Kentucky Derby fans pack the track for the 150th Run for the Roses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — When Lori Hennesy imagined her outfit for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, she wanted to create something deserving of that monumental anniversary, a celebration of Kentucky’s greatness and history.

So she got a bucket of chicken, red and white striped with Colonel Sanders' famous face on the front, filled it with roses and attached a plastic horse. She wore it on top of her head.

“I wanted to have fun,” she said. Hennesy reckons that is what this place has always been about and how it came to host the longest continuously held sporting event in America.

She imagines what Churchill Downs must have been at that first race on May 17, 1875, when Ulysses Grant was the president, the country was still reeling in the aftermath of the Civil War and patrons arrived to watch the horses by riding horses there themselves. Women required a male escort to attend, The Courier-Journal reported, and admission was as little as $1.

The 150th Run for the Roses would be unrecognizable to the 10,000 people who attended that first race at an unknown track on the rural outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky. Now more than 157,000 pack into Churchill Downs from all over the world for a dayslong spectacle of huge hats and mint juleps, where most grandstand tickets cost more than $500 and celebrities celebrate in lavish suites high above the track.

But Hennesy suspects that the vibe back then would have been the same as today: People are there to see and be seen, to distract themselves from ordinary troubles and have a good time.

“I can imagine even then, it was just fun,” she said. “This day is magical.”

The sun was shining Saturday, and Derby-goers didn’t have to contend with the bad news that put a damper on the race last year, when seven horses died in the week leading into the race. They posed for pictures in front of a sign commemorating the anniversary and whispered about the celebrities who made an appearance.

Kentucky native Wynonna Judd was at the track to sing the National Anthem. Martha Stewart was the day’s grand marshal, charged with saying “Riders’ Up!” to start race. Travis Kelce, three-time Super Bowl champion and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, comedian Jimmy Fallon and musician Kid Rock were also at the track.

Patrons jockeyed to watch the horses get saddled at the track's renovated new paddock, now a massive horseshoe-shaped space at the foot of the famous Twin Spires.

Mary and Skip Keopnick weren't sure they were going to like the changes, but they said they were pleasantly surprised. They have a room in their Michigan home devoted to the Derby that features old hats and memorabilia from their decades in attendance.

Skip Keopnick attended his first Derby in 1977 and hasn’t missed one since. In the years since, he has seen a lot change. Women have always worn big hats, he said, but the men have finally caught up, often sporting bright, patterned suit jackets.

He fashioned a helmet years ago — with a motor and a gear system — that spins two horses around the top of his head. For the 150th Derby, he said, he made the motor bigger and the gear taller so the plastic horses on his head could run around faster. His wife had a floor-length dress screen-printed to read “Kentucky Derby 150th.”

“It’s a milestone,” he said. “We had to do it up bigger than usual.”

Some in the stands came to commemorate their own milestones.

Charlotte Amsden turned 70 this year. She grew up with horses and always dreamed of watching them run at the world’s most famous race. She read that the Derby had special birthday of its own this year and called her daughters: “We have got to go celebrate my birth and the birth of the Derby,” she said.

She came with three generations: her three daughters, her granddaughter, a grandson, her great-granddaughter, just 4 months old, who had to have her own ticket to get into the racetrack.

Amsden got choked up at the idea that maybe, 50 years from now, that little one will return to watch the 200th Derby.

“That would be so special,” she said.

And she wondered: What would this place look like then?

Race fans walk though the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A race fan walks through the stands at Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

A race fan walks through the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Race fans walk though the grounds of Churchill Downs before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

PEZINOK, Slovakia (AP) — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico ’s condition was serious but stable Saturday as the man accused of trying to assassinate him faced his first court appearance.

Two hours of surgery Friday to remove dead tissue from Fico's multiple gunshot wounds led to a good prognosis for his recovery but he was still not well enough to travel to a hospital in the capital, Bratislava, government ministers said outside University F. D. Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, where Fico was taken by helicopter after the shooting.

