LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Derby is coming up just on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. It’s one of the only times in Churchill Downs’ history that the stands beneath the twin spires will be empty. Renowned horse trainer and native Louisvillian Dale Romans knows the energy at the Derby is a big part of the greatest two minutes in sports, but he also said no fans could be better for the horses. 

“I’ve been coming to Derby since 1977 and it’s just not going to be right it’s not going to feel the same,” Romans said. 

However, the trainer that has more than 730 wins, also said that not having 150,000 or more spectators could be better for the horses.

“Horses can handle noise. They [just] don’t want to be startled, and there’s a lot of things that can startle them when 150,000 people are at the Kentucky Derby. So for that, it might be even better,” Romans explained.

Romans said horse trainers usually worry about the fans at Derby, which he said requires schooling the horses in the paddocks to make sure the 3-year-old thoroughbreds become adjusted. 

“Right up to Thursday, they’ll let us school horses. During Oaks Day you can’t. You want to see what they are going to see and experience that as best you can,” Romans told Spectrum News 1. “We don’t have to worry about that this time. You know, they’ll walk over by themselves, get settled. It’ll be more like a morning work,” Romans explained.

Romans's career and success speak for itself. According to his website, Roman has achieved 130 graded stakes wins, with 31 Grade 1 wins. In 2012, Romans earned the Eclipse Award being named outstanding trainer. On November 12, 2017, Romans became the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs with the most wins (703). He held that title until Hall of Fame horseman Steve Asmussen surpassed him in the number of wins (738) on June 13, 2020. 

Despite all of Romans wins, he still hasn’t clinched the Kentucky Derby as he is currently 0-for-10 all-time.

Romans said no fans due to the coronavirus this season also gave his horse, Attachment Rate, the opportunity to run in the Derby.

“So with Attachment Rate, not having spectators will be good for him because he can get a little keyed up but it also gave him the opportunity to run. He may not have made the race if it was run in May,” Romans said. “And he’s a legitimate contender. So at the end of the day, if Attachment Rate jumps up and wins, we’ll take the little gold trophy and the little asterisk next to his name, but we will have a Derby winner,” Romans told Spectrum News 1.

Fans or no fans, Romans said the focus right now is to have your horse trained as much as possible to try and win the race. 

Romans said this Derby won’t be as fun or exciting, and the energy won’t be there like years past. However, he sees one silver lining that he is looking forward to experiencing firsthand come Derby day, listening to My Old Kentucky Home. 

“I’ve never heard it one time because of the massive crowd you can’t get through to get to the front when the horses are going out. This year I’m going to make sure I’m out there when they walk under the racetrack and listen to ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ ” Romans said.