Churchill Downs at Dawn

This panoramic photograph of Churchill Downs was taken by James Blakeway. It features Churchill Downs during one of its most beautiful times of the day, dawn. Thoroughbreds can be seen at dawn going through morning paces as they prepare for race campaigns leading up to the annual race meets. Churchill Downs has run the annual Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks continuously since their debut in 1875. The signature Twin Spires were completed as part of a new grandstand in 1895 and would become the symbol of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.