​Staff members from Coady Media, the Louisville-based horse racing photography firm that serves as the official photographer for the Kentucky Derby and the All American Derby, faced flooding, downed trees, and other storm damage while trying to reach the 45th Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday, June 27. Marketing Manager Cady Coulardot, with the company since 2020 and a Lebanon Junction resident, said she repeatedly tried to leave her home but was blocked by flooded lanes on northbound Interstate 65 and Preston Highway, in addition to fallen trees on back roads. An evacuation notice was also issued for residents because of concerns about a potential dam failure.
Statewide flooding ahead of June 27 caused at least four flood-related deaths. Gov. Andy Beshear reported three fatalities in Madison County and one in Jackson County. As floodwaters receded, Coulardot, who also runs Coulardot Thoroughbred Racing and Global Equine Marketing, managed to reach Churchill Downs by the seventh race. “The weather wasn’t going to keep me from going to Churchill, especially when we have Stephen Foster Day, and it was one of the best races of the meet,” she said.
Magnitude, ridden by Jose Ortiz, won the 1-1/8-mile Grade I race in 1:48.03, with Baeza finishing second and 2025 Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty in third. Owner and CEO Kurtis Coady, who resides on a horse farm in Fisherville, said both routes from his home were blocked. A low-water bridge near his property was submerged, and the alternative route was closed by a landslide. Coady noted that he and other staff members were dressed in suits and ties when they encountered a fallen tree and had to turn back. “We turned around and went and got the pickup truck and chainsaws and headed back after we changed real quick,” he recalled. After clearing the tree, Coady and two other photographers reached Churchill Downs just a minute before post time. If they hadn’t, a photographer who drove overnight from Colonial Downs in Virginia would have been Coady’s saving grace.
Coady is a third-generation horse racing photographer. His grandfather began photographing races in Phoenix in 1962, and the family business expanded from there. Coady joined the company full time in 2007, and Coady Media now covers 31 racetracks nationwide. Major race days like the Kentucky Derby typically require around 65 photographers, while the Stephen Foster Stakes drew about a dozen photographers. Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com. This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal.