03-05-2025
Kentucky Derby's worst job revealed as a dozen workers do the dirty work for 1,400 horses
One man and his team of 12 have tackled the filthiest job at the Kentucky Derby - clearing literal tons of poop left behind from 1,400 horses.
Churchill Downs, the iconic horse racing complex in Louisville, is renowned for hosting the world's most prestigious race, where thousands of spectators arrive in fancy hats, sip signature Mint Juleps and gather to watch what many consider the most exciting two minutes in sports.
However, behind the glitz of the southern tradition is a very dirty secret - massive piles of horse poop.
For more than two decades, Ramiro Palacios and his small crew have been the uncelebrated heroes behind the scenes, keeping the stables spotless and the smells at bay.
'When you got 1,400 horses here pooping every day, you got to pick it up every day. It's a handful,' Palacios told NBC News.
'It stinks, but it's a job,' he added. 'Somebody has to do it, somebody they really know how to do it.'
As General Manager of Fastrak Express - the company hired to deal with the mess - Palacios and his team have been knee-deep in the dirty work, day in and day out, all to keep the beauty of the complex intact and ensure smooth operations.
The real work begins each day around 10am, once the horses finish their morning workouts and are tucked away in their stables.
From there, heavy machinery rolls in - skid steers and tractor-trailers weaving through the stables, hauling away massive loads of manure until the job is completely finished.
Incredibly, Palacios runs this massive operation with only a dozen men by his side - an incredibly small team for the mountain of mess they take on every day.
'A lot of people think, you know, 'It's just horses,'' Palacios told NBC. 'They don't realize how much they do every day, how much manure they put out every day.'
With so many horses, tons of poop - literally - is removed from the Churchill Downs day after day.
Palacios keeps track of the chaos by the size of his trucks, with each vehicle being able to hold roughly 165 yards of spent hay.
With 48 barns and more than 70 pits on the backside of the complex, it's no shock that collecting the mess is a full-time job in itself.
The team fills about seven truckloads of spent hay a day, totaling anywhere between 6,000 to 8,000 yards per week - enough to fill several swimming pools.
'If you skip one day, those horses don't stop,' Palacios told NBC. 'It really can get out of hand, really easy. So you really have to stay on top of it every single day.'
But the job doesn't end once the stables are spick and span. Now, the team has to figure out where to dump the mountain of muck. At Churchill Downs, though, nothing goes to waste - not even waste itself.
'You have to know where to take it, how to take it,' Palacios explained.
Once the poop is scooped up and hauled away, its taken to the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington to be dumped, processed and given a second life.
Some lucky farmers get the goods, but most of it is shipped hundreds of miles away to mushrooms farms in Pennsylvania and Tennessee - because yes, horse poop helps mushrooms grow.
However, Fastrak's crew doesn't stop in Kentucky - they're completing the same filthy work at tracks all across the country with contracts at Keeneland in Lexington and tracks in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
It's a dirty job, but it's got its perks. Derby 151 marks 25 years of Palacios working behind the scenes at the super bowl of horse racing - though you won't find him saddled up on a thoroughbred.
Palacios's slice of heaven isn't in the spotlight - it's tucked away beyond the cameras and chaos, on the gritty, unglamorous side of the legendary complex.
'Every morning you see the people, you see the horses, you work around the animals,' Palacios told NBC. 'It gets you relaxed.'
Of course things can go wrong - broken machines, bad weather, no appreciation - but for Palacios, it's all about his hardworking crew.
'We work together and just make the horsemen happy and it just floats,' he said. 'You know, when everything works with as a team, it's a good thing.'
The 151st Kentucky Derby race is scheduled to kick off 6:57 pm ET is scheduled for Saturday.
Mint Juleps will be consumed, the most extravagant hats will be worn, celebrities will step out in designer clothes, wagers will be placed and, most importantly, 19 thoroughbreds and their jockeys will race for their shot at immortality.
Over $350 million in wagers were placed on The Run for the Roses last year, and we expect that number to taken an even further step forward this year - potentially up to $400 million.
