For a guy who adores acting, traveling, and any chance to bond with his family, Andrew Walker could not have been happier filming his newest Hallmark Channel movie, “Kentucky Roses,” premiering on May 2, 2026.
The longtime Hallmark star told EntertainmentNow that his latest project served as a powerful reminder of how lucky he’s been to film on location at incredible venues and historic sites around the world. But filming at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, was especially meaningful, Walker said, given his dad’s decades-long love of the Kentucky Derby.
While Filming at Churchill Downs, Andrew Walker FaceTimed His Dad Many Mornings
Set in two time periods and co-starring Oddette Annable, “Kentucky Roses” was filmed on location at historic Churchill Downs, where the 152nd Kentucky Derby will be held hours before the movie’s premiere.
In addition to being an amazing experience for Walker, filming at the iconic venue gave the actor a memorable way to connect daily with his dad, who was back home in Montreal.
“My dad is a huge Kentucky Derby fan,” Walker told EntertainmentNow. “So in the morning, I would show up to my trailer, and it’d be six o’clock in the morning, it’d be dawn. There would be dew coming off the race track, and the horses would be warming up. You’d hear them come around the corner, the sky (was) pink, just perfect. And so I’d FaceTime my dad at those moments, and it was really, really special.”
“You know, he was really proud,” Walker continued. “And that’s the best feeling that I could have, right? Calling him from something and somewhere that’s so iconic, this sporting event that he never thought that he would be able to see from that perspective.”
Andrew Walker Says His Recent Filming Locations With Hallmark Have Been ‘Amazing’
HallmarkWalker will return to the racetrack for a premiere event with his wife, Cassandra, to celebrate the release of “Kentucky Roses,” which he developed with one of his besties, producer Kelly Pendygraft. Filming a movie at and about Churchill Downs wouldn’t have been possible, he told EntertainmentNow, without Hallmark’s trusted brand and its ever-expanding partnerships with iconic sites and organizations.
“What Hallmark has been able to gain access to, from the (Buffalo) Bills and (Kansas City) Chiefs movies, to now Disney World and this movie, is amazing,” Walker said. “That’s the beauty of being an actor, is you get access to these places that you’d never have access to otherwise.”
Although many Hallmark movies are still filmed in Vancouver, Walker noted how fortunate he’s been to shoot projects in other parts of the world, too. He filmed 2025’s “The Reluctant Royal” in Ireland, headed to Malta to film 2024’s “For Love & Honey,” and shot 2023’s “A Safari Romance” in South Africa.
“When I think back on some of these places I’ve been able to see, like South Africa and Malta, it’s so cool,” Walker said. “We’re shooting in 3000-year-old ruins (in Malta), right? No one’s allowed to go there without security, but we got to shoot a whole movie. It’s just amazing.”
Hallmark Channel’s “Kentucky Roses” premieres on May 2 at 8 p.m. Eastern time and will be available to stream the following day via Hallmark+.
