'It's us': Louisville couple ties the knot at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby 150

After wrapping up a shift at Neat Bourbon Bar and Bottle Shop on the first Saturday in May a year ago, Eddy Stieren joked with longtime girlfriend Carrie Stobaugh that the next time he'd be off work on the day of the Kentucky Derby would be "if I either die or get married."

He was right. On a warm and sunny evening this weekend at Churchill Downs, Stieren and Stobaugh tied the knot in the infield, surrounded by a few of their closest friends and 156,710 race attendees in the crowd around them.

"Carrie said, 'Well, you know, you could put a ring on it.' We'd been together 11 years at that point, and I said 'You've got to be careful what you wish for,'" he remembered this week. "So this will be, most likely, my only Derby off and not working until the day I retire."

Derby season has always been woven into their story. It started when they met at a Thunder Over Louisville party in 2012. It continued when Stieren got down on one knee and proposed last August at Saratoga Race Course on the day of the Travers Stakes. They love horse racing, he said, so his idea to exchange rings under the bright lights of Churchill Downs was a natural fit.

"The way that he can plan things out, I had confidence in it. I was like, 'You know what? That's a great idea,'" Stobaugh said. "It's us. I loved it. He came up with the idea and I said, 'That's great. Let's do it.'"

They both grew up in Louisville — Stobaugh went to Holy Rosary Academy, while Stieren graduated from Butler Traditional High School — so naturally, they have their favorite memories from the races they've attended.

Stieren was hooked at age 8 when he turned $25 into about $400 on the day of the Kentucky Oaks. "Back then they didn't look at your ID to take bets," he joked.

And Stobaugh had a blast in 2018 when a record amount of rain poured down on the crowd in the first leg of Justify's Triple Crown. "I think I'm still drying out from that year, to be honest," she said.

It'll be hard to top this year, though.

Stobaugh came ready, with a white dress to match her white fascinator from her friends across the river at Bad Cat Boutique in Jeffersonville. Stieren was wearing purple, with a red rose on his lapel.

They were married with the twin spires behind them, a spot Stieren always tries to take during his trips to the infield. He may have missed the race last year but he's a Derby veteran who's attended the race around 15 times, he said, including a seven-year-in-a-row stretch.

Of course, a wedding in the infield may not be for everyone. They had a small party in the crowd Saturday, but the couple will host other friends and family members for a reception next month at the German American Club, on the first Saturday in June.

They're an ideal couple at the racetrack, Stieren said. She's in it for "familial" reasons and to have a good time, while he's in it to make money and to have a good time.

"It actually works out perfectly," he said. "When I'm being probably irresponsible and making too many bets, she's always like 'Let's just enjoy the day.' She's the yin to my yang, in that way in particular."

Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2024 features couple's wedding at Churchill Downs infield