KENTUCKY DERBY

Churchill Downs will play 'My Old Kentucky Home' at 2020 Kentucky Derby

Louisville Courier Journal

Churchill Downs announced Friday it will play the controversial anthem "My Old Kentucky Home" at the 146th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, preceded by a moment of silence.

Steve Buttleman, Churchill Downs' longtime bugler, will perform "My Old Kentucky Home" with no lyrics ahead of the Run for the Roses.

The song written in 1853 by Stephen Foster is a Kentucky slave's lament about being sold down the river. For years some have expressed concerns over the anthem and say Churchill Downs should not play it, especially this year, against a backdrop of racial justice protests being held across Louisville and the country.

"The 100-year tradition of singing the state song of Kentucky has been thoughtfully and appropriately modified and will be preceded by a moment of silence and reflection," a spokesman for Churchill Downs wrote on Twitter on Friday.

The moment of silence will "recognize the inequities that many in our nation still face and reflect on renewed hope," spokesman Darren Rogers said.

The track said in an earlier statement, "we recognize that people in our community and across our nation are hurting right now. The atmosphere of the Kentucky Derby will be different this year as we respond to those calls for change. This will be a Derby unlike any other. As it should be."

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With few exceptions, the University of Louisville Cardinal Marching Band has performed "My Old Kentucky Home" every year since 1936. If this were a typical year, the 200-piece band would play the Kentucky state song in front of a crowd of more than 150,000. But there will be no fans in the stands due to the coronavirus pandemic, and nothing about this Kentucky Derby is normal.

In the song, inspired by the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a slave is saying goodbye to Kentucky to face abuse and toil in the "land where the sugar canes grow."

The original lyrics included the line, "the darkies are gay," before the Kentucky General Assembly in 1986 changed some of the offending words, substituting "people" for "darky" and "darkies."

Several local protesters told The Courier Journal they want Churchill Downs to cancel the race altogether as a statement against police brutality and the Louisville Metro Police officers who fatally shot Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman who was killed during a narcotics investigation at her apartment in March.

Protests are continuing Saturday, with local groups such as the Justice and Freedom Coalition teaming up with national organization Until Freedom to form a demonstration that will meet at South Central Park, less than a mile from Churchill Downs, at 4:30 p.m. The Not F****** Around Coalition, a Black militia that demonstrated in Louisville in July, will also be present.

Amy Acklin, director of the U of L marching band, said she knows the song is controversial and that "we should be able to engage in thoughtful dialogue about this topic. But let's keep in mind this is the state song, and that conversation needs to be led by the governor's office."

Acklin previously told The Courier Journal that the crowd singing "My Old Kentucky Home" is "powerful."

"At first the crowd sings very softly but then the sound begins to build and the moment they hit the chorus, 'Weep no more my lady,' tens of thousands of voices all come together, and it is unbelievably powerful," she said.

Some in the horse racing industry also think the tradition of singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" should continue as part of the pageantry of the longest-running sporting event in the United States.

Louisville native and trainer Tommy Drury Jr., whose horse Art Collector unexpectedly scratched from the Kentucky Derby earlier this week, said previously, “That’s the only thing I need in this whole deal, whether it’s on the intercom or however they do it. ... I’d still like to hear ‘My Old Kentucky Home.’ That’s one thing I hope they definitely bring to someone’s attention. We need to hear that song during the post parade.”

Acklin was told by Churchill Downs in late August that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the racetrack would not allow the band to perform for health and safety reasons.

"We had come up with a plan to reduce the number of band members to just 50 and a small choir but even that was too many under the current health crisis," Acklin said. "Obviously we were very disappointed but we understand."

When the Kentucky Derby was rescheduled from the first Saturday in May to the first Saturday in September, the Marching Cards, along with members of other college marching bands from across Kentucky, performed a virtual "My Old Kentucky Home" on May 2, the original date of the Kentucky Derby.

The project was prerecorded and aired during the "Kentucky at Home" online event produced by Churchill Downs.

Buttleman, Churchill Downs' bugler, will also perform the national anthem ahead of the 146th Kentucky Derby. NBC will air the race, and post time is set for approximately 7 p.m.

Reporer Hayes Gardner contributed to this report. Reach Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com or Twitter @kirbylouisville. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/kirbya.