As bi-planes pulled advertisements for pizza chains and grocery stores overhead, another one pulled a banner behind it with a cryptic message about Mayor Jerry Abramson.
"Mayor Puts Cordish Before Safety," read one, referring to a recent controversy involving forgiving a loan to Kansas City-based Cordish Company for a project on Fourth Street Live!
"Safe? Thank a Metro Police Officer," read another. Another asked rhetorically whether the Mayor's actions were "ethical."
The banners flew over Churchill Downs in the hours and minutes leading up to Kentucky Derby 135, with more than 150,000 spectators below.
"I've received a lot of feedback on it, of people saying: 'thank you, finally somebody's come out and said it,'" said Fraternal Order of Police President John McGuire, the man behind the banners.
McGuire said he believed the banners sparked conversation about important issues facing Metro Louisville.
A spokesman for Mayor Jerry Abramson dismissed the banners as an annual ploy. Chad Carlton said he "wasn't surprised" that the FOP was behind the banners and that the mayor's office wouldn't get involved in a "back-and-forth" with the union.