Churchill Downs is a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

complex in south

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, United States that hosts the annual

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first Kentucky Derby, a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

sweepstakes and part of today's horse racing Triple Crown, and the first

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 at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Frida ...

were held in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

on nine occasions, most recently on November 2 and 3, 2018. The racetrack is owned and operated by

Churchill Downs Incorporated Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering comp ...

. With the infield open for the Kentucky Derby, the capacity of Churchill Downs is roughly 170,000. In 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America, which ranked Churchill Downs number 5 on its list. In 2014, prior to the start of their spring meet, Churchill Downs announced an increase in parimutuel takeout rates. As a result of the takeout increase, Churchill Downs ranked number 22 in that year's Horseplayers Association of North America Track Ratings.

History

The track is named for John and Henry Churchill, who leased 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 1875. His father-in-law, Richard Ten Broeck, was a horse breeder and trainer, and introduced Clark to

, attending the English Derby at

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk downland, chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the Epsom Downs Racecourse, racecourse; the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are ...

outside

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Churchill Downs filled a void in Louisville left by the closing of Oakland and Woodlawn, two earlier race courses. The then-rural location was along

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...

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 1894 sold the track to a syndicate led by

William E. Applegate William E. Applegate (December 18, 1851 – May 13, 1928) was an American turfman, involved in the horse racing industry for over fifty years. He was known as a bookmaker, breeder, racer and track owner. At one time, Applegate was owner of Churc ...

. The new ownership instituted changes, such as commissioning the twin spire grandstand in 1895, shortening the length of the signature race to its modern in 1896, and adorning the winner of the Derby with a garland of roses, a tradition that also began in 1896. In early 1902, Applegate, who had made his fortune as a bookmaker, turned over the day-to-day 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. Among the new people Applegate brought on board to help him run the track was Col. Matt Winn of Louisville. Churchill Downs prospered and the Kentucky Derby then became the preeminent stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in North America. During that early period, a new clubhouse was built in order to promote social interaction and new events such as steeplechases, automobile races and band concerts. The

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...

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 Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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, or pool 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 ''vigorish'', are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among a ...

machines were introduced as gambling began to be less controversial again, and the wagering portion of the track's business became more profitable. Since then Churchill has expanded beyond traditional horse racing and has moved into online betting, and racing machines. Churchill Downs was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1986. On Friday, June 19, 2009, Churchill Downs hosted its first-ever night race with an attendance of over 27,000. Churchill Downs 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. HullabaLOU attracted 78,000 people but that fell short of the more than 100,000 expected by the company. The company attributed this to the brutal heat, but others cited high ticket prices in a poor economy. The entertainment division lost more than $5 million in its first year and was discontinued. Twin Spires at Churchill Downs

On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, an EF2 tornado hit the Louisville area, striking the stables and chapel at Churchill Downs, at EF1 intensity. 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 twin spires or the clubhouse. ''Thurby'' is a portmanteau for ''Thursday'' plus ''Derby'', and this name for the Thursday racing in Derby week has been recognized by Churchill Downs since 2014. In June 2023, following the investigation by Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority over twelve horse fatalities since April 27, 2023, Churchill Downs transferred its spring-summer racing meet to

Ellis Park Race Course Ellis Park is a thoroughbred racetrack near Henderson, Kentucky, along US 41 between the Twin Bridges and Evansville, Indiana. It is owned and operated by Churchill Downs Incorporated. While the track is located north of the Ohio River that form ...

Henderson, Kentucky Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,781 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville–Henderson, IN–KY Combined Statis ...

while it re-evaluated its safety measures.

Graded events

The following Graded events were held at Churchill Downs in 2024 and 2025. Grade I * American Turf Stakes * Churchill Downs Stakes * Clark Stakes * Derby City Distaff Stakes *

* La Troienne Stakes * Stephen Foster Stakes * Turf Classic Stakes Grade II *

Alysheba Stakes The Alysheba Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three and older over a distance of . It is held annually in early May on the dirt on the Kentucky Oaks day meeting at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, duri ...

* Chicago Stakes * Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes * Edgewood Stakes * Eight Belles Stakes * Falls City Stakes * Fleur de Lis Stakes * Golden Rod Stakes * Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes * Mrs. Revere Stakes * Pat Day Mile Stakes * Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes * Wise Dan Stakes Grade III * Ack Ack Stakes * Arlington Stakes * Blame Stakes * Chilukki Stakes * Commonwealth Turf Stakes * Dogwood Stakes * Iroquois Stakes * Kelly’s Landing Stakes * Louisville Stakes * Lukas Classic Stakes * Matt Winn Stakes * Mamzelle Stakes * Mint Julep Stakes * Modesty Stakes * Pocahontas Stakes * Pucker Up Stakes * Regret Stakes * River City Stakes * Shawnee Stakes * Street Sense Stakes * Unbridled Sidney Stakes * Winning Colors Stakes

