While the race ended with the largest longshot in modern history winning the Kentucky Derby, it was a safe bet to make that the airports in and around Louisville would be packed with private jets, bringing fans to the iconic Run for the Roses and the celebrity charity galas that surround it.
So how large was the jet-setting crowd for the first Derby since the pandemic?
On the commercial side, it appears to have been at least as strong as before COVID, in May of 2019. If you ask some of the people running the FBOs around town handling those flying privately, they have no doubt it was a record.
Jets parked at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport during Derby week pack two miles of taxiway.
Numbers from ARGUS show that arrivals and departures of business aircraft flights more than quadrupled compared to the week prior at the largest airport in town, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), with 622 aircraft coming and going May 1 through 7, compared to 146 the week prior, a 326% week-to-week jump.
Bowman Field (LOU), located 10 miles from Churchill Downs, saw an 83% jump in the ARGUS data, while Clark Regional Airport (JVY), on the other side of the Ohio River in Sellersburg, Indiana, was up more than triple, 226.5% on the week.
Among the three airports combined, the number of flights jumped to 1,069 on Derby week (622 at SDF) from 325 the week prior, a 229% jump.
How many Woodford Reserve Bourbon Balls does that equal? The Louisville Regional Airport Authority says its Derby Greeters handed out 30,000.
The commercial numbers there showed 98% of the traffic levels seen during Derby week 2019. The top day for arrivals was Thursday, with more than 12,000, with 27,500 departing seats scheduled across the three days after Derby.
Sunday, the day after, was the busiest day for the airport this year, with 14,000 departing seats, more than double a typical day.
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The FBO on site, Atlantic Aviation, estimated it would handle as many as 700 private aircraft during the stretch run of May 4 through May 9, with more than 200 aircraft parked across the two miles of taxiway shut down on the field to make extra room. It’s a facility that rarely has room to spare, as the airport also serves UPS Worldport.
At Clark Regional, both FBOS called it a record year.
“It was our best Derby ever,” said Sidney Martin, front desk manager for Honaker Aviation.
She said that both Louisville airports filled up, as did their competition across the field, leading to a record weekend for them.
Kelly Lurz, general manager of that rival FBO, Aircraft Specialists Inc., as well as charter operator PFA Jets, said most of their 175 aircraft in town for Derby were mid-to-heavy jets.
“It was incredible,” she said. “Our team worked literally around the clock to ensure everyone was fueled and moved to the correct spot on our ramp.”
Now, with the final visitors flying out, us locals hope we can get a chance to sit back, catch our breath, and maybe enjoy a bourbon ball ourselves – if there are any left in town.
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