Quote from MaywoodAl on August 30, 2026, 11:39 PM

Quote from Purple Aura on August 30, 2026, 8:49 PM

I LOVE Kentucky Downs. Back to your regularly scheduled program. 

I used to love it more. As the years go on, the prices go up and the free viewing gets farther away from the finish line.

Still a great place. My son went to school in Nashville, on drive I noticed signs for Kentucky Downs, I had never heard of it. On one drive back I went the track, wow it looked so different than any other track I had seen.

Saw it was only opened a few days a year. First time I went was in 2021. Huge grass area for tailgating etc. On one day I was able to purchase a finish line tent ticket for $32, included a buffet . The next year that price jumped to $100 but did include alcohol. I just hung out in the grass, (byob). 

Gets a bit fuzzy on which years the following changes happened, parking lot was expanded so grass area greatly reduced. Finish line tent prices drastically increased (over $300 on some days), added another pay section that made free area even farther away from finish line. 

Still a great atmosphere with crazy high purses.

One year huge thunderstorms, which cancelled Saturday after a few races and eventually Sunday. I figured why not drive to the Red Mile. First time there and what a great place. Yay thunderstorms..

 Depending on who is racing this weekend , I will hit Kentucky Downs and The Red Mile. Also depends on helping my mom, so not sure if I can leave Sat or Sun. ( If I leave Sat I may hit Hoosier)

Quote from MaywoodAl on August 31, 2026, 12:01 AM

Quote from MaywoodAl on August 31, 2026, 12:03 AM

Quote from MaywoodAl on August 31, 2026, 12:39 AM

Another Kentucky Downs memory. Mammoth Cave National Park is about 45 minutes away. In 2022 there was a day off between race days. ( i was still clueless about The Red Mile)  I figured why not make a visit, went online to make a reservation, all the good tours were booked. Saw a 50th anniversary tour for a bit higher of a price, but it sounded cool so booked. I get there an guy behind the counter is doing a thorough check of my reservation. Tells me people were scalping the tickets so a few were cancelled.

Go to meeting area for the bus, people are talking about how they made reservation perhaps a year ago and sold out in minutes. (I guess i got very lucky and got one of the cancelled reservations) When people asked when I got my ticket I lied, not wanting to upset anyone.

It is a tour of the 50th anniversary of when some cave explorers found a connection between Mammoth cave and another cave system to confirm the longest cave system in the world. The tour is led by many of the people who discovered the connection. Pretty much everyone besides me is a complete cave enthusiast. They know all the people leading the tour. The tour is not one that was currently offered , just a one day event.

The connection between the two cave systems was reenacted. It was much more than I expected. Later there was a forum when some of the original explorers talked about the event. People had books they wanted signed. I was extremely lucky to stumble on this. I also  never realized how into caves some people were.