'Best time to be alive in Louisville.' Iffy weather doesn't dampen crowds at Kentucky Oaks

Kentucky Oaks Day began drier than expected as racegoers dressed in pink funneled into Churchill Downs early Friday.

A rainy forecast had loomed for days darkening what was expected to be the most normal Derby week since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Friday also marked the return of the annual Survivors Parade, which honors breast and ovarian cancer survivors.

The National Weather Service had predicted a 90% chance of rain in the Louisville region Friday and had warned about thunderstorms. The clouds held for most of the morning and into midday, though as Churchill Downs welcomed a mask-less, full crowd back to the track without any social distancing restrictions for the first time in two years. Many attendants were prepared, though, forgoing fashionable pumps and loafers for rain savvy booties in case the skies opened.

Michelle Wachtel and Adrienne Edens, from Louisville, have been attending for 10 years on and off, and like many people, they were thrilled for a return to normalcy at the historic racetrack.

“Last year it wasn’t as crowded, but it felt really different,” Edens said. “It’s fun to see it like this again, people watching with all the outfits. We’re having a blast.”

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Meredith and John Motley, of Castle Rock, Colorado, were lingering in The Paddock late Friday morning. Coming to Oaks and the Kentucky Derby was a dream come true for Meredith, who was dressed in a white dress covered in a flutter of butterflies. Today was her 42nd birthday and she said she'd wanted to spend her birthday at the Kentucky Derby since she was 12. She was a "total horse girl" growing up.

"He made it happen," she said, of her husband, John. "He's my Prince Charming."

Sisters Sarah and Emma Shadburne of Louisville had a birthday tie to the track, too. They'd first come to Churchill Downs during Derby week for their 18th birthdays and they've been back multiple times since. Sarah even made her own fascinator from a children’s flower ornament and other materials from Hobby Lobby.

“This is the best time to be alive in Louisville,” she said.

Diana Smith, of South Carolina, who has never been to Churchill Downs before, said walking into the track was surreal. Her group had come to town to visit friends, and she was in awe of the people, the hats, and all things considered, even the weather. The first half of the day on the first Saturday in May was mostly dry and overcast.

"It's like God just said 'OK, I'm going to hold the rain,'" Smith said.

And the rain did hold, for a little while at least.

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By about 1 p.m., a light rain shower began and ponchos and raincoats began covering the sea of pink in the Paddock. Clara Alcaraz from Phoenix, Arizona, and the group she was with, took cover near a section of wagering windows on the ground floor.

“I made it,” she said proudly, pointing to her hat adorned with large white features and a pink bow.

Out in the infield, where there were fewer places to hide from the brewing weather, Natalie Marr and Todd Braverman, who drove down from Detroit, Michigan, to attend their first Derby were among the growing crowd. Churchill Downs officials announced Friday afternoon an attendance of 100,118.

“It’s been a beautiful day, honestly,” Braverman said. “We were a little nervous because it was supposed to rain all day. If it does…we’ll stick it out. We’re here doing it. Now we’re just doing our laps waiting for the next race to happen.”

Aleisha Sample, who is from Louisville, and the group she was with had a similar attitude. She's a 21-year veteran of the infield and said the weather is just part of the experience. She'd packed ponchos and had a plastic bag ready to go, in case she needed to cover her stunning pink, purple and orange hat.

"It's just part of it," she said. "We knew (it was coming) and we were prepared."

Courier Journal Features Columnist Maggie Menderski can be reached at mmenderski@gannett.com. Dahlia Ghabour can be reached at mmenderski@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Oaks 2022: Rain doesn't dampen crowds at Churchill Downs