Kentucky Derby 2020: Mobile tickets, refunds and more

With Churchill Downs planning to host the 2020 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks with fans in attendance, the focus for many horse racing fans will now turn to tickets. Churchill Downs has a plan in place.

All tickets purchased from Churchill Downs will be mobile. It will also not be selling tickets or offering will call at the Churchill Downs box office, instead moving all sales to online or over the phone.  

“That experience will be different,” Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs said in a press conference on Thursday. “Folks will get those tickets via their phone, they’ll come to this facility, we’ll spread out the entry components as we bring people in.”

Churchill Downs has not announced how many fans will be allowed inside the facility for the Derby, however, some tickets that have already been sold will have to be refunded.

Churchill Downs has not announced how many fans will be allowed to attend the event.

For fans who still purchased their tickets directly and did not go through Ticketmaster or another secondary reseller, refunds are available. The deadline to request a ticket refund has been moved from April 24 to July 17.

Refunds can be requested from Churchill Downs by going to the Kentucky Derby website and submitting through the online refund request form. Request approval is not guaranteed. The Kentucky Derby website says that requests could take several weeks to process.

There are some limitations on the ticket packages' eligible for a refund. Fans who purchased a two-day ticket package and wish to refund one of the days will be unable to do so, as will anyone trying to get a refund for a partial order, such as people who have sold some but not all of their tickets on the resale marketplace.

The same rule applies to people who have transferred tickets to friends. In order to receive a refund, the friend must transfer the tickets back to the original buyer, who will be able to submit a request for refund on the entire order.

For fans who purchased single-day tickets on Ticketmaster, refunds will be through that platform. To do so, ticketholders can go to their Ticketmaster account, click on “My Tickets,” and request a refund.

For two-day packages purchased on Ticketmaster, fans should call 502-636-4450 for help from the Churchill Downs sales department.

For those who bought their tickets from a vendor other than Churchill Downs or Ticketmaster, Churchill Downs recommends contacting that seller for refund information.

More information can be found on the Kentucky Derby website.