Backside: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing
- PBS premiered the documentary BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing on April 13, 2026, as part of the Independent Lens series.
- The production centers on the immigrant grooms who work year-round on the backside of Churchill Downs.
- Through its portrayal of these workers, the documentary explores how race, labor, and class shape the industry.
PBS premiered the documentary BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing
on April 13, 2026, as part of the Independent Lens series. The film examines the labor and social structures supporting the Kentucky Derby by focusing on the workers who operate away from the public eye.
The production centers on the immigrant grooms who work year-round on the backside
of Churchill Downs. These workers rise before dawn to provide care for some of the most prized racehorses in the world, highlighting the resilience required to maintain the spectacle of the elite American horse racing industry.
Through its portrayal of these workers, the documentary explores how race, labor, and class shape the industry. It aims to reveal the hidden hands that keep the largest stage of horse racing running despite the glamour associated with the Kentucky Derby.
Production and Filmmaking Team
The documentary was directed by Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana, a Mexican immigrant filmmaker. Paz-Pastrana’s previous work includes the feature film Border South, which screened at international festivals in 2019. His professional background includes fellowships with the New America National Fellow, Firelight Media Documentary Lab, and the Bay Area Video Coalition MediaMaker, as well as being a Creative Capital Awards Artist Fellow.
The filmmaking team also included Patricia Alvarez Astacio, a Puerto Rican anthropologist, and filmmaker. Astacio previously served as the director of the Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival, and her work has been screened at the Boston Latino Film Festival, the Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival, and the Havana International Film Festival.
Gabriella Garcia-Pardo served as a producer for the project. A Colombian American filmmaker, Garcia-Pardo has focused her work on relationships to land and the nonhuman. She previously produced La Bonga in 2023 and has received professional support from organizations including Firelight, Creative Capital, Catapult, and Sundance.
Broadcast Details
BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing is designated as Season 27, Episode 9 of Independent Lens. The documentary has a total runtime of 55 minutes and 40 seconds and carries a TV-PG rating.
The film is available for viewing on PBS, with the current streaming window set to expire on July 12, 2026. The broadcast includes audio description for accessibility.