Churchill Downs adds Sunday racing and shifts Derby Week opener to daytime for 2026 schedule
Derby Week expands to seven race days, adding a Sunday card for the first time since 2010
Churchill Downs Racetrack has added a Sunday racing program to Kentucky Derby Week in 2026, expanding the week’s on-track schedule from six to seven racing days. The additional card is set for Sunday, April 26, with a first post time of 12:45 p.m. Eastern.
The Sunday program marks the first time the track has staged Sunday racing during Derby Week since 2010. The move comes as part of a broader calendar reset for the opening weekend of the Spring Meet and the start of Derby Week activities.
Opening Day returns to the afternoon after years of night racing
Churchill Downs also is moving its Kentucky Derby Week opener back to an afternoon start. Opening Day, scheduled for Saturday, April 25, will have a first post time of 12:45 p.m. Eastern. In the years 2011 through 2025, the opener had been held as an evening program under the lights.
With the added Sunday card, the 2026 Derby Week racing sequence is set to begin April 25 and continue through Kentucky Derby day on May 2, with no live racing scheduled on Monday, April 27.
Key dates outlined for the 2026 Kentucky Derby Week schedule
- Saturday, April 25: Opening Day (first post 12:45 p.m. ET)
- Sunday, April 26: Added Sunday program (first post 12:45 p.m. ET)
- Monday, April 27: No live racing scheduled
- Tuesday, April 28: 502’sDay (first post 12:45 p.m. ET)
- Wednesday, April 29: Winsday (first post 12:45 p.m. ET)
- Thursday, April 30: Thurby (Derby Week Thursday program)
- Friday, May 1: Kentucky Oaks
- Saturday, May 2: Kentucky Derby
Spring Meet details: nine weeks, 44 racing dates
Churchill Downs’ 152nd Spring Meet is scheduled to run nine weeks, from April 25 through June 28, spanning 44 racing dates. The Spring Meet calendar establishes the track’s primary local racing season and frames Derby Week as the centerpiece of the overall meet.
Tickets for Kentucky Derby Week and the full Spring Meet are scheduled to go on sale Thursday at noon Eastern.
Community-focused themes remain part of the Derby Week programming
Two midweek programs highlighted in recent years are slated to remain in place. 502’sDay, scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, has been promoted as a community-centered day with low-cost general admission. Winsday, scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, has been positioned as a nonprofit-focused day conducted in partnership with local philanthropic organizations, with structures designed to support participating nonprofits through ticket-driven fundraising mechanisms.
Churchill Downs has not released full race programs or stakes schedules alongside the calendar update, but the added Sunday card and earlier start to Opening Day represent two of the most significant structural changes to Derby Week’s on-track rhythm in more than a decade.