10:52Even during World War I,
10:55World War II,
11:00and the global pandemic.
11:12One of the oldest traditions is this ring of flowers that adorns the winner's circle.
11:17Matt Bissell is in charge of growing those,
11:20and all other flowers that adorn the event,
11:23at Churchill Downs' very own greenhouse.
11:26We grew about 800 of these.
11:28These go in the Kentucky Derby winner's circle.
11:30For as long as we have pictures going back there,
11:33it's been red geraniums or red begonias in there.
11:38He's been running this place for the past 15 years,
11:41but he still gets nervous before Derby Day.
11:44I wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning and start worrying about work this time of year.
11:48In total, the gardening crew grows about 20,000 annuals.
11:53These plants will die at the end of the year, and they aren't cheap.
11:57That might be $7 or $8, and you take that times 20,000,
12:01it is a lot of money that we have in this greenhouse.
12:05But there's no guarantee they'll even last through Derby Week.
12:09He says up to 5,000 get trampled on race day.
12:12You'll see people sitting on the edge of those pots,
12:15so a lot of those pots will have broken flowers in them.
12:17How do you feel when you see that?
12:19It is aggravating, but it has happened so much over the years
12:22that I think I'm used to it.
12:24Also, it doesn't do any good to yell at people on Derby Day.
12:34Last year, Matt Bissell and his team
12:38lavish menus are also a big part of the Derby.
12:42And behind the scenes, a team of cooks is racing against the clock.
12:47Each day has about 40 different menus, track-wide.
12:51Chef Robert Lopez runs a kitchen of 100 executive chefs
12:55and 1,500 supporting staff.
12:58That's not a lot of people,
13:00considering they're serving 400,000 guests in under a week.
13:05So that's seven Super Bowls worth of food.
13:13We bring in chefs from all over the country.
13:16The team has to stay relatively small
13:18because they're working in tight quarters.
13:22They're ordering 10,000 pounds of smoked brisket
13:25and thousands of chicken breasts from local farms
13:29and 1,000 pounds of cheese.
13:32Most of it arrives just days before the Derby
13:35in about 1,100 semi-trucks.
13:39Some of it gets here on race day at about 4 a.m.
13:43So how do you keep yourself going through that?
13:45Lots of caffeine.
13:47And then there are the drinks.
13:51The mint juleps are the bestseller.
13:53They bring in about $2.5 million in sales.
13:57We're doing 1,000 pounds of mint,
13:59more than 20,000 bottles of bourbon.
14:03This is Brandon Fullen.
14:05He oversees all the drink orders.
14:07Thousands and thousands and thousands of cans of Coca-Cola.
14:10We're going to be going through pallets of water
14:12every hour all across the track.
14:14Could you give me an idea of number of bottles?
14:17I couldn't possibly.
14:19Everything leads up to this one moment.
14:30All right, Rochelle.
14:32First buzzer.
14:35This year, more than 155,000 people
14:39crammed into Churchill Downs
14:41to watch the Run for the Roses live.
14:44Worldwide, people bet more than $320 million on the race,
14:49surpassing last year's record by over $30 million.
14:54No matter how much homework bettors do,
14:57there's always a little luck involved.
15:00Honestly, you know, you can go,
15:02I want to pick this stallion,
15:03and I want to pick this person,
15:04and we're going to produce the best horse.
15:06But, you know, we're not in control of that.
15:08I just have faith that he's going to do really well.
15:10And so, just trusting in that.
15:14We weren't allowed to film the race.
15:17And the winner of the race,
15:20we weren't allowed to film the race.
15:27Mystic had a good start in lane three.
15:30He lost the lead and ran in the middle of the pack
15:33for most of the race.
15:40Until he came around the bend and took the lead.
15:44The finish was so close,
15:46it was impossible to tell who won at first.
15:50But the final photo confirmed
15:52Mystic Dan won by the length of his nose.
16:05Earning his team a record-breaking
16:07$3.1 million of the total purse.
16:17It's so special.
16:18It really is special to see him make it here.
16:20Because we've had him since he was a baby,
16:22that's just even more special.
16:24As for Mystic Dan,
16:26he got the whole bag of peppermints.