The whole world pays attention to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby. Track Changes brings you the people and stories who make up the track and its neighborhood the other 364 days a year. Take an immersive trip through historic and present-day south Louisville, from wherever you are in the world. Your tour guides have ridden horses, sewn jockey silks, parked cars and run juke joints, all in the shadow of the twin spires. Produced by the Louisville Story Program and Louisville Public Media.
Latest episodes
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15 min
“Once it gets in your blood, it’s in there” | Sylvia Arnett
The end of our series (for now…?) takes us to the places racetrack workers go at the end of their workday: juke joints. Emma Pearl’s, “the chippy joint,” and their descendent, Syl’…
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12 min
“At that moment, it’s a horse race” | Freddie Winston
Lots of people say they practically grew up at Churchill Downs. But Freddie Winston has pictures of himself in a baby crib on the backside of the track. Freddie’s mom ran Blanche’s…
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12 min
“This is my home” | Wanda Mitchell Smith
Imagine you grew up in a close-knit neighborhood. A miniature factory town where pretty much everyone worked at the nearby railyard and/or the racetrack. You bought a house, raised…
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13 min
"You cannot outride me" | Sam Alexander
Here in episode one we'll get to know Sam Alexander, a retired jockey and exercise rider who will be our tour guide throughout the series. Sam wanted to ride horses from as far bac…
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3 min
Introducing Track Changes
The whole world pays attention to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby. Track Changes brings you the people and stories who make up the track and its…