Most of us know the Kentucky Derby from the front side of the track: the fancy Derby hats, the mint juleps, the thrill of the race. But there’s a whole other world to racetracks in the South—and one with food that tells a story about who’s working there.
In this episode of Gravy, we follow the horse racing seasons from track to track to learn about the workers behind the scenes, and what their food tells us about who they are.
You can find Churchill Downs, the racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, here… And the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans here.
You can learn more about backside track workers in this paper about their physical and mental health and income… or this paper about workers at Arlington Park Racetrack in Chicago.
You can find the Backside Learning Center here.
For a little background on the range of different Central American cuisines, go here.