LOUISVILLE, Ky. — We are 169 days from the 150th Kentucky Derby, and tickets are now on sale.
Darren Rogers, senior spokesman at Churchill Downs, said demand for Derby 150 is unprecedented. Ticket sales began at noon on Friday, but most were sold before the day even started. Presales took up 95% of the seats.
"It's awesome. It's one of those milestones," Rogers said. "Demand dictates the pricing and the demand has never been higher."
Construction's underway for Derby 150 on The Paddock, but there's some more changes for this year. Further down the way at the First Turn Club restaurant, one seat at a table costs $4000. That's up $1,400 from last year.
A look at some of the prices online at Event Tickets Center show tickets going from $144 to $13,375. Infield admission is mostly the same, staying underneath $200. The further up you go, the more expensive it gets.
Trackside seats are being sold for over $1,000. Just a few spots in the trophy room near Millionaires Row run over $5,000.
After decades with one general admission option, the infield, construction brings another. "It allows you to walk the area," Rogers said, "be around that paddock, stay on the first floor. All-inclusive food and beverage. And the two-day tickets are starting at about $690 dollars."
Rogers expects the milestone hype to drive sales. When the tickets pass over to resellers, the price only goes up for Derby 150 hopefuls. It means the track is already looking toward the future.
"Once we sell out Derby 150, we'll turn our efforts to selling seats for Kentucky Derby 151," Rogers said.
With the fastest two minutes in sports thousands of hours away, the sparks are already flying ahead of next May.
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