Facilities

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 the Louisville architectural firm D.X. Murphy & Bro. who were prolific in the city, markedly so for their philanthropic work with the Catholic Church. Today, Churchill Downs covers . 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 wide, with a section for the starting gate. A turf track, inside the main track, is in circumference and wide. The

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of the track is approximately

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. 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 twin spires were refurbished. One of the additions in the clubhouse was a mural by Pierre Bellocq depicting all 96

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

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. These updates are done yearly to accommodate new winning trainers and jockeys. The new design has been somewhat controversial since the new suites block full view of the spires from most angles. Racing at Churchill Downs occurs in three meets though for the majority of its existence there were only two meets per year. 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 the Friday before the Derby. A fall meet picks up in late October and closes Thanksgiving weekend in late November. Night races were established in 2009. A third meet in September was added in 2013. 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. In October 2013, Churchill Downs began installing a new, ultra high-definition video board built by Panasonic, which became operational in time for the 2014 Kentucky Derby. Called "The Big Board", it measures wide and high, with the bottom edge off the ground, and weighs . It was constructed along the outside of the backstretch of the dirt course facing the grandstand and infield. At the time, it was the largest ultra high-definition video board ever constructed. At the same time, 750 speakers were installed around the track. Churchill Downs has had several renovation projects since the early 2010s. A new grandstand on the clubhouse turn, the First Turn Club, was completed and opened before the 2023 Kentucky Derby with capacity for more than 7,000 people. The following year, before the 150th Kentucky Derby, a new $200 million paddock was opened.This new paddock also featuring past derby winners around with the number they wore as well as the year they won. In February 2025 track management announced two new projects: a reconstructed grandstand between the finish line and the First Turn Club with capacity for over 13,000 people, and new permanent structures on the infield facing the homestretch. Two months later Churchill Downs announced that these construction projects, estimated to cost nearly US$1 billion, would be postponed because of "increasing uncertainty surrounding construction costs" due to tariffs and trade disputes. At the same time, management announced renovations to the Finish Line suites and Trophy Room, estimated to cost $25-30 million, that are expected to be completed before the 2026 Kentucky Derby.

People associated with Churchill Downs

Chief executive officers

From 1875 through 2019, Churchill Downs has had 12 CEOs. * M. Lewis Clark 1875–1894 * William F. Schulte 1895–1901 * Charles F. Grainger 1902–1917 * Johnson N. Camden Jr. 1918–1927 * Samuel Culbertson 1928–1937 *

Matt Winn Martin J. "Matt" Winn (June 30, 1861 – October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in United States, American thoroughbred horse racing history and president of Churchill Downs racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby race that he made famous. I ...

1938–1949 * Bill Corum 1950–1958 * Wathen Knebelkamp 1959–1970 * Lynn Stone 1970–1984 * Thomas H. Meeker 1984–2006 * Robert L. Evans 2006–2014 * William C. Carstanjen 2014–present

Track announcers

* Gene Schmidt (1940–1960) * Chic Anderson (1961–1977) * Mike Battaglia (1978–1996, 2013 as a one-day fill-in, 2014 as a fill-in for Breeders Cup Weekend) * Kurt Becker (1997–1998) * Luke Kruytbosch (1999–2008) * Bobby Neuman (October 26 – November 2, 2008) * Michael Wrona (November 12–16, 2008) * John Asher (November 16, 2008) * Mark Johnson (November 26–29, 2008, 2009–2013) * Larry Collmus (November 19–23, 2008, 2014) * Bill Downes (2014 as a fill-in) * Travis Stone (November 5–9, 2008, 2015–present)

TV personalities

* John Asher (1997–1998 the paddock show, CD Today a handicapping show 2007–2018) * Mike Battaglia (1997–2007 full-time, 2008–? as an occasional fill-in. Also the Tracks Morning Line Odds-Maker since 1974.) * Donna Barton Brothers (1999–2002) * Jill Byrne (2004–2007 fill-in, 2008–2014) * Jessica Pacheco (2007 Derby week) * Joanne Jones (2007 Derby week) * Joe Kristufek (2015–present full-time) * Kaitlin Free (2021–present) * Tony Calo (2024–present) * Kevin Kilroy (2024–present)

Notes

References

*Thomas, Samuel W. 1995. ''Churchill Downs:A Documentary History of America's Most Legendary Race Track'' *Schriener, Bruce. 2005. ''Historic track unveils $121 million facelift''.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. April 28.

External links

*
Kentucky Derby website

Kentucky Oaks website
{{Registered Historic Places 1875 establishments in Kentucky 19th-century buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky Churchill Downs Incorporated Horse racing venues in Kentucky Kentucky culture Kentucky Derby National Historic Landmarks in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Louisville, Kentucky Sports venues completed in 1875 Tourist attractions in Louisville, Kentucky