“Several miracles have occurred in Banska Bystrica in recent days coming from the hands of doctors, nurses and the personnel at the Roosevelt Hospital," Defense Minister Robert Kalinak said.

Fico, 59, was attacked as he greeted supporters following a government meeting Wednesday in the former coal mining town of Handlova. The suspect was tackled to the ground and arrested.

The update on Fico’s health was issued as the man accused of attempting to assassinate him made his first court appearance, according to Slovak state media.

Prosecutors were seeking an order from Slovakia’s Specialized Criminal Court to detain the suspect.

Prosecutors told police not to publicly identify the man or release other details about the case, but unconfirmed media reports said he was a 71-year-old retiree known as an amateur poet who may have once worked as a mall security guard in the country’s southwest.

Government authorities gave details that matched that description. They said the suspect didn’t belong to any political groups, though the attack itself was politically motivated.

The courthouse in Pezinok, a small town outside the capital, Bratislava, was guarded by officers wearing balaclavas and carrying rifles. News media were not allowed in and reporters were kept behind a gate outside.

Police on Friday had taken the suspect to his home in the town of Levice and seized a computer and some documents, Markiza, a Slovak television station reported. Police didn’t comment.

With police remaining largely silent about the case, it was not clear how the suspect came to possess a firearm.

Slovakia has strict rules on firearms and gun owners must have a good reason to possess one and are required to pass a test.

As a consequence, Slovakia has one of the lowest gun ownership rates in Europe. It was ranked 23rd out of 27 European Union countries with a gun ownership rate of 6.5 per 100 people, according to the Association of Accredited Public Policy Advocates to the EU.

World leaders have condemned the attack and offered support for Fico and Slovakia.

Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond. His return to power last year on a pro-Russia, anti-American platform led to worries among fellow European Union and NATO members that he would abandon his country’s pro-Western course, particularly on Ukraine.

At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Slovakia was one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, but Fico halted arms deliveries to Ukraine when he returned to power, his fourth time serving as prime minister.

Fico’s government has also made efforts to overhaul public broadcasting — a move critics said would give the government full control of public television and radio. That, coupled with his plans to amend the penal code to eliminate a special anti-graft prosecutor, have led opponents to worry that Fico will lead Slovakia down a more autocratic path.

Thousands of demonstrators have repeatedly rallied in the capital and around the country of 5.4 million to protest his policies.

Fico said last month on Facebook that he believed rising tensions in the country could lead to the killing of politicians, and he blamed the media for fueling tensions.

Before Fico returned to power last year, many of his political and business associates were the focus of police investigations, and dozens have been charged.

His plan to overhaul the penal system would eliminate the office of the special prosecutor that deals with organized crime, corruption and extremism.

Associated Press reporters Karel Janicek in Vsetin, Czech Republic, and Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.

A general view of the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is being treated, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made his first court appearance Saturday as the nation's leader remained in serious condition recovering from surgery after surviving multiple gunshots, Slovak state media said. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

A couple walk towards a building at the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is being treated, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made his first court appearance Saturday as the nation's leader remained in serious condition recovering from surgery after surviving multiple gunshots, Slovak state media said. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Policemen guard the area as they wait for the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, to be brought to court in Pezinok, Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)

Policemen guard the area as they wait for the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, to be brought to court in Pezinok, Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)

A car supposedly carrying the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, arrives at court in Pezinok, Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)

Members of the media film outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is being treated, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made his first court appearance Saturday as the nation's leader remained in serious condition recovering from surgery after surviving multiple gunshots, Slovak state media said. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Journalists gather as they wait for the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, to be brought to court in Pezinok, Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)

Policemen guard the area as they wait for the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, to be brought to court in Pezinok, Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)

Policemen guard the area as convoy brings the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, to court in Pezinok, Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)

FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. A man charged with attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was escorted by police to his home on the morning of Friday, May 17, 2024, with media saying that it was part of a search for evidence. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)

Policemen guard the area as convoy brings the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, to court in Pezinok, Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)