Scratched: Kentucky Derby now set for September due to virus
FILE - In this May 4, 2019, file photo, Luis Saez rides Maximum Security, right, across the finish line first against Flavien Prat on Country House during the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Citing unidentified sources close to the race, the Courier-Journal of Louisville said Churchill Downs will postpone the Derby from May 2, 2020, to Sept. 5, making it the first time in 75 years that the race won't be run on the first Saturday in May.[AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File]
Churchill Downs is postponing the Kentucky Derby from May to September because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Track officials say the race will move from May 2 to Sept. 5.
That would mark the first time in 75 years that the race won’t be run on the first Saturday in May.
The last time the Derby wasn’t held on the first Saturday in May was in 1945, when the federal government banned horse racing because of World War II.
The Derby is the latest major sports event to be postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.