What do the Obamas, the chairperson of Starbucks and the LPGA commissioner have in common?
They were all invited to the 150th Kentucky Derby by Mayor Craig Greenberg, according to records obtained by The Courier Journal.
It is customary for Louisville mayors to invite guests to the Derby, but former Mayor Greg Fischer refused to disclose his invitations. For the second year in a row, the Greenberg administration released the names of those attending through open records requests.
Among the invitees are former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. In the letter to the Obamas, Greenberg mentioned they had “common friends,” Matthew and Brooke Barzun.
Matthew Barzun served as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Sweden under Obama. He is also the owner of Louisville Magazine. His wife, Brooke Brown Barzun, is an heiress of the Brown-Forman wine and spirits empire. She is the daughter of Louisville philanthropist Christy Brown, who donated $250,000 to a political action committee dedicated to getting Greenberg elected, according to Kentucky Registry of Election Finance records.
Greenberg’s administration and Churchill Downs attempted to invite another high-caliber guest, too, according to records obtained by The Courier Journal.
When Beyoncé brought her Renaissance World Tour to L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in July of 2023, officials tried to present her with a special invitation to Derby 150.
“Beyonce’s invite: we are very excited about the progress for her invitation and will let you know once it’s ready,” wrote Casey C. Ramage, the vice president for Marketing and Partnerships at Churchill Downs, to Greenberg on July 3.
“Excited to get the Beyonce invite delivered! I am going to be in NYC on Monday night now, so Rachel is going to make the official delivery and my office is working with U of L to coordinate,” Greenberg responded.
But the invitation was not just the typical letter or email. Beyoncé’s took the form of a custom jockey silk with her name on it, said Scottie Ellis, Greenberg’s director of communications.
“Churchill and the mayor saw Beyoncé being in town as an opportunity, so they worked together to create an invite for Beyoncé to the 150th Running of the Kentucky Derby,” she said.
Unfortunately, officials were stopped by security at the concert “and it never went further than that,” Ellis said.
Now, the location of the custom Beyoncé jockey silk is a mystery. “For all I know, it may be here somewhere,” Ellis said. “I have not personally seen it.”
Derby 150 is a “unique opportunity for Mayor Greenberg and his administration to show off Louisville to prospective community and economic development partners,” Ellis said.
Invitations from the open records request are not the official guest list. When it is finalized, likely sometime in April, the Greenberg administration will release the full list of Derby attendees.
Here’s who else Louisville’s mayor is inviting to Derby 150:
Jose Tolosa, CEO of Meow Wolf
Among Greenberg’s Derby invitees is Jose Tolosa, the CEO of Meow Wolf, a company that creates large, interactive art installations.
The company is perhaps best known for Omega Mart, an immersive, mind-bending fake supermarket-slash-mystery adventure experience that is now a staple on the Las Vegas tourist trail.
Meow Wolf is also known for its otherworldly attractions in Santa Fe, Denver and Grapevine, Texas. A fifth Meow Wolf location is being developed in Houston.
In an Oct. 21 email, Greenberg wrote: “Hi, Jose. I am the Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky and wanted to reach out to express our interest in having a Meow Wolf in our city. We have some great prospective sites and, if you all work with development partners, we have many who would be interested.”
To “get to know our city better,” Greenberg invited Tolosa to Derby 150.
In November, the arts and entertainment magazine Time Out listed Meow Wolf’s attractions as the top immersive experience in the United States.
Mollie Macroux Samaan, LPGA commissioner
Greenberg also invited Mollie Macroux Samaan, the commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association to Derby 150, after she was unable to attend in 2023.
“I wanted to circle back with an even better invitation this year than last year! The 150th KentuckyDerby is this upcoming May … I think you said last year’s conflict might not be an annual conflict, so I wanted to extend the invitation to you and your husband to join us,” Greenberg wrote in an October email.
He added, “We’d love to show you how Louisville is an amazing host city for big sporting events.”
Louisville’s Valhalla Golf Club is hosting the PGA Championship in May following the Derby.
LPGA senior manager for the Office of the Commissioner, Candace Adkison, said in February she was in the process of finding flights for Samaan and that she was “looking forward to the upcoming Derby!”
Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake
Also on the invite list is Egon Durban, the CEO of Silver Lake, a largely tech-focused private equity firm based in Silicon Valley.
A subsidiary of Silver Lake, Diamond Baseball Holdings, purchased the Louisville Bats late last year.
“Hi, Egon. I am the Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky and recently learned (in confidence) that an affiliate of Silver Lake Partners is acquiring the Louisville Bats, our AAA Baseball team,” Greenberg wrote to Durban in an email on Oct. 27, more than a month before the sale of the Bats was announced.
The Bats are the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
Greenberg invited Durban to Derby to “get to know our city better while having a very fun and unique weekend.”
According to Forbes, Durban has a net worth of $1.5 billion and Silver Lake manages $75 billion of assets.
Henry Shepherd, head of mergers and acquisitions, Diamond Baseball Holdings
Henry Shepherd is also involved with Diamond Baseball Holdings as the head of mergers and acquisitions.
Greenberg asked Shepherd if he or any of his colleagues at Diamond Baseball Holdings or Silver Lake would like to come to Derby 150, including Durban.
Shepherd said as long as no travel conflicts arose, they hoped members of the organization would be able to attend.
“Again, thank you so much for the partnership and warm welcome to Louisville. It has truly been a pleasure and Louisville stands out (even amongst our other Clubs) as a market that we are specifically excited about – this is in large part thanks to your efforts,” Shepherd wrote.
Mellody Hobson, chairwoman of Starbucks, CEO of Ariel Investments and co-owner of the Denver Broncos
According to an email sent from a Greenberg advisor, the mayor is also seeking to invite Mellody Hobson, who is the chairwoman of Starbucks, CEO of Ariel Investments and a co-owner of the Denver Broncos.
Hobson was previously chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation and is married to filmmaker George Lucas.
In 2020, Forbes listed her at 94 on its 100 most powerful women list.
It’s unclear whether Hobson was invited; the email from Greenberg’s advisor was seeking contact information for Hobson so the mayor could reach out to her.
Glen Hauenstein, president of Delta Airlines
Another invitee is Glen Hauenstein, the president of Delta Airlines.
“Our airport in Louisville is one of the fastest growing in the United States and Delta is our largest air service provider,” wrote Deputy Mayor Pat Mulloy in the invitation.
The Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport had the busiest year in the airport’s history in 2023 with 4.6 million people flying in and out of it, The Courier Journal previously reported.
Hauenstein has been with the airline since 2005.
Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg LP head of communications, government relations and marketing
Kevin Sheekey, who headed former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s failed 2020 bid for the presidency, was invited to Derby for the second time by Greenberg after being unable to attend in 2023.
Sheekey served as a deputy mayor under Bloomberg while also handling his successful mayoral campaigns.
He is the head of communications, government relations and marketing for Bloomberg LP.
In a February email to Sheekey, Greenberg said he was excited Sheekey would be attending the Derby.
Patti Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies
Like Sheekey, Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris was invited to last year’s Derby as well but did not attend. Greenberg invited her to Derby 150 in the same email message he sent to Sheekey.
When Bloomberg was mayor of New York, Harris was the first woman to serve as the city’s first deputy mayor.
Condrad Daniels, Greater Louisville Inc. chair of the board, president of HJI Supply Chain Solutions
While others on Greenberg’s invite list are from out of town, new Greater Louisville Inc. board chair Conrad Daniels is already in the Derby City.
Daniels, who is president of HJI Supply Chain Solutions, was appointed to serve as the 2024 chair for the Louisville-area chamber of commerce in January. He is also on the board of advisors for the University of Louisville’s College of Business.
In a Jan. 8 email, Louisville’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Pat Mulloy told Daniels the mayor would like to invite him to Derby 150. Daniels has been involved in diversification efforts in Louisville’s business world and authored GLI’s racial equity pledge.
Didi Caldwell, president and CEO of Global Location Strategies
Didi Caldwell, whose firm focuses on matching “companies and communities for mutual, sustainable prosperity,” also received an invite to Derby 150.
“I won’t give you the full Louisville pitch in this email, but the Mayor is an individual who built a large hospitality business before becoming Mayor and, together with public safety, growing our economy is his highest priority,” Mulloy wrote.
Global Location Strategies is based in Greenville, South Carolina. Caldwell is a self-proclaimed “accidental entrepreneur” and was the first female chairperson of the Site Selectors Guild, a global organization of site selector professionals.
Minah Hall, Managing Director of Compass Key Site Solutions LLC
Like Caldwell, Minah Hall works with businesses to assist in site selection and incentive negotiation. She is involved in multiple related conferences and was named one of International Tax Review’s 2016 & 2017 Women in Tax Leaders.
“I LOVE the Kentucky Derby, bourbon and your team!!!” Hall wrote in a Feb. 14. “Sadly, I won’t be able to attend this year.”
However, Hall said she would be interested in attending future Derbys.
Bethany Donaphin, head of WNBA league operations
Greenberg also invited Bethany Donaphin, the head of league operations for the Women’s National Basketball Association. She oversees “all on-court basketball operations, including playing rules, scouting, scheduling and venue compliance” among other duties and has served in the role since 2018. In 2020, she won the Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 award.
Donaphin will not appear on the final guest list, though.
“While I would very much enjoy attending, the dates actually coincide with a yet-to-be announced preseason event for the WNBA so unfortunately I will be unable to join you,” she replied. “Thank you for thinking of me and I look forward to connecting again soon!”
On May 5, there is a pre-season matchup between the Seattle Storm and the Los Angeles Sparks.
“We understand,” Greenberg said. “Thanks for the response and we look forward to staying in touch. We are very interested in Louisville expanding its relationship with the WNBA.”
Last year, Greenberg also invited WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to the Derby, telling her Louisville was “on its way to becoming the Women’s Sports Capital of the World,” but she did not appear on the final guest list.
Jeff Blau, CEO and partner of Related Companies
Jeff Blau is the chief executive officer of Related Companies, a real estate company that aims to “transform urban life by creating innovative neighborhoods and supporting nurturing communities.”
The company’s website says it works to “propel cities forward” and that it focuses on projects from “large-scale engineering and infrastructure projects to forward thinking affordable housing solutions.”
In an email, Greenberg wrote, “Rachel and I are so excited that you will be joining us for the 150th Kentucky Derby in Louisville.”
Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio
Thomas Heatherwick is an English designer and founder of Heatherwick Studio, a company based in London with over 200 employees that has won over 100 international awards for design excellence.
Heatherwick’s architectural ideology is to create “soulful and interesting places” with no specific signature style. He has worked on the Google headquarters, the 2012 Olympic cauldron and London’s Rolling Bridge.
The internationally acclaimed designer plans to attend Derby 150, according to an email sent by Greenberg in February.
Reach reporter Josh Wood at jwood@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @JWoodJourno. Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at emccraray@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @ellie_mccrary.
