Backside couldn’t be timelier and more relevant as filmmakers follow the immigrant workers at Churchill Downs during horse racing season and throughout the year.

While the film starts out with an auction taking place at Keeneland, filmmakers switch their focus to the backside at Churchill Downs shortly thereafter. It’s there where we get to experience the life of the backside workers, many of which are immigrants beginning their days at 2 AM or 4:30 PM, seven days a week and throughout the year. These are the workers who take care of the horses for however long they are stationed at the track. It depends on which trainers are based at Churchill Downs when the spring and fall meets end. But anyway, they are responsible for getting 1,000 horses ready, feeding, walking and bathing them.

Interestingly, the film took five years to make according to Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana’s director’s statement. The filmmaker seeks to juxtapose the backside workers against the wealth traditionally associated with the Kentucky Derby. What Backside does manage to succeed in doing is humanize the immigrant workers at a time when they are targets of xenophobia.

Because Backside is following workers at the Churchill Downs backside during the 2024 racing season, it doesn’t begin to touch on issues facing such workers now that the convicted felon is targeting immigrants through a xenophobic agenda. Being a Kentucky native, I feel obligated to point out what is happening right now in our country and how xenophobic policies can impact the track. My apologies if this film review is turning into something very different than a review but that’s the sort of reaction it needs. I can’t not say what’s on my mind!

The Courier-Journal reported in early May that “the national and Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), the American Business Immigration Council and more are teaming up to push conversations about immigration reform involving the workers of horse racing that most of the world never sees.”

According to national Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) CEO Eric Hamelback, “one race horse can produce up to 26 positions.” Similarly,”4.2 American jobs equals one H-2B visa.”

Louisville-based trainer Dale Romans is the president of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. While he’s not featured in the film, he spoke about the real worries facing workers during a press conference shortly before this year’s Kentucky Derby.

Immigrant workers have to re-apply for a visa every ten months. It could mean applying for an H-2B visa or if they’re working on a farm, a H-2A visa. The process was challenging enough in the before times. But now? Trainers have no way of really being able to plan for the future. And again, immigrants are doing the jobs that many Americans simply will not do. Think about what that says. The American economy is going to suffer because of xenophobia being official White House policy.

The point that needs to be driven home, seeing that Churchill Downs plays an important role in the Louisville, Ky. economy, is that “78% of backstretch workers are immigrants.” Had this been filmed in 2025, the documentary might be very different. There needs to be a legal pathway for farm and racetrack workers. They are doing the jobs that–let’s be honest–average Americans refuse to do. That’s why immigrants come to America. It’s not so much taking American jobs, but in search of a better life and opportunities. The fact is, we have backside workers who are worried about being detained by ICE. The situation doesn’t just threaten backside workers, but jockeys as well.

DIRECTOR: Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana
SCREENWRITERS: Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana, Patricia Alvarez Astacio, Gabriella García-Pardo, Cristina Carrasco Hernández
FEATURING: Arturo Espinosa, Bertila Quinteros, Cristobal Trejo, Harold Joseph, Marta Reyes, Melanea Martínez

Backside holds its world premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival in the Documentary Competition program. Grade: 3.5/5

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