Ohio native to attend 60th Kentucky Derby. What keeps him coming back
Tom Carpenter, an Ohio native, is attending his 60th Kentucky Derby this year. Here's what brings him back each May.
What started as a road trip with some fraternity brothers in 1967 has turned into a 60-year commitment to Kentucky's premier thoroughbred racing event, the Kentucky Derby . Tom Carpenter, 80, a native of Columbus, Ohio, has attended every Kentucky Derby since he was 20. Initially, Carpenter had no idea he would return for the greatest two minutes in sports each year after his first.
Carpenter and his fraternity brothers from UNC Chapel Hill were simply into sports of all kinds and looking for a destination when they decided to visit Kentucky for the Derby. "We were always trying to take road trips and thought this would be a cool one because none of us had been to the Derby," Carpenter said. More Derby news: Unbridled Eve Derby Gala announces 2026 Kentucky Derby celebrity list Soon, Carpenter was drawn in by the cheering crowds, the fashion and "the whole pageantry of the Derby.
" "We went because it was a sporting event, but it's more than a sporting event. It's a social event," Carpenter said. "Every year we meet some new folks from all around the country and all around the world.
It was unexpected, and we realized that this is something special. " Even when crowds weren't allowed at Churchill Downs in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Carpenter and his friends watched the Derby from a "sky box" — a scissor lift they rented through Sunbelt Rentals . The crew sat 43 feet in the air to view the iconic race to the best of their ability.