Watch: Collmus video celebrates superfan's 60th Kentucky Derby

You might have heard about Tom Carpenter, who just celebrated his 60th year at the Kentucky Derby. His story was hard to miss if you watched TV coverage leading up to the race.

This year, Carpenter turned 80 on April 2, and his friends found a special way to mark the occasion along with his 60th consecutive Derby.

They enlisted Larry Collmus, the long-running Kentucky Derby announcer, to make a video for Carpenter, and he came through with a rundown of all 60 derbies attended by Carpenter, starting with Proud Clarion in 1967. Watching it is easier than describing it:

"I'd love to talk to him and thank him for all the time and effort he put into that," Carpenter said this week. "He was a real sport to do that."

The 23-minute video included other racing personalities such as Bob Baffert, Gary Stevens and Horse Racing Nation's Ed DeRosa. 

"But that final piece was the anchor piece, if you will," said Tyler Baird, Carpenter's friend and co-worker. "He got a kick out of that, of course. It was good times."

Carpenter owns a Nissan dealership in Columbus, Ohio, and he and his wife bought a 40-acre farm near Keeneland during the Covid days. In 2020, when fans were not allowed at the Derby because of the pandemic, he and his friends watched the race from a scissor lift near the track.

Carpenter's Derby visits began as a road trip with fraternity brothers when he was a college student in North Carolina.

This year, the group had about 32 people, said Baird, who has been to 15 consecutive derbies and 20 in all. They had dinner and the video presentation at Carpenter's farm Friday night, and on Saturday, 12 of them took a motor coach to Churchill Downs, where they watched the race from boxes near the finish line.

"Everything really went well," Carpenter said. "And I said, 'guys, we'll have to do it again on my 75th.' "

Carpenter and his wife Rhonda, who has been to 39 consecutive Derbies, bought their first two mares at Keeneland in 2023 and now have three, Ganadora, Half Is Enough and Renegade Rebel.

The had their first foal in 2024. "It's a little Life Is Good who's in training right now with Mr. John Ennis."

Now, "I've got a Gun Runner filly and I've got a Medaglia d'Oro filly, one of the last ones," Carpenter said. "They're both going to be kind of rare, we hope."

Carpenter aims to keep the operation small. "We'll never be huge, but we're going top end for quality. …

"I've had a car dealership for 43 years, and this is kind of my soft exit out of that," Carpenter said. "I still am involved, but this is something to keep me busy in my retirement."