While the horse-racing world is preparing for next week’s running of the Kentucky Derby, known as the “Greatest Two Minutes in Sports,” the business aviation industry is gearing up for its annual invasion of the host city. Louisville International Airport, located just two miles from the racetrack, normally sees fewer than 20 business aircraft departures a day, according to data provider WingX Advance, but during the period bracketing the Derby on May 5, that will jump to as many as 350 per day.
Global lift broker Air Charter Service analyzed the statistics from last year’s race. “We always see exceptionally high demand for private jets at the beginning of May to the race, which is the highest attended horse race in the U.S.,” said Richard Thompson, president of the company’s Americas division. “[Last year] there were a total of over 1,000 private jet movements, making up 8 percent of the total annual figure for the airport.” He noted that most of the flights were short hops of less than an hour and a half, with the most popular airport pairs to and from the Derby being New York City-area Teterboro and Westchester County.