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Over nearly a century, the racetrack has undergone significant transformations, yet according to one observer, its charm remains undiminished. This Saturday, it will host the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Historical photographs from the Associated Press capture Omaha, the 1935 Kentucky Derby champion, draped in a garland of roses. Omaha later achieved the prestigious title of the third Triple Crown winner.
Among those present to witness his triumph was Norma Miller, a high school senior at the time, who is now known as Norma Betts.
Betts recalls, “I would catch the streetcar from downtown,” reflecting on her journey from Jeffersonville, Indiana, a city just across the Ohio River from Louisville. During that era, Franklin Roosevelt was serving his first presidential term and the mint julep had not yet become synonymous with the Derby.
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“Have you ever interviewed someone this old?” Betts humorously asked a reporter from WHAS11, a television station in her home state of Indiana. “Well, now you have.”
The 1935 Derby was the first one Betts attended. She was in the infield for the race and said she was invited as a guest.
“And I was glad I didn’t have to pay because it was expensive,” she said.
Goodlett said the view from the infield to the track was much clearer in 1935.
“I think it’s important to remember that the track would have looked much different,” said Goodlett. “The turf track wasn’t there in 1935. So consequently, without that turf track and that built environment, you can get much closer to the race track than you can now, especially on the infield side.”
Ninety years after attending the Derby, Betts and her family visited the Kentucky Derby Museum in 2025 for the first time. When she arrived back in Kentucky to visit her daughter, she said she could not wait to see Churchill Downs again.
The track has changed a lot in the last 91 years, but she said it’s still a beautiful sight. The 152nd Kentucky Derby will take place there on Saturday.
