Churchill Downs
Encyclopedia
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky
, United States
, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby
annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks
in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup
on seven occasions, most recently in 2011. Churchill Downs Incorporated
owns and operates the racetrack.
In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred
racetracks in North America
. Churchill Downs was ranked number 5 on this list.
The track is named for John and Henry Churchill, who leased 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land to their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (grandson of explorer William Clark). Clark was president of the Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association, which formed in 1874. His father-in-law, Richard Ten Broeck, was an accomplished horse breeder
and trainer
, and introduced Clark to horse racing
, attending the English Derby
at Epsom Downs
outside London
.
Churchill Downs filled a void in Louisville left by the closing of Oakland and Woodlawn, two earlier race courses. The then-rural location was located along Louisville and Nashville Railroad
tracks, allowing for easy transport of horses. Clark, who preferred longer races to the relatively short ones that had become popular by the 1890s, was running short of funds, and in 1893 sold the track to a syndicate led by William Applegate. The new ownership would soon institute many changes, such as shortening the length of the signature race to its modern 1 1/4 mile (2 km), commissioning the famous twin spire grandstand in 1895, and adorning the winner of the Derby with a garland of roses, a tradition that also began in 1895.
In early 1902, Applegate turned over operation of the track to Charles F. Grainger
, then the mayor of Louisville, in an effort to move Churchill Downs away from being primarily known for gambling. A new clubhouse was built in order to promote social interaction, and new events such as steeplechases, automobile races and band concerts were held at the track. The State Fair
was held on the grounds, featuring the odd spectacle of two locomotives being intentionally crashed head-on in the infield.
On June 5, 1907, African American
jockey James Lee set a record that has never been beaten when he won the entire six-race card at Churchill Downs.
In 1908, parimutuel betting
machines were introduced as gambling began to be less controversial again, and the wagering portion of the track's business became more profitable.
Churchill Downs was designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1986.
On Friday, June 19, 2009, Churchill Downs hosted its first-ever night race.
Churchill Downs has now ventured into the music business, organizing the inaugural HullabaLOU Music Festival, held on the weekend of July 23–25, 2010. The track had planned to make this an annual event to compete with other summer music festivals. However, due to what was perceived as lower than expected ticket sales and complaints from concert goers over seating and the brutal heat, it has been decided that the festival will not return in 2011. Despite selling more than 78,000 tickets for the three day event, it failed to turn a profit, losing over 5 million dollars for the now defunct Churchill Downs Entertainment group. Besides the heat and poor seating, many blamed the lineup of artists, calling them "washed up acts from the state fair circuit." While headliners Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, and Kenney Chesney drew the large crowds, other acts that filled slots during the day did not.
On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, an EF2
tornado hit the Louisville area, striking the stables and chapel at Churchill Downs, though only at EF1 intensity at the time. Several stables were badly damaged, as was the chapel. Over 200 horses had to be evacuated from the damaged stables and be relocated to other stables that were not damaged by the tornado. The tornado did not cause any damage to the iconic twin spires or the clubhouse.
The twin spires atop the grandstands are the most recognizable architectural feature of Churchill Downs and are used as a symbol of the track and the Derby. They were designed by architect Joseph Dominic Baldez and built in 1895. Today, Churchill Downs covers 147 acre (0.59488842 km²). The usual number of people seated at the derby is 50,000 people, though crowds can reach over 150,000 on Derby day. The dirt oval main track, on which the Derby is run, is one mile (1.6 km) in circumference and is 79–80 ft (24.1–24.4 m) in width, with a 120 feet (36.6 m) section for the starting gate. A turf track, inside the main track, is 7/8 mi in circumference and 80 feet (24.4 m) wide.
From 2001 to 2005, Churchill Downs underwent a three-and-a-half year, $121 million renovation. The clubhouse was replaced, 79 luxury suites
were added, and the historic twin spires were refurbished. One of the additions in the clubhouse was a 36 feet (11 m) mural by Pierre Bellocq
depicting all 96 jockey
s to win the Kentucky Derby from 1875 to 2004. In summer 2008 the same artist added another mural depicting all of the trainers and updating the Jockey's painting, adding Calvin Borel and Edgar Prado to it. The new design has been somewhat controversial since the new suites block full view of the spires from most angles.
The tips of the spires are still the highest parts of the facility, albeit just barely now.
Racing at Churchill Downs occurs in two meets. The spring meet starts one week before the Derby and continues until early July. The Kentucky Derby is held the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Oaks is run on Friday, the day before the Derby. A fall meet picks up in late October and closes Thanksgiving weekend in late November.
In addition to the track, clubhouse and stables, Churchill Downs also contains the Kentucky Derby Museum
which focuses on the history of the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs. The museum also contains a number of exhibits exploring the training and racing of thoroughbred horses. It includes a 360-degree cinema
that shows the short film "The Greatest Race," a documentary about the Kentucky Derby. The museum is normally open year-round.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
on seven occasions, most recently in 2011. Churchill Downs Incorporated
Churchill Downs Incorporated
Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company owns several other thoroughbred and standardbred racetracks.-History:...
owns and operates the racetrack.
In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racetracks in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Churchill Downs was ranked number 5 on this list.
History
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
and trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
, and introduced Clark to horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, attending the English Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
at Epsom Downs
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
outside London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
tracks, allowing for easy transport of horses. Clark, who preferred longer races to the relatively short ones that had become popular by the 1890s, was running short of funds, and in 1893 sold the track to a syndicate led by William Applegate. The new ownership would soon institute many changes, such as shortening the length of the signature race to its modern 1 1/4 mile (2 km), commissioning the famous twin spire grandstand in 1895, and adorning the winner of the Derby with a garland of roses, a tradition that also began in 1895.
