Frustrations “have been brewing” in Louisville for years as “more residents complain about how” Churchill Downs and NBC, which airs the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, have created a “moneymaking spectacle at the expense of the local community,” according to Joe Drape of the N.Y. TIMES. Pat’s Steakhouse owner Pat Francis said that the decision by NBC to move the Kentucky Oaks post time to 8:40pm ET from its usual 6pm start will “dissuade racegoers from traveling across town for dinner or a drink after the race,” harming “what should be the biggest night of the year for restaurants in Louisville.” The Oaks race on Friday is “special to Louisville,” where unlike the Derby, the Oaks has been regarded as “a race for locals -- an opportunity for the people of Louisville to put on their own hats and pocket squares and watch the horses run.” NBC declined to comment through a spokesperson about the “local pushback over the time change.” In a statement, Churchill Downs said it is “working closely with the Kentucky Restaurant Association to minimize impacts and create greater visibility and opportunities for Louisville’s outstanding restaurants during Derby Week.” Locals’ agitation with Churchill Downs “has grown as ticket costs have soared” over the years. The Derby has also gotten later (N.Y. TIMES, 5/1).
INFLUENCER INVITES: The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Sarah Spellings writes this weekend, at the sport’s biggest event of the year, the Kentucky Derby, influencers will be “in action.” Social media influencer Griffin Johnson, who has more than 12 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, will be “placing bets, posting sponsored videos among the colorful hats and mint juleps, and schmoozing with other big names in the crowd, escorting his friends from the red carpet to the stands.” Typically, an influencer like Johnson will post sponsored content for a monetary fee. Johnson says that “he charges $20,000 to $25,000 for a standard post.” In this case, Johnson is “willing to post in exchange for equity in racehorses instead, pocketing money if the horses win.” Over the past two years, Johnson has become a minority owner of multiple horses. To his audience, many of them women aged 18-30, Johnson presents “the world of colts, jockeys and towering headpieces as a networking opportunity.” There is a “whole host of celebrities now publicizing their connection to the sport” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/30).
