Over 150,000 people attend the Kentucky Derby every year. The Kentucky Oaks, the headline race at Churchill Downs the day before the Derby, gets over 100,000 in attendance. The massive crowds are part of the spectacle of horse racing’s biggest event, but how do you feed all those people?
That’s the challenge facing Robert Lopez. Lopez is the head chef at Churchill Downs, which means he and his team have to organize and execute on the logistics of keeping things moving at the dozens of restaurants, clubs and concession stands across the venue.
“It’s really important to just understand the sheer scale of what we do here and how we really integrate every aspect of each of those menus across the entire track to really hit home,” Lopez told The Athletic.
There are 17 full-service kitchens at the facility. Levy Restaurants oversees the food and drinks at numerous events and venues across the United States, including the U.S. Open (tennis), Daytona 500, Coachella and stadiums for every major professional sports league. The company sends over 100 executive chefs to Churchill Downs for Derby week.
“We fly them in solely to operate one of those single kitchens during the Derby,” Lopez, who is also a senior executive chef at Levy, said. “Making sure every one of those over 100 chefs is on the same page and we’re all doing the same dance logistically and timing-wise to experience those great memories across the entire track, that’s really the biggest challenge.”
A press release from Churchill Downs said 50,000 blackberries, 5,000 pounds of short rib, 4,000 pounds of shrimp and 6,000 pounds of carrots will be used throughout the week.
The challenges of providing food and drinks at the Derby go beyond the scale. On Saturday, the Derby will run for the 152nd time. With that history comes expectations to deliver on the classics.
The most famous traditions are related to drinks. The mint julep (bourbon, mint and simple syrup on ice) is the iconic drink of the Derby. On Friday, the Oaks Lily (a vodka and triple sec drink with cranberry juice, garnished with blackberries and a lemon wedge) gets the focus.
Mint juleps are the iconic drink of the Kentucky Derby. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
Lopez said they have the freedom to play with those traditions to keep things fresh, particularly on the food side.
He mentioned the Hot Brown — an open-faced sandwich that was created in Louisville and includes turkey, bacon and Mornay sauce — as an item they have variations on this year. Something new for 2026 is the Trackside Smokehouse, which will serve Austin-style barbecue and feature smoked chicken wings, pimento potato salad, smoked pork butts and collard greens on the menu. The concessions will also have more eclectic items like smoked gouda mac and cheese bites, pork belly bao buns, empanadas and fruit kebabs.
“There is a fine balance of those traditional items that have been here for possibly over 100 years, and then some of those newer items that maybe someone who has been coming for 60 years has never seen before in any way, shape or form,” he said. “That’s really the exciting part of it.”
The official menu of the 152nd Kentucky Derby includes chargrilled short ribs and honey bourbon grilled chicken. (Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs)
“There’s no other venue or event that has as many wide-ranging experiences as the Kentucky Derby,” Lopez said. “Coming from a lot of large events myself, this is definitely the one that really is the pinnacle.”
During the Derby, Churchill Downs is set up with food trucks out front, different restaurants and clubs on multiple levels of the venue, as well as traditional concession stands. That means the food ranges from down-and-dirty stadium fare to fancier upscale restaurant-quality menus.
Putting all of this together takes several months of planning. Lopez admitted his mind is already partially on next year’s Derby.
The process for picking what makes the final cut is more involved than simply going with what tastes good. A menu item needs to be able to be produced quickly and at scale. There is a little flexibility because of the different dining options. Some things will work at one of the restaurants, but not at a concession stand or vice versa.
Major sporting venues and events are also seeking eye-catching foods and drinks that make the stadium experience unique. Even the historic Kentucky Derby is looking for “Instagrammable items,” as Lopez put it.
Hearing Lopez talk about the process, you almost forget he’s talking about food. He used the phrase “R&D” multiple times, as if a menu item is a piece of technology as it goes through various recipe tweaks. When describing how they determine what makes the menu, he said there is a science to it.
“There are a ton of different pieces to that equation when we’re looking at what it takes for a food item to be well received, taste good, look good, be operational and executable for the scale that we’re doing here, again across those 17 kitchens,” Lopez said.
“There are several hundred different menus going on through that entire week. We’re taking a look at what items really work in those areas. What items are we operationally set up for? What items are going to make an impact with our guests and really create those memorable moments?
“We take all of that in one large equation and run all of the menu items through that equation to see: At what point does it break down? At what point does it not make sense? If it makes its way all the way through and hits that end product, then it will most likely make the menu. Everything you see on any of our menus has gone through that entire ideation process and then ended up on our menu.”