In early 1902, Applegate turned over operation of the track to Charles F. Grainger
Charles F. Grainger
Charles F. Grainger was Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1901 to 1905. He became president of Grainger & Company, his family's iron foundry....
, then the mayor of Louisville, in an effort to move Churchill Downs away from being primarily known for gambling. A new clubhouse was built in order to promote social interaction, and new events such as steeplechases, automobile races and band concerts were held at the track. The State Fair
Kentucky State Fair
The Kentucky State Fair is the official state fair of Kentucky which takes place at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. More than 600,000 fairgoers fill the of indoor and outdoor exhibits, eat a smorgasbord of food and ride hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping coasters during the 11-day event...
was held on the grounds, featuring the odd spectacle of two locomotives being intentionally crashed head-on in the infield.
On June 5, 1907, African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
jockey James Lee set a record that has never been beaten when he won the entire six-race card at Churchill Downs.
In 1908, parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
machines were introduced as gambling began to be less controversial again, and the wagering portion of the track's business became more profitable.
Churchill Downs was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1986.
On Friday, June 19, 2009, Churchill Downs hosted its first-ever night race.
Churchill Downs has now ventured into the music business, organizing the inaugural HullabaLOU Music Festival, held on the weekend of July 23–25, 2010. The track had planned to make this an annual event to compete with other summer music festivals. However, due to what was perceived as lower than expected ticket sales and complaints from concert goers over seating and the brutal heat, it has been decided that the festival will not return in 2011. Despite selling more than 78,000 tickets for the three day event, it failed to turn a profit, losing over 5 million dollars for the now defunct Churchill Downs Entertainment group. Besides the heat and poor seating, many blamed the lineup of artists, calling them "washed up acts from the state fair circuit." While headliners Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, and Kenney Chesney drew the large crowds, other acts that filled slots during the day did not.
On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, an EF2
Enhanced Fujita Scale
The Enhanced Fujita Scale rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States based on the damage they cause.Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971 by Ted Fujita, it began operational use on February 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale:...
tornado hit the Louisville area, striking the stables and chapel at Churchill Downs, though only at EF1 intensity at the time. Several stables were badly damaged, as was the chapel. Over 200 horses had to be evacuated from the damaged stables and be relocated to other stables that were not damaged by the tornado. The tornado did not cause any damage to the iconic twin spires or the clubhouse.
Facilities
From 2001 to 2005, Churchill Downs underwent a three-and-a-half year, $121 million renovation. The clubhouse was replaced, 79 luxury suites
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
were added, and the historic twin spires were refurbished. One of the additions in the clubhouse was a 36 feet (11 m) mural by Pierre Bellocq
Pierre Bellocq
Pierre Camille Lucien Hilaire Jean Bellocq is a French-American artist and horse racing cartoonist known as "Peb". As a small boy, his family moved to Maisons-Laffitte where his father worked at the local race track...
depicting all 96 jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
s to win the Kentucky Derby from 1875 to 2004. In summer 2008 the same artist added another mural depicting all of the trainers and updating the Jockey's painting, adding Calvin Borel and Edgar Prado to it. The new design has been somewhat controversial since the new suites block full view of the spires from most angles.
The tips of the spires are still the highest parts of the facility, albeit just barely now.
Racing at Churchill Downs occurs in two meets. The spring meet starts one week before the Derby and continues until early July. The Kentucky Derby is held the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Oaks is run on Friday, the day before the Derby. A fall meet picks up in late October and closes Thanksgiving weekend in late November.
In addition to the track, clubhouse and stables, Churchill Downs also contains the Kentucky Derby Museum
Kentucky Derby Museum
The Kentucky Derby Museum is an American Thoroughbred horse racing museum located on the grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Dedicated to preserving the history of the Kentucky Derby, it first opened its doors to the public in the spring of 1985...
which focuses on the history of the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs. The museum also contains a number of exhibits exploring the training and racing of thoroughbred horses. It includes a 360-degree cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
that shows the short film "The Greatest Race," a documentary about the Kentucky Derby. The museum is normally open year-round.
TV personalities
- John Asher (1997–1998 the paddock show, CD Today a handicapping show 2007-present)
- Mike BattagliaMike BattagliaMike Battaglia is an American horse racing analyst, race caller and television broadcaster. He is most closely associated with Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby....
(1997–2007 full-time, 2008–present fill-in) - Donna Barton-Brothers (1999–2002)
- Jill Byrne (2004–2007 fill-in, 2008–present full-time)
- Becky Witzman (2007–2008)
- Jessica Pacheco (2007 Derby week)
- Joanne Jones (2007 Derby Week)
See also
- List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
- List of graded stakes at Churchill Downs
- Kentucky Derby FestivalKentucky Derby FestivalThe Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby...
- Kentucky Derby top three finishers
- Kentucky Oaks top three finishersKentucky Oaks top three finishersThis is a listing of the horses that finished in either first, second, or third place and the number of starters in the Kentucky Oaks, the first leg of the defacto American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, an American Grade 1 race for three year-old fillies at 1-1/8 miles on the dirt held at...
- Triple Crown of Thoroughbred RacingTriple Crown of Thoroughbred RacingThe Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
External links
- Churchill Downs website
- Churchill Downs Ticket Office
- Kentucky Derby website
- Kentucky Oaks website
- Churchill Downs track page, NTRANational Thoroughbred Racing AssociationThe National Thoroughbred Racing Association is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic...
- HullabaLOU Music Festival website
- History of Churchill Downs – KentuckyDerby